At a recent Rules seminar I conducted someone said to me, “I play “˜winter rules’ all year long.” It is not unusual to get these type of comments from golfers who are both a) trying to be funny and b) poking fun at the “Rules Nerd”””yes that would be me. To the surprise of this individual I said, “Well, if that makes the game more enjoyable for you, then that’s great.” My comment was not intended to be confrontational, and was completely sincere.
The reason I like to play by the Rules is it makes the game more enjoyable. If moving the ball to a “preferred lie” on every shot makes the game more enjoyable for you, then by all means, “nudge” away. For me, playing by the Rules is honoring the traditions of the game. Playing by the Rules is testing myself””seeing how well I can recover from the bad and take advantage of the good. Playing by the Rules puts me on the same playing field as all the great champions who have navigated the links over hundreds of years of championship golf. No, I am not playing for the Claret Jug””the outcome of my round will not change the course of golf history, but it is my way to participate in golf’s history. Playing by the Rules puts me in the company of Old Tom Morris, Bob Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods.
The bottom line for me is playing by the Rules makes the game fun. Nudging the ball in the fairway to a “preferred lie” may make the next stroke easier, but defeats the whole point of being out there. One of the great things about golf is the fact that all of us have the opportunity to test ourselves under the exact same conditions as the greatest players in the game. No other sport can say that. A pickup game of basketball will always pale in comparison to an NBA game with three officials running the floor and making the calls. A friendly game of Tennis at the park will never afford players the opportunity to call for a challenge and watch the “Jumbotron” as the computer animated replay reveals whether the ball was in or out. But in golf we have the opportunity to play the exact same game as the greatest players in the world. No, the course conditions may not be as pristine and we most likely will not have thousands of gallery members watching. But thanks to the Rules of Golf we are our own referee, just like the players on the PGA tour.
If playing by the Rules makes me a nerd that’s okay by me. Ask Eldrick “Tiger” Woods just how cool he was in high school.
