Golf: I don't get the rules of the game!!!!!!!!

[Clarence Martin]

For all the Golfers out there, explain the rules to me. I just don't get it!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the big deal about making everyone be quiet when the player makes a swing on the club or putting the ball in the hole ? Everyone has to be whisper quiet or God forbid, the Golfer looses his concentration !:rolleyes: I have played the game with headphones playing Led Zeppelin!!!!:D I didn't need the quiet!!

Like I said , I don't get why I can hit the ball to the hole with music blasting , and other Golfers need complete silence!

:confused:

[Scott Donley]

I am with you. They are holding the US Open about a mile from my house this week. They closed down the hiking trails, park, access to the beach, the dog park, starting six weeks ago. This week all the roads are closed for 10 blocks around the course, I had to go an extra 4 miles just to get to my gun club Monday. The city is paying 50.000 for extra security when we are already in over 50 million owed for a failed project. To park, you have to park you have to park in another city 14 miles away and take the shuttle.
All this so a bunch of over paid men can hit a golf ball around what use to be a sand pit in the quiet.

I will add, we have no fine restaurants, hotels, or motels here.

[John Lanciani]

Like I said , I don't get why I can hit the ball to the hole with music blasting , and other Golfers need complete silence!

:confused:

That's why you're not winning 7 figure purses and flying in your own jet.

[paul cottingham]

Anyone who wants to tell me hitting a golf ball (well) is harder than hitting a fastball, or a one timer in hockey or lacrosse or catching a football on the edge of the field with 3 guys who make me seem tiny bearing down on them, well, I don't buy that for a second. And those other sports are played with a huge amount of crowd noise.

Golfers are big babies, and every time I see the silence thing happen during a game, I laugh. It's ridiculous.

[Jim Koepke]

I made my money in golf by carrying the bags and raking the traps.

Most of the time being quiet doesn't keep those duffers from making a bad shot.

Before computers all the 'hackers' were playing golf.

jtk

[Wade Lippman]

Hitting a fastball or catching a football requires absolute concentration; the athlete doesn't even notice the noise.
In golf, nothing is moving; concentration isn't required, so the least little distraction can be a problem.

I haven't played golf in 45 years, so my opinion might not be all that valuable.

[John Donofrio]

Before computers all the 'hackers' were playing golf.

jtk

They still are! This from someone that does both.

To the OP. The game of golf is at least 80% mental, many would say more. Sure some physical ability is needed but you do not have to hit the ball from the tee 350+ yards to be decent at golf. You do, however, have to know where the ball is going and to do that takes an enormous amount of focus. I'm not one of the anal ones about noise but I do prefer those around me show some etiquette when I'm approaching the ball.

[Dan Bundy]

Sam Snead once pointed out to Ted Williams that hitting a golf ball was harder because baseball players don't have to play their foul balls.

Sustained noise doesn't always bother the golfers. Check out some of the first tee action in recent Ryder Cups when the golfers were actually exhorting the crowds to get loud. It's when it's very quiet and then a sudden, unexpected noise occurs that it gets to them. I suppose if the noise was deafening and then went dead silent in the backswing it might also throw them.

[Bruce Page]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okkhgZim5Ig

[Mike Henderson]

I don't understand golf, either. It takes all day, it's expensive, and it's meaningless. Even if I were to become a better golfer, what purpose would it serve?

There are many, many things I'd prefer to do than play golf. However, I get roped into playing occasionally by my wife.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

For all the Golfers out there, explain the rules to me. I just don't get it!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the big deal about making everyone be quiet when the player makes a swing on the club or putting the ball in the hole ? Everyone has to be whisper quiet or God forbid, the Golfer looses his concentration !:rolleyes: I have played the game with headphones playing Led Zeppelin!!!!:D I didn't need the quiet!!

Like I said , I don't get why I can hit the ball to the hole with music blasting , and other Golfers need complete silence!

