GOLF - About the Rules
by Kevin Keene
If you know that you don't know everything about the rules of the golf, the most obvious solution is to get a rule book and read it. Or, first, read this article below.
It's quite interesting and knowing the rules well can save you strokes at times. The rules also state, right up in the front of the rule book "Play the course as you find it." In other words play the ball down and the course conditions are the same for everyone.
I hate tournaments that play "winter rules" except for scrambles. Playing winter rules or preferred lies is not playing golf. Than again scrambles aren't really golf either, but are a lot of fun. Trust me on this, if you're not playing the ball as it lies you will hinder the progress of your improvement.
The other thing which will most slow your improvement down is "creative scoring." Someone has a great saying he uses in regard to this matter. "I make my triple bogies the old fashion way; I earn them!" Cute, but none the less very ethical. Being out-ethics is the surest way I know of putting stops on any progress. So if you miss a two footer, count it. No matter what score you come in with you'll have a better day. Stay still and keep quiet when another is going through his routine and playing a stroke.
I have good peripheral vision, and the thing that can throw me the most is the early walk or lean that comes into view. Just stay still until the ball is in the air. Talking is rude, but whispering is worse. At times if you've been annoyed by someone whispering while you are shooting, go over and nicely say "You know I could hear you whispering over there and it sort of bothered me." I'm amazed at the times I've heard back "you couldn't have heard us whispering" to which I reply "Well, how did I know you were whispering then." Of course, there is no good answer to that and you get your point across...
On the other side of that coin, is however, that there are just going to be times when someone talks or makes noise somewhere on the course, and the better you get at blocking out annoyances the better off you'll be. The only way you can try to "psych' another player out is with your game.
It is a much stronger psych-out than any words could ever be, especially when it comes to putting, and making par when it looked like a sure bogey. And never give up on any shot or hole unless it is mathematically impossible to halve the hole and even then you'll only pick up so as to move along to the next hole. Giving up constitutes a psych-out on yourself. You may not want to throw another player off of his game. You want your game to be what wins, not the downfall of another. It's more "sporting" that way!
We hope this article has helped you to understand better the game of golf.
About the Author
Kevin Keene is a contributing writer at Body Sports, writing reviews of paintball-guns. He also is a freelance writer contributing articles on golf,kingman-spyder-paintball-guns, and winter rules.
