Quote:
Originally Posted by Fourputt
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.  |
What an elitist attitude! Who sanctions the governing bodies? There's no Congressional meetings, no Parliamentary proceeding, no UN resolution that gives the USGA and R&A exclusivity when it comes to golf. It's the people who play the game who decide what body governs the sport, and what rules they will abide. There is absolutely no reason there cannot be another organization of players who agree to a set of rules for what they consider to be golf, with the basic play of the game the same, or changes made in any form they see fit. And no reason those same players could not also compete in USGA competition and hold a USGA recognized handicap. Just because some organization is the self-proclaimed golf authority doesn't make it so.
I compared baseball to baseball, not softball to baseball. Softball and baseball are two different sports. But Little League, high school, college baseball and MLB are quite different in many aspects, but their basic premise is the same. A college player can use an aluminum bat, but that doesn't nullify the fact that he hits .305 for the season, or mean that he will be surprised to find out he has to use a wooden bat when he makes the minor leagues. So at different levels of play different allowances are made.
From what I am told, there are 2 types of rugby leagues, with some major rules differences. But it is still considered rugby.
When our NBA basketball players go to the Olympics, they have to adjust to the international rules. It doesn't mean they weren't playing basketball before the Olympics, or that what they play in the Olympics is not basketball. It's just different forms of the game.
We have scrambles, best balls, match play, stroke play, bingo bango bongo, and many other forms of "golf". Winter rules, improving your lie, mulligans, and other variations from the "rules" are known and played by millions of golfers. How many of them are going to play in a USGA tourney and tee up another shot on the first tee, saying they're taking a mulligan? Or who's going to nudge their ball out of a divot because "me and my buddies always do that!"?
So, yes, knowing and playing by USGA rules will make you a better prepared golfer
IF YOU PLAN TO PLAY IN USGA EVENTS. It won't necessarily make you a "better golfer". I'd venture a guess that 90% or more of the people playing golf will NEVER compete in a USGA / R&A event, so why expect those same recreational golfers to strictly adhere to every nuance of the "official rules", when all they want to do is enjoy a day on the course? If making adjustments that suit them and their golf buddies adds to their enjoyment, why try to belittle them or lessen their joy by claiming they aren't playing "golf", or that they are playing "Goofy Golf"?