:confused:

The prize money riding on your ability to make one shot is not nearly as significant as theirs ;-)

[Tom M King]

Being quiet is not in the rules. It's just courtesy. I enjoy golf as much as making sawdust and shavings-especially playing for someone else's money. I'm sure a lot of people think woodworkers spending weekends in their garage making something, or coddling a new tool think there's some weirdness there too.

[David Ragan]

I think it is totally boring, and have never seen the attraction-too expensive, time consuming, etc. Some folks must really love it though-not me.

[Jim Matthews]

I don't understand golf, either. It takes all day and it's meaningless. Mike

You understand the game perfectly.

[Tom M King]

Almost every shot requires some sort of finesse, and no shot are you simply trying to make contact or kill the ball, even with the driver. It requires skill that doesn't come easy.

One hole as an example where you only need to hit straight shots. It's a par 5 565 yard hole. The fairway narrows to 30 yards wide at the top of the hill 280 yards away. You know the maximum you can hit your driver is 285 yards. If you hit it hard enough to crest the top of the hill, it will roll for another 30 yards. You're playing in a group of four for $100 per hole. That's $300 profit if you win this hole, and most likely cost you a hundred if you put one in the woods. Are you going to lay up, and play safe, or are you going for the top the hill? At best, if you do, there are other variables, and possible trouble on your second shot. This is one shot of 72, if you make par on the course.

It might be boring watching it on TV, if you don't understand the game, but it's rarely boring playing, even on a bad day.

[Jim Matthews]

Golf is for people that don't care to walk outdoors with a hunting rifle or fishing rod.

Their prey is more elusive. As an avid tennis player I can honestly say golf is more difficult.
As a former hockey player, I can't honestly say it's a sport anymore than billiards is a sport.

Just look at John Daly and his $20 Million in tour winnings.
Our local scrap metal collector is in better shape.

[paul cottingham]

Sorry, but I don't believe hitting a stationary ball is harder than hitting a moving one, or that it requires more concentration. It just defies logic.

[James Tibbetts]

So how did we get from "explain the rules" to everything is easier than golf? How can you compare team sports to individual ones? OK, it's harder to hit a fast ball than one that is sitting still. But then what? You have maybe 400 feet from foul pole to foul pole to land your shot and your the hero. If you fly out, oh well better luck next time. Lose the game; hey we'll get 'em tomorrow. On the bus back to the hotel and pick up your check. Now for golf. Hit in the woods; take a few extra shots you go home on Friday night. No check. Just the bills for you and your caddy for a few days. Caddy gets paid, you don't.

Can there be any bigger babies or prima donna's than baseball players? A little rain, "Waaa we have to go in; cover the field we might get a little mud on our shoes!!
Gimme a break!!!! Football, soccer, golf pretty much keep going.

[David Ragan]

Golf is for people that don't care to walk outdoors with a hunting rifle or fishing rod.

Their prey is more elusive. As an avid tennis player I can honestly say golf is more difficult.
As a former hockey player, I can't honestly say it's a sport anymore than billiards is a sport.

Just look at John Daly and his $20 Million in tour winnings.
Our local scrap metal collector is in better shape.

Man, that is BRUTAL:D! (All in good fun.) Would it be a pun to say different strokes........?

[James Tibbetts]

As to the OP's question there are basically 2 rules. Play the course as you find it. Play the balls it lies. Most all the other rules are to address instances of not following the first 2 rules. (And establish the conditions of the contest).

[Mark Blatter]

I always thought the rules of golf should be changed to make it a contact sport. Have roaming linebackers that can strike out of the blue. Have paintball shooters hiding on the course. Make it a real game, with the possibility of real injury. Not simply I pulled a muscle.

That is just my $.02 and I have never played the game in my life. Bowling, now there is a real man's sport.

[Pat Barry]

First off, hitting a golf ball 'accurately' is very difficult because the margin for error is very small. The problem with noise is 1) people learn to golf in peace and quiet - is there something wrong with that? 2) if there was all kinds of noise it would blend together - its the surprise of an unanticipated noise spike that causes problems. It would be equally bad for a tennis player, a baseball player, a hockey player or what have you, including chopping a dovetail precisely. Infact it would be worse for those other sports if you took away the noise instantly at a critical moment

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I absolutely can't stand golf- or any ball sport for that matter. I stopped playing games when I left elementary school. I think paying someone $millions to play schoolyard games is a travesty, but I realize I am not the majority.

