GolfPlus July 2018 Digital Edition (July 2018) | Page 13

It wasn’t until 1892 that the R&A
standardized the size of the hole
and it remains till date at 4 ¼
inches in diameter and 4 inches
in depth. While no one knows
why these dimensions were
fi xed, scuttlebutt is that this was
the size of the 1st hole-cutter
that appeared in 1829.
in your way to the Hole”. I am sure there
are many of you today who would love to
pot your hated opponent’s ball into a deep
bunker, much as they would do in croquet!
Sam Snead
STYMIE – WHAT’S THAT?
The modern golfer knows nothing about this
glorious tradition that existed till 1952. When
your adversary’s ball lay between you and
the hole, you were stymied and you were
compelled to play over or around his ball. Of
course one was allowed to do anything to
hole the putt including striking the opponents
ball. This is the one reason for the
modern rule not to apply
a penalty for striking
the
opponents
ball in match
play but apply
a
2-stroke
penalty in
stroke play.
Marking the hole
was. The Liverpudlians, in 1869, said that it
was the duty of the first couple to place a
feather to mark the position of the hole for
those following. In 1874, a Local Rule read,
“The players are preceded by a scout, who
carries a red flag.” croquet style of putting.
Using a center shafted putter
Sam would stand astride the ball
and make a croquet stroke. The R&A
rushed in to ban this in 1968 and the rule
stands today.
CROQUET ANYONE? The earliest code read “At Holing, you are
to play your ball Honesty for the hole and
not play on your Adversary’s ball not lying
Sam Snead was a great exponent of the
Those who
could not
negotiate
the stymie
were many
and it took
119 years from
the first attempt
to ban the stymie and
consign it to the history
books, prompting the great Bobby Jones
to say “the only place where I think a real
mistake was made came with the elimination
of the stymie”.
GolfPlus
JULY
2018
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