Ten rules they should have added to the book

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28: The new Rules of Golf were published on Monday — not that it matters much to most golfers, because hardly anyone reads them.

I’ve come up with 10 rules that should be in the new book.

1. Anyone with an 18 handicap or above should be allowed in the fairway to lift clean and place there ball (but not not nearer the hole). Anyone with a 36 handicap should be allowed to do that anywhere on the golf course. We play golf to hit nice shots not get frustrated. When I am playing for fun, (not in a match), I always put the ball on a good lie, this protects the course and I hit better shots.
2. Disqualification for anyone doing too many practice swings. Keegan Bradley is an example for us all — no practice swings. He just gets on with it, once he is over the ball.
3. A life ban from golf for anyone that insists on telling me blow by blow of every shot they took of their round. Telling everyone about your one or two good shots is fine. Any more than that and it’s just painful!
4. A two-shot penalty to anyone on the last few holes that says something like, ‘you’re playing well’, ‘your score is’. That is guaranteed to cause a bad score on the next hole.
5. Ditto for anyone who comes out with such statements as “You’re driving it really well,” or “You haven’t missed a four-footer all day.”
6. Removal from the course for anyone who wears a patterned short and patterned shirt. If the shirt is patterned then the shorts must be plain or vice versa. Fashion seems not to have moved forward since Caddyshack.
7. Depending on your handicap you would be allowed a number of mulligans. I always have a bad hole — especially off the tee. Having a free go would really help me!
8. Players to play from the appropriate tee boxes. Too many people play from the wrong tees, and it slows the game up. Only players with a five handicap or better should play from the back tees. Golfers over 65 should automatically play from a forward tee in all competitions. I see too many players that just cannot hit the ball
9. A two-week ban for anyone that insists that they play as a twosome then complains that the course is slow and there are people in front of them. If they want to play fast, book one of the first tee times. Don’t turn up at a busy weekend at 10am and bitch about the speed of play is more than three hours.
10. Anything that allows people to enjoy the game more should be allowed. Long putters seem to be working for tour players at the moment, but more importantly it allows players that struggle with their putting to play more.

The average golfers can be excused for not wanting to learn the rules. After all, they can be confusing. I speak from experience.

I passed the PGA’s Rules exam and consider myself confident of knowing the rules.

But it is not easy to be sure of the rules as many times they seem very unfair.

You don’t need to be a lawyer to read and understand the rules of golf but it helps!