Do you know the rules of golf?

Okay.  Maybe you think this is a trick question!  It isn't.  Does anyone know ALL the rules of golf!  Probably very few people do.  I certainly don't.  The casual player certainly does not.  While the basic rules should be understood by all golfers the unusual circumstances that can occur are much more difficult to judge.

In the recently contested United States Open won heroically by J. J. Spaun, Sam Burns was leading when he asked for a ruling.  His ball was in the right side of the fairway in an obviously wet area.  He asked for a rules official to see if he could get a free drop due to temporary water (or casual water as most of us used to call it).  The rules official denied him relief.  That didn't sit well so Burns asked for a second opinion.  That rules official came to the same conclusion that no relief was due.  At this point Burns hit a poor shot that showed an obvious splash of water that helped to enable Spaun to win.

Television announcer Brad Faxon said that Burns got a bad ruling and that Burns should have been given relief.  To me this demonstrated Faxon's lack of understanding of the Rules of Golf.  Unfortunately the USGA rules expert available to the announcers didn't immediately chime in.  In the definition of Temporary Water the rules state -  “It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as the player steps on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after the stance is taken.”  That obviously was not the case for Burns which is why he was denied relief - twice!

So Faxon was wrong in saying that Burns got a bad ruling!  Burns did get a bad break in that his ball ended up in a wet area but he did not get a bad ruling as the definition is pretty clear.

We all had to learn various "rules of the road" in order to get our drivers license.  Why don't competitive golfers have to pass a basic rules test to play in a competition?  The pros of all people should know the rules!  Even if they do, I understand them calling for a rules official anytime something comes up as so much is on the line for them.  However, why aren't college and high school players required to pass a basic rules test?  The coaches could help in this area.

I was recently officiating at a high lever college event where I saw a player walking back from a red stake towards the tee.  I was mainly watching an adjacent hole so I did not witness exactly what happened.  After that group moved on I went down to talk with the spotter who was there.  I asked him where the players tee shot went. He said it went into the pond.  The player should have dropped on a line from the pin to the entry point NOT on a line from the entry point back to the tee.  Apparently many still think of "dropping a ball on the line" as meaning the line their shot already travelled.  But the rule has NEVER been this way.  It has always been to drop on a line as far back as preferred keeping the entry point (or location of an unplayable lie) between you and the hole.  So remember to drop on a line back from the flag through the entry point!

In the college event above, dropping on the correct line would not have helped him much as it would have been 30 yards back into some trees.  His best option was to take a drop two club-lengths from his entry point (another option for lateral penalty area relief).  However this option would have resulted in him having to avoid a tree with his shot which is probably why he chose to take the other - erroneous - drop.  Good thing his playing partners did not bring this up later.  He could have been disqualified for that round.

In officiating other competitions, I do witness that almost all of the players know how to handle penalty areas which is good to know.  They don't even ask for rules help.  They get with their playing partner/opponent and take their drop.

If you want to get more knowledgeable about the rules, you should buy the Official Guide to the Rules of Golf which includes many clarifications of the rules.  If you want to increase your rules skills you can go to the USGA web site where they have rules quizzes that you can take.  Many of the questions in the quiz are difficult to answer.  It makes a difference whether one is playing stroke play or match play, where the ball is on the course, etc.  The details matter.  While the USGA and R&A have simplified the rules, common sense is not going to be enough to make the correct ruling.  After you get proficient in the rules consider volunteering with your local golf association to give back to this great game we all love.