From: "James F. Tims" <p00168@psilink.com>
Subject: Spike marks: I'm for tamping
Organization: Semper Excelsior
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 10:06:01 GMT
X-Mailer: PSILink (3.2)

>DATE:   25 Dec 1992 09:08:49 GMT
>FROM:   Isaac Kim <kim@guppy.uucp>
>
>>jim tims:
>>You may tamp them down.  You may not tamp down marks in another player's
>>line before he putts, for obvious reasons.  Chip Beck is the champion tamper
>>downer of old spike marks.  A veritable avitar of altruism.
>>
>>Raking traps is pretty much demanded, with strong etiquette sanctions.
>>Tamping down spike marks is a noble undertaking.  8^)
>
>Don't you think that tapping down spike marks that you know you 
>have caused (usually by the ripping sound of the grass on the greens) 
>by dragging your feet should also be demanded "with strong etiquette 
>sanctions".  
>

Yes, as a matter of fact it is.  Not tamping down stray spike marks not of
your own making is not so strongly sanctioned. 

>Most players I know will tap down their own obvious spike 
>marks after the group has putted out.

I fix about 10 ball marks and generally recondition the whole damned 
green on every hole.  Without me, they would need more course workers.
(Actually, there would just be more ball marks.  The owners don't care
about the condition of the course.)  Unluckily, not very many people 
at our course do anything to help out, including fixing their own damage. 

>>;;|\..((   -C---->> And I think it's a stupid goddamned rule, BTW
>
>My guess is that you are refering to the first rule mentioned in the post:
>
>>>1) I know that before you putt, you are allowed to repair ball-marks but not 
>>>spike marks.
>
[...]

[standard argument against tamping spike marks...]

>
>Happy holidays,
>Isaac (kim@bull.ucsd.edu)

Trying to speed play by prohibiting spike mark repair is like trying to keep
the airplane aloft by emptying the ashtrays.  The pros already fidget 
over every irregularity.  There are a thousand ways they spend too much 
time to play, and spike mark repairs would be a tiny addition.  They waste
more time trying to figure out if it's a spike mark than they would if they
just stepped up and tamped the damned thing down.  They call over the marshall
for a ruling, they ask their playing partners...just tamp the damn thing down!
The tour and USGA golf did not speed up when the rule was re-imposed ('76?).
The regression line for play is still upward.  More general rules regarding 
time should replace silly contrivances like the spike rule.  Maybe you
should have 1 minute per putt, period.  If there's no time left for spike 
marks, too bad.  Nothing worse than playing two perfect shots within 3 
foot of the hole and have almost no chance of making the putt.  Seems 
unfair to me.  And what if you're lucky enough to have the spike mark on 
an old ball mark?  How fair is that?  Now you get to fix it, even though 
the only thing really wrong is the spike mark.  (I think.  Maybe you don't.)

The rub of the green is pretty severe, as you pointed out.  I 
would rather you didn't suggest that I play a feeble game that requires 
me to have perfect lies, or that I think all difficulties from tee to 
green ought be removed.  If there's standing water and the balls are burying 
in the fairway, I play winter rules (the pros tee it up in the fairway 
on a peg in similar circumstