Golf is your game and you know it well, right?
Off the top of your head, you can easily recite the last five winners of the Masters (Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir, Tiger Woods, Woods again, and Vijay Singh). You would never mistake a brassie (2-wood) for a mashie (5-iron). You know and properly celebrate the birthday of Bobby Jones (March 17), perhaps the father of American golf. And you already have the dates for this year’s Ryder Cup (Sept. 14-19) circled on your calendar.
But do you really know the game itself? That is, the sacred Rules of Golf, as jointly determined by the game’s esteemed custodians – the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
Let’s find out. Join our golfing buddies, Arnie and Jack, as they head out for a friendly 18-hole round of stroke-play competition. Along the way, they will encounter some unusual situations sure to test their knowledge – and yours – of the game.
1. – On the first hole, Arnie leaves his approach shot 40 feet from the pin. Jack is even better, landing his ball 15 feet from the cup. Because Arnie is farther away, he putts first. Is this an actual rule of golf or merely a longstanding tradition of etiquette?
2. – On the second hole, the two players have their first disagreement. It happens during a brief but severe rain squall that occurs just as Arnie and Jack are putting. Arnie tries to ignore the raindrops, but three-putts from 10 feet. Jack, though, unfurls his umbrella and holds it with one hand while tapping in a 2-foot putt with his other hand. Arnie, miffed, insists Jack cannot use an umbrella while putting and warrants a penalty. Just as adamant, Jack claims his innocence. Which player is correct?
3. – Jack splits the fairway with his tee shot on the third hole, but his ball comes to rest within 1 foot of a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head does not interfere with Jack’s ball, his stance or his swing, but it in his line of sight and it is, he claims, a distraction. He is prepared to take relief, but Arnie objects. Who is correct?
4. – On this short par 3, Jack’s tee shot lands in a greenside bunker, where it comes to rest against a rake. Jack carefully marks his ball and then lifts the rake, but the ball rolls closer to the hole. Every time he returns his ball to that spot, it rolls. He then moves the ball a few inches, not nearer the hole, but still it rolls. Jack tries this several times, but eventually reaches the edge of the bunker. What should he do?
5. – This is a memorable hole for Arnie. His tee shot strays near the tee box of another hole and his ball comes to rest near a permanent ball washer. Because the ball washer is an immovable obstruction, he takes a drop in accordance with the rules – one club length, not nearer the hole – but the ball trickles down a small slope and comes to rest near a bench. Arnie cannot hit his next shot without the bench interfering with his swing. Now what?
6. – Both players put their tee shots in the fairway of this long par 5, but Jack’s ball stops just short of a bunker. Standing at his ball, he cannot see the green because of a large mound on the opposite side of the bunker and so he walks through the sand until he is able to align his shot to the flag, then retreats from the bunker and carefully rakes his footprints. Seeing Arnie’s raised eyebrows, Jack insists he did nothing wrong. Arnie disagrees. Which player is right?
7. – Arnie’s tee shot sails into the right rough, landing just inside the out-of-bounds stakes. Relieved to be in play, he is nonetheless frustrated by an overhanging branch that obstructs his backswing. Because the branch is clearly out-of-bounds, Arnie reaches up and breaks it off. Is he within the rules?
8. – On the eighth hole, it is Jack’s ball that drifts to the out-of-bounds stakes. Because he is unsure, Jack calls Arnie over and together they eye the ball in relation to the stakes. It is, they agree, directly on the out-of-bounds line. They disagree, though, because Jack says being on the line means his ball is in-bounds while Arnie claims it is out-of-bounds. Who has the right interpretation?
9. – Arnie has the shot of the day on the ninth hole, using a 7-iron to drop his ball 2 inches from the cup on a tricky par 3. As he removes the flagstick, though, he inadvertently bumps his ball and it rolls into the hole. Chagrined, Arnie announces that he is assessing himself a one-stroke penalty. Jack, who at first smirks at Arnie’s gaffe, tells his friend he only needs to replace the ball in its original location without penalty. Jack is a generous competitor, but is he correct?
10. – As Arnie and Jack start their second nine, something truly unusual occurs. Arnie’s approach shot lands nicely on the green, but the ball rolls into a paper cup that had been discarded by a previous player. Then, as Arnie and Jack walk onto the green, a gust of wind moves the cup with the ball still inside 6 feet nearer to the hole. Arnie wants to remove the ball from the cup and putt from there, but Jack insists he must return the ball to its previous position. Who is correct?
11. – Jack’s tee shot strays into a lateral water hazard, where it is disappears with a splash. Jack determines where he thinks the ball crossed the margin and takes a drop. Then, just before he takes his next shot, Arnie arrives and points out that Jack’s ball actually crossed the margin several yards nearer to the hole. Arnie proceeds to locate Jack’s ball in the hazard, proving that Jack has actually taken a drop in the wrong spot. He urges Jack to take a drop in the correct spot, but Jack says he must play his dropped ball where it is. What should Jack do?
12. – On the 12th green, Arnie’s ball rolls up and stops next to a broken tee fragment that was left there by a player in an earlier group. Arnie reaches down to remove the tee, but inadvertently moves his ball. He immediately gives himself a one-stroke penalty. Is he correct?
13. – Both players leave their approaches just off the green at No. 13, with Jack’s ball about 3 feet from the putting surface and Arnie’s ball around 25 feet away. Jack’s ball is in a direct line between Arnie’s ball and the hole, and Arnie requests Jack to mark his ball. Do the rules allow Jack to mark his ball off the green?
14. – Both players slice their tee shots on this hole and their balls drop into the deep rough. The balls are quickly found, but Arnie and Jack realize their balls are identical. Also, neither player gave his ball an identifying mark. Since the balls are just 2 feet apart, Arnie suggests they each hit one and continue with their round. Jack, though, suspects there should be some type of penalty. Who wins this dispute?
15. – Jack and Arnie both leave their approach shots short and right of the green. In Jack’s case, his ball rests on the fringe, but Arnie’s ball ends up in a bunker. Because he is further from the hole, he hits first. Arnie blasts his ball to within a few feet of the hole, much to his delight. Jack, though, is unhappy because Arnie has sprayed sand all around his ball, and even dropped a blob of wet sand on top of the ball. Jack wants to tidy up both his ball and his putting line to the hole, but Arnie demurs since Jack’s ball is not on the green and therefore, he claims, is not to be touched. Which player is right?
16. – As he prepares for his approach shot to the 16th green, Arnie discovers his 9-iron is not in his bag. It must still be in his car, he realizes, which is just a short jog away from the 16th fairway. Arnie has time to go fetch his 9-iron without impeding play, but do the rules allow him to do so since the club was not in his bag at the beginning of the round?
17. – Arnie hits a dandy approach to the green, leaving his ball 6 feet from the pin, but as he approaches his ball he shifts his putter from one hand to the other so he can take a ball marker from his pocket, and in doing so he drops his putter, bumping his ball 8 inches closer to the hole. What should he do?
18. – On No. 18, Jack has an 8-foot birdie putt to win the round. His putt looks good, but instead lips the cup and stops 2 inches away. Frustrated at his near-miss, Jack takes the handle of his putter and pokes the ball in the hole, like hitting a cue ball with a pool cue. Assuming he has tied with his friend, Jack reaches out to shake Arnie’s hand, only to see the other man’s arms raised in triumph. Does Arnie know something Jack doesn’t?
For the answers, click here.
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