That said, I am forced to go to events that the company I work for sponsors. One such event is the PGA tournament. At the one in Bermuda I played host, so I had an all-access VIP pass. I went to the edge of the putting green as the players teed off. Sorry, the only name I remember is Angel Cabrerra, who won. These guys teed off and the ball went 300 yards and landed smack on the green and stopped dead. As a pool player (the only ball sport I play) I could see that they somehow put English on the ball. I will say, I was impressed with that.

What impressed me more, however, was the camera man who could follow the ball through the air all the way from the tee to the green. Wow. Those guys are skilled.

What impressed me most was Angel Cabrera's wife's priorities. She was in the clubhouse watching the game on live video feed with her 2yo son. The game went into sudden death and Angel was playing another guy for the win. This guy was about to win a lifetime's salary in his country of Argentina. He was about to make the winning putt and his wife was standing next to me watching on the TV when her son wandered out the door. He was safe, believe me- security guards everywhere. She looked at the TV with an anguished look, and ran out the door after the boy, missing seeing Angel win the game. Her priorities are in the right place. I will never forget that, and hold high respect for her. They seemed to me not to be swayed by money. Oh, by the way, Tiger Woods decided to no-show, which was a huge diss to Bermudians who were waiting to welcome him. Quite a contrast to the attitude of the Cabreras.

[Bill McNiel]

OK, here is my two cents.

I played both Division 1 Football and Baseball (was on a National Championship team), was on the USA National Volleyball Team and now play a lot of golf. I was and am still considered an athlete. I love the game but am not always pleased with how I play it. I can still hit 250' fungoes (baseballs) to a hula hoop in the outfield all day long and yet way too often miss hit a putt (stationary ball struck with a flat stick and a pendulum stroke). I firmly believe the game of golf was invented to prove to us how mentally weak we are as a species (I have one swing thought and can't remember it with a club in my hand). Golf is, without question, a sport.

I fully agree that the whole noise thing is Falderall. Fans should be able to yell, scream and whistle. Tiger's "rabbit ears" phobia is ridiculous. We frequently play with music streaming. Some of my best shots ever were hit during "Horseraces", that is when all the other contestants are standing around you peppering you with verbal abuse and insults.

Bottom line on the appeal of golf - I get to spend 4 1/2 hrs with very nice people on a beautiful property, "talking story", laughing and swearing, walking about 7 miles up and down hills, all while testing both my mental and physical abilities (sometimes in an altered state of mind).

BTW 1 - Professional athletes are paid so much money because of the revenue they create and golf is one of the few sports that compensates its athletes based on their most recent performance as opposed to what they did last season or what future expectations may be.

BTW 2 - It is estimated that the US Open will generate approx. $150 million in revenue for the State of Washington this year.

BTW- there are worse rules in golf (ie. one can repair a ball mark but not a spike mark on a green).

[Jim Koepke]

Gimme a break!!!! Football, soccer, golf pretty much keep going.

This makes two things come to mind.

One was the gang of eight. They were a bunch of players that would play no matter what. They would even putt or hit out of traps in torrential rain. Thanks be to the maker that I didn't caddy on rainy days. Actually only carried for these crazies once. They almost ran over the full course.

The other I think was about Lee Trevino. Him and some buddies were playing when a lightning storm rolled in. Trevino was holding up his one iron and someone warned him to get it down and put away. Trevino looked at them and said something to the effect of, "No worries, even God can't hit a one iron."

jtk

[Ole Anderson]

Constant noise isn't a problem. Some holes on certain tours actually have bleachers with cheering fans. The problem is being startled by a distractive noise just as you swing when all is quiet otherwise. Yank your shot by just five degrees and you are in the woods or water. Golf looks easy on TV. It isn't. I never intended to take up golf, it looked like a silly game to me. But then I could look across the street from my office and see my partners out on the course while I was working. Thought there might be something to it.

