Quote:
Originally Posted by Johneli
atticus; I take no issue with you at all, but this is what bothers me about golf and many golfers in general. Think about what football would be like without an introspective look at the sport and then making adjustments periodically. Ie. Instant replay, more stringent penalties for roughing passer etc.
Why should golf be any different? Why don't we analyze this game and look for improvements instead of just accepting everything that's come before as set in stone? Why have rules that defy logic just because they exist and have existed for some time? Why not let common sense dictate changes that will make newcomers to the game say,"you know what...that makes sense to me!"
So, with no offense intended, who cares if something has been on the books for a long time? I think it's time to start streamlining the game itself like we have the equipment.
Just think where we would be if we had stuck with the original equipment instead of using common sense to implement change just because wooden shafts and clubheads had been around for awhile?
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It's not a case of never questioning, it's a case of accepting the governing bodies as knowing what they are doing, and of educating ourselves on the rules and their underlying principles to help us understand what the game of golf is.
You have said earlier that you question
everything in your life. I cant imagine being so suspicious and cynical that I would feel the compulsion to do that. I question things that seem to need it, I don't take anything at face value without reason. Certainly question politicians... they ask for it in everything they do.
But for most things in life there is no reason to question. Certainly not golf... it's a
game for Pete's sake. As for any game, the rules are what they are, and they are going to be established and set by some sort of controlling body. That body is going to know the aims and principles of the game they oversee better than you or I. I make an effort to study and understand the underpinnings of the game, but I don't profess to have the foundation that the members of the USGA Rules committee have. I don't always have to like the way every rule and every situation treats the player (especially when I'm on the short end of it), but I do have some understanding of why they are written as they are, and I accept the necessity of maintaining the integrity of the game.
Those who argue against these so called "ridiculous" rules have been given some good solid reasons for the treatment of those rules, yet they refuse to see the reasoning or accept the logic. Golf is a game, and like any game it is defined by its rules. Just like baseball is defined by its rules.
When I was boy we used to play several different forms of baseball and softball because we could rarely get together enough players to play the real game. We played a game called "Chicken Base" where ewe only used first base. We played "Workup" where there were only two or three players at bat, and you worked your way from right filed through all the positions to get the chance to be up, then you only stayed up until you made an out, then you were back in the outfield again. These games were similar to baseball, played with a baseball and bat, but they were most definitely not baseball.
By the same token, golf played by any other rules or principles isn't really golf, it just looks kinda like golf.