Quote:
Originally Posted by GolfSavage
We are obviously not bound by the USGA and R&A rules outside their sanctioned competitions or handicapping system, yet it has been stated by some that not playing by those rules means you're not really playing "golf". I find that absurd, as the USGA and R&A may own the set of rules they print, but that doesn't give them ownership over everything "golf". So abide by their rules when necessary to do so, otherwise, keep it "fair and equitable".
Does your son play baseball by the MLB rules? If not, does that mean he's not really playing baseball? Do high school and college football teams follow the same rules as the NFL? No, of course not. But it's still football!
As long as you're attempting to place a small ball into a hole in the ground using various lofted clubs in the fewest number of strokes, it's a form of golf!
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You can rationalize it any way you want to, but the rules are the only thing that defines any game, and the only rules for golf are established and maintained by the USGA and the R & A. If you want to actually play golf as it is recognized around the world, then you play by the rules they set. If you ever want to be able to talk about the game, compare notes on performance with someone from another part of the US or overseas, then you have to play by the same rules they play by, or the discussion is meaningless.
The rules of golf are NOT just something invented for professional golfers to obey. They are the rules of the game, period, and any general discussion about golf assumes that those rules are in force, otherwise you are talking about a different game. It may superficially resemble golf, but I'm sorry, it isn't golf. I usually call it "Goofy Golf".
Using your own example of baseball, while amateur softball leagues don't play by MLB rules, they still have a written rulebook and they are still required to play by those rules. Each team doesn't just make them up as they go along. It just so happens that golf is better organized than baseball/softball, thus the only 2 governing bodies are in in accord on how the game is to be played, and there are NO lesser organizations which are sanctioned to create rules or forms of play. If I go to Scotland, or to India, or to Australia, I will still be playing the same game because I play by the only rules for the game, and those rules are recognized around the world.
So you can say you're playing golf if that's what you want, but the moment you step outside of your little group of friends, your rules will be unrecognized, and your accomplishments will be meaningless.