[Jim Matthews]

Make it a real game, with the possibility of real injury.

You just excluded most sports that don't involve contact.
I would submit that racquetball and squash are real sports.

Contact between players is prohibited.


Bowling, now there is a real man's sport.
If you can drink during play, and remain competitive - it's not a sport.

[Jim Matthews]

I think paying someone $millions to play schoolyard games is a travesty, but I realize I am not the majority.
That doesn't mean you're wrong.

[Jim Koepke]

I never intended to take up golf, it looked like a silly game to me.

My cousin tried to get me interested. My only interest was those guys in silly looking get up would pay a teenager good money to carry their clubs around and listen to them swear.

jtk

[Larry Browning]

Roger Hornsby put it best when he said "I don't play golf. When I hit a ball I want someone else to go chase it."

[whit richardson]

Well said, well played.

[whit richardson]

Lots of hating on golfers but why? They do their thing/sport and others do what they like doing. The game rules are straight up least strokes wins and yes with a few other modifications (mulliagans, rough lay, etc.). I'm an older type that was able to work as a a caddy at the local Caddyshack type club (exclusive and rich$) as a teenager. Man lugging those expensive bags and clubs around on a hot day, spotting at the dog legs and ducking the shankers and slicers while keeping track of each players ball for them was something else. Still I learned an appreciation from the good players of the game while I didn't care to play myself. Lots of business was done, large sums of money I expect were made or missed on the links and still today. But I also caddied for players who enjoyed a sunny quiet day, enjoying their sport, companionship with no orange pants. So I give them their due.

About not needing athletic ability.. later I worked at club where I got the play for fun when the club pro's went out and watching a good player torque a 300+ yd drive over some 60 ft trees on a dog leg onto the green in one is way beyond just some skill and attention. I got to be a passable player hitting par on PGA class holes (on the course they filmed part of Tin Cup on) but never took up the game seriously. Just that I got to know some nice folks that had that passion for it and I don't think it's fair to criticize without knowing more about the game. There are scratch players and duffers. Woodworking has the same range of "players". Golf takes a lot of shots from folks I think because it's seen more like for the Caddyshack types, the rich exclusive snobby folks. But check out the local county courses and there a bunch of folks whacking away with they're limited clubs and bags too.

Carl Spackler (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000195/?ref_=tt_trv_qu): This crowd has gone deadly silent, a Cinderella story outta nowhere. Former greenskeeper and now about to become the masters champion." Bill Murray from Caddyshack.

[Steve Peterson]

I absolutely can't stand golf- or any ball sport for that matter. I stopped playing games when I left elementary school. I think paying someone $millions to play schoolyard games is a travesty, but I realize I am not the majority.

I am with you Malcolm. Never played much of any sport since PE in high school. Never watch any sports on TV and some years am completely unaware that there is a super bowl or a world series going on. I've got much better things to do with my time.

It does make it a bit awkward when my 9 year old son wants to play flag football because a few of his friends play. I realize that he has never watched a single game and probably doesn't know any of the rules.

Steve

[Prashun Patel]

Out on the road today I saw a Dead Head sticker on a cadillac.

It said, "Woodworking is for people who can't golf."

Those days are gone forever. I should just let 'em go, but....

[Mike Henderson]

There was a couple in my area that retired and bought a house in Nevada on a golf course so the husband could play golf EVERY day. I often wonder what they're going to say about him at his funeral - maybe "He had a good handicap". What a legacy to leave! There are so many more productive things that a person can do rather than waste their time playing golf every day.

I include as productive making furniture for your family - furniture that will pass down to your descendants and be used daily for hundreds of years. But also, helping to build houses with Habitat for Humanity - houses that will provide shelter for less fortunate people for many, many years. That's a lot better legacy to leave than "I played golf EVERY day".

