( atc )
Getting Schooled
on the Rules
by CHRIS LANG
ON A MID-MARCH DAY AT VSGA HEADQUARTERS, we fielded a call about a
potential Rules violation at one of the VSGA’s Junior Golf Circuit events. Tournament
department staffers discussed the situation, and Junior Golf Manager Kent Holubar
shouted out, “Let’s see what Chris thinks.”
My input would have been fairly useless in the past, but along with three VSGA staff-
ers, a VSGA board member, a past VSGA president and multiple volunteers, I traveled
to Pinehurst at the end of February to attend a three-day PGA/USGA Rules of Golf
Workshop—better known as Rules School.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no Rules
expert. I scored … let’s just say it was well
“The experience
south of the 90 required for the USGA to
gave me a new level
label one as an expert-level official. But
of respect for our
as I told my co-workers after taking the
100-question exam, had I not attended
tournament staff and
Rules School, I’m fairly confident I would
the many volunteers
have struggled to break 20 on the test.
you see out at
The experience gave me a new level of
championships
and
respect for our tournament staff and the
many volunteers you see out at champi-
qualifiers.”
onships and qualifiers. Interpreting the
complicated nature of the Rules is hard
enough when you have the book in front of
you. Trying to give an accurate ruling on the fly is even more difficult.
For those who have not fully delved into the 2019 Rules, I can tell you that they
truly are simpler and easier to digest than the previous set. When I first started at the
VSGA, I tried to work my way through the decisions book, only to have my eyes glaze
over, leading me to give up by Rule 20. (A shame, since many of the most useful Rules
dealing with relief options came after that.)
The new set of Rules have been compacted and are better organized. Want to dive
in yourself? Take the advice that I got from Josh Coates, our Director of Rules and
Competitions who happened to score 99 the first time he took the new exam.
First, familiarize yourself with all of the definitions at the back of the book. Without
a firm grasp of the definitions, the Rules themselves will make less sense. Second,
scan the Rules book for sections in red text, indicating where penalties are involved.
Third, get to know which infractions are worth the general penalty (two strokes in
stroke play and loss of hole in match play), and which infractions result in one-stroke
penalties or disqualification.
The new Rules weren’t quite as daunting as I thought they might be. And if a
high-handicap former newspaper guy like myself can grasp them, so can you. And if you
see me out at a championship with a camera this summer, don’t be shy about asking me
for a ruling. I may actually be able to help!
Chris Lang, Editor
6
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 9
News & Notes
106TH VSGA AMATEUR
CHAMPIONSHIP
SITE: Keswick Golf Club, Keswick
DATES: Monday, June 24-Friday, June 29
FORMAT: Two rounds of stroke-play
qualifying; top 32 advance to match play;
rounds of 32 and 16 on Wednesday; quarter-
finals and semifinals on Thursday; 36-hole
championship match on Friday
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Trey Smith
(Independence Golf Club)
EXEMPT PLAYERS:
A number of players
were exempt from
qualifying, including
all past champions,
finalists from the last
three years, semifi-
nalists from the last
two years, quarter-
finalists from last
TREY SMITH
year, the top five from
last year’s Mid-Amateur
championship, players in the
top 20 of last year’s Men’s Regular Player
Rankings, and more. Exemptions are also
available to the two players on the winning
side of this year’s Four-Ball Championship,
this year’s Junior Match Play and Senior
Stroke Play championships, and the top-
ranked eligible player in the Men’s Player
Rankings as of June 17, provided he’s in the
top 30. Also, any member who advanced to
U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying is exempt
from qualifying.
THE REST OF THE FIELD: Qualifiers were
held at 11 VSGA member clubs
throughout May and June,
including a last-chance
qualifier for those
who missed on their
first attempt. Peter
Gasperini, a 2018
semifinalist, earned
his spot in the field via
PETER GASPERINI
the last chance qualifier
last year.
ABOUT KESWICK: Pete Dye’s Full
Cry course has been the host of several
championships in recent years, including
three of the four VSGA Four-Ball Match
Play Championships and the 2017 VSGA
Senior Amateur. Keswick plays just short
of 6,900 yards from the back and features
plenty of Dye’s signature bunkering.
vsga.org
Opening Drive