Would You Use Non Conforming Golf Equipment to Lower Your Scores?

Let's face it; most of us will never play golf well enough to win a tournament, or play on an amateur golf tour, let alone the PGA TOUR. Speaking for myself, playing golf has become less frequent over the years as other responsibilities have taken "golf-time" out of my week. When I do have the opportunity to go out and play a round of golf, I want to score well and have fun while doing it. So basically, I want to score better than I do now despite being able to practice less. Makes a lot of sense, right? Not so much.

Many golf equipment manufacturers have pinpointed people like me to market their latest 'quick fix' products and are making a financial killing in the process. And why shouldn't they? After all, nobody really cares howyou got to break 100, 90, or 80 this past weekend. What's the harm in using a product that provides... a bit of a lift to your game?

Products like the Polara golf ball, for example, advertise that not only will they help keep your ball in the fairway, but you will enjoy the game of golf more in the end because of lower golf scores. Fun is a good thing last time anyone checked, and the folks at companies like Polara know how to market toward that cause.

But then that pesky little thing called a conscience sneaks up in the back of the player's mind. How in the world will you know if your golf game is improving if the equipment you use is literally designed to keep the ball in play? Golf is a game for gentlemen and ladies; who are we to sully tradition by using doo-hickeys and widgets that disallow our golf balls to find the bottom of a lake instead of the bottom of the cup? Golf's forefathers are spinning in their graves!

Yet... hold on just a second. What is really at stake here? Do I not have the right to the pursuit of golf happiness? Am I not inclined to spend my hard-earned money in healthy ways to make myself happy while playing a game I enjoy?

It is a question less of etiquette and more of personal preference. Nobody is going to jail because they used a 500cc driver, but they also aren't really improving their game by doing so, either.

What say you, fellow golf enthusiasts?

(The above piece originally appeared on the now defunct Waggleroom blog, written by this author.)

Golf Rule on Moving Ball Soon Off the Books

The Rules of Golf is a large, punitive manual saturated with laws and regulations that often seem to do nothing more than penalize the golfer (especially the amateur golfer).  Over the past couple of years, many of the lesser-known rules have been under the microscope thanks mainly to a few golfers in the professional ranks not paying attention.  However, one particular rule is about to change for golfers everywhere. According to a recent article on the New York Times website, Rule 18-2b, which governs the movement of a ball after it has been addressed by a player during competition, was being modified to eliminate a player’s stance as one of two banned factors for causing a ball to move.

“Basically we’re changing the definition of addressing the ball going into the future,” said the official, who had knowledge of the discussions about the revision but did not want to be identified because the change had not been formally approved.

“The ball will be addressed when the player places the club in front of or behind the ball. It won’t have anything to do with the stance; it won’t say anything about a stance. They’re taking the stance part out.”

Why is this an important distinction?  Consider the case of Padraig Harrington earlier this season.  While marking his ball on the putting surface in a recent tournament, Harrington's golf ball appeared to oscillate ever-so-slightly once his coin marker was placed under the ball.  This motion was so slight, in fact, that Harrington went on with finishing the hole as if nothing happened.  Harrington was later disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after a television viewer notified tournament officials of the rule violation.

Once the above-mentioned rule change takes place, this situation would not have ended in a penalty or disqualification.  Since Harrington had not yet addressed his ball with his club when it moved, no rule would have been violated.

While the rule revision is not yet official, the NY Times article suggests that changes will be finalized as early as next calendar year.