Mike

[Scott Shepherd]

There was a couple in my area that retired and bought a house in Nevada on a golf course so the husband could play golf EVERY day. I often wonder what they're going to say about him at his funeral - maybe "He had a good handicap". What a legacy to leave! There are so many more productive things that a person can do rather than waste their time playing golf every day.

I include as productive making furniture for your family - furniture that will pass down to your descendants and be used daily for hundreds of years. But also, helping to build houses with Habitat for Humanity - houses that will provide shelter for less fortunate people for many, many years. That's a lot better legacy to leave than "I played golf EVERY day".

Mike

That's their choice. Just like your choice is to make furniture for your family. It's all relative. A lot of people work really hard their entire life and many do great things for a lot of people. That person playing golf every day might be making million dollar deals on the course to send mosquito nets to people in Africa. You don't know. They might do more to help people in one hour that you or I could do in a lifetime.

[Larry Browning]

Let me say that I am not a golfer. But I do enjoy occupying my time with totally unproductive activities. Now, there are lots of options when it comes to unproductive activities. The ones that do come to mind for me are watching movies and sports on TV. I watched my beloved Rangers beat the Dodgers AGAIN last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I stayed up too late and had a hard time dragging myself out of bed this morning. I could have been down in the shop working on a piece of furniture I am building for a family friend. I would have gone to bed much earlier and had that satisfying feeling that I had done something productive. But I do not regret it for a second. Everyone needs to do the things that make them happy in their lives. Otherwise, we would lead rather dull and unhappy lives. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is really true. I suppose for others only doing productive activities is the only thing that make them happy, and I say good for them, but they shouldn't judge others enjoying useless activities.
Oh yeah, another unproductive activity I enjoy is hanging out in the off topic forum at SMC when I should be doing my job!

[Bruce Page]

I'm not a golfer but I respect the rights of the 50 million people world wide that play.
I have never understood why mocking someone's sport, hobby, purchases, etc. is such fun. I remember when I bought my first expensive superbike off the showroom floor. Some thought I was nuts, a complete waste of money. It's my money, my time, cripes! As long as I didn't rob a bank who are you to judge! Most of us have many thousands of dollars of equipment sitting in our garage's/shops. Is it a wise investment? In most cases it's not but it's what we enjoy doing.

JMHO

[Mike Henderson]

That's their choice. Just like your choice is to make furniture for your family. It's all relative. A lot of people work really hard their entire life and many do great things for a lot of people. That person playing golf every day might be making million dollar deals on the course to send mosquito nets to people in Africa. You don't know. They might do more to help people in one hour that you or I could do in a lifetime.
I know that person. I can absolutely assure you he was not "making million dollar deals on the course to send mosquito nets to people in Africa". He was playing golf with his buddies and drinking.

Nor did he "make million dollar deals to send mosquito nets to people in Africa" during his career.

Mike

[Scott Shepherd]

That's fine, so now we get to pick and choose who gets to do what in their retirement? Doesn't sound like a place I want to live.

[Brett Luna]

As a very (veryvery) occasional golfer with a slice so bad that I have to duck, I say a big ol' phooey to those who insist it isn't a sport. What have the other sports got? Neanderthals hit stuff with clubs and look where they are today. Purse snatchers can run like the dickens...the good ones, anyway. Hockey reminds me of my uncles fighting over the last biscuit on Sunday morning. And hey, the Easter Bunny stuffs baskets, too.

I can't hit a fast ball to save my life but hitting a good drive off the tee isn't exactly a natural act, either. It takes more than a fair degree of hand-eye-body coordination. Being off just a little can mean the difference between the green and the bunker. A little more and you're in the woods. More than that and you're...well...me.

[Bob Turkovich]

I'm surprised no one has brought up the case of free throws in basketball. Here is a situation where the only possible variation from shot-to-shot is the noise & visual conditions in which it is taken (i.e, the distance of the shot, the height of the rim, the weather conditions, etc. are the same for every shot). Yet, it is common for the home crowd to be deadly quiet when it is their turn and yet scream like maniacs when it is their opponent's turn. Maybe the noise does matter when you're trying to concentrate when the game situation doesn't require instinctive/reactionary movement.

