The Zone Interactive Golf Magazine (UK) The Zone Issue 26 | Page 41

DEREK CLEMENTS

CUTTING UP ROUGH

Playing by the rules

S

o you have hit a perfect drive on the
tightest hole on the course. With out of
bounds to the right and water to the
left, it is no mean feat to find the middle of
the fairway, and you are delighted. And so
you should be.
But then you get to your ball and instead
of finding it sitting up in a lovely inviting lie,
it is nestling in the bottom of a divot hole
because somebody else who was also lucky
enough to find the fairway forgot to replace
his divot. Or couldn’t be bothered.
Now, instead of a simple shot over the lake
to the green beyond, you have to figure out
a way to get the ball out of the hole, into
the air and across the water. If you were Phil
Mickelson, it would be a simple enough
matter. But you are not Phil Mickelson.
You are Billybob Duffer and you are pretty
miffed. So you should be.
Golf prides itself in the honesty and
integrity of those who play the game, but

THEZONE / ISSUE 25

there are a whole host of rules that are just
plain daft, and will put off would-be golfers.
Who can blame them?
I surely can’t be alone in believing that
if you land in a divot in the middle of a
fairway then you should be given a free
drop. It is not rocket science. Why should
you have to pay the penalty for somebody
else’s ignorance of golf etiquette?
I am on a roll now.
Local rules - don’t talk to me about local
rules. Why is it that at some golf courses
you are allowed to remove stones from
bunkers but at others you can’t. “Sorry
Billybob, but removing that stone has just
cost you a penalty shot,” says you opponen ???Y??[????\?\??H?[??\??X?K??[?[?\?H\?HX]?\?[??[??\???^H?^H??[??[??X]?\?\?H???B?[\Y[Y[??[??[??B??[[?Y???HH?[??\??B??