Talamore’s
TheRULES
Procedural
Principles
U.S. OPEN
TRIFECTA
The Rules of Golf entail
knowing the particulars of play
in order to avoid a penalty
I
JOHN MUMMERT/USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES
by GENE WESTMORELAND
t happens virtually every year
during the U.S. Open: a viewer
watching at home calls the
U.S. Golf Association to report
an “obvious” Rules violation. The
caller will say something like,
“A player just missed a six-foot putt and
then, after holing out, he dropped a ball to
hit practice putts.” The Virginia State Golf
Association and likely every other state and
regional golf association regularly gets these
same calls from people who have played in
events at their clubs or other local events.
Despite popular perception, the response
has not changed in many, many years.
Rule 7-2, “Practice During the Round,” tells
us that a player may not make a practice stroke
during play of a hole and between holes except
in certain situations. He may practice putting
and chipping “on or near” the putting green of
the hole last played, any practice green, or the
teeing ground of the next hole to be played,
provided a practice stroke is not made from a
hazard and does not unduly delay play.
This seems clear enough. So why the annual
calls? My guess is that the majority of us see
most of our tournament golf on television.
And most of that televised golf is run by one
of the professional tours, all of which utilize a
Local Rule that prohibits any practice between
the play of holes. So what about the U.S.
Open? The Open is run by the USGA, not the
PGA T
our, and does not use this Local Rule.
It is important to note that a practice
stroke implies the forward movement of a
club with the intention of striking a ball