Every golf shot is like a free throw except no two conditions are the same. Weather, terrain, course conditions and course design all have an effect on the shot you're about to play. The other important aspect is that golf is based on providing the same opportunity for success for everyone. I don't think quiet is necessary but, with all the other variables involved, it is important to keep it constant at some level and it is much easier to do that than have a constant din.



I don't understand golf, either. It takes all day, it's expensive, and it's meaningless. Even if I were to become a better golfer, what purpose would it serve?


Mike


You understand the game perfectly.

I've played golf for 51 of my 64 years - a lot longer than I've done woodworking. Here's a few reasons why I don't think it's meaningless:

It is an activity you can do by yourself or as a group. It provides a moderate level of exercise (particularly if you walk - 18 holes will give you over 4 miles of exercise). It provides a mental challenge due to the constantly changing conditions. It provides a great opportunity for social interaction between people of various backgrounds. I have started (and maintained) many friendships over the years by being randomly placed in foursomes.

The handicap system allows people to have fair and friendly competition with each other regardless of their respective abilities. Name another physical activity that a 40 year old father can do with his fledgling 13 year-old child and then later continue to do so when the father is in his 60's and has lost some of his physical ability (and spend 4 to 5 hours together doing so). Yes, I've built furniture with both of my children - I consider the time spent together doing the same enjoyable thing to be priceless regardless of the activity.

Finally, if it wasn't for golf, I would not have met my beautiful bride of 37 years...

Mike, there is no way I can compare golf to the selflessness of Habitat (as you mentioned in your later post). I do not see the need, however, to belittle
the joy that some people get in participating in something that they love.

Lastly, I'll share my favorite picture of my son and eldest grandson. I just hope that when my grandson becomes old enough that I'll be able to go a friendly 9-holes with him.
315881

[Pat Barry]

Wow - some responses here - haters gotta hate is great description.

[Prashun Patel]

My father has been an avid - er - religious golfer for 30 years. It's a passion for him as woodworking is my passion. I understand the beauty and subtleties of the game and its rules of etiquette through his eyes. It's every bit as poignant and beautiful as my appreciation for a piece of wood, elegant design, or good craftsmanship.

The rules that seem to you pointless are a signal of respect. How a person comports himself on the course, amidst frustration and the temptation to cheat says volumes about him. How he waits for your shot, or helps you look for your ball, or monopolizes conversation. It's a great revealer of character.

I realize the majority here may view this as a lot of horse pucky, and you're welcome to your opinion, but if you talk with a person who 'gets' the game, you may find there's more to this book than its green cover.

To put this into perspective: today I was listening to Monday's Woodtalk podcast. A caller waxed poetic about finding a piece of spalted maple on the underside of a pallet. The hosts and I (as I bet most people here) thought, "good on you! great find." The average golfer (except my Dad, god Bless him!!) would think it odd that we relish a partially rotten board found in the garbage.

[Dave Anderson NH]

All of us are different and have different interests and priorities. How dull this world would be if we all had the same interests and passions. To put a point on it: Different strokes for different folks.

[Scott Shepherd]

Timely post from today.....playing 100 rounds of golf, this 6 year old raised $25,000 for a charity.

http://mashable.com/2015/06/18/ryan-mcguire-golf-charity/

[Jim Matthews]

Out on the road today I saw a Dead Head sticker on a cadillac.

It said, "Golf is for people who don't have to raise children."

Those days are gone forever. I should just let 'em go, but....

Fixed that for ya.

[paul cottingham]

Yep, even though I admit I hate playing the game, I can absolutely see the appeal. My dad loved golfing, and we actually had some very nice afternoons playing nine holes together.

I confess I enjoy watching it as well, but I stand by my earlier comment, if you can't hit a shot without silence, then I kinda think you need to play another sport. Every other athlete in practically every other pro sport I can think of perform feats of great accuracy and precision in very noisy conditions.

there is no reason whatsoever golfers can't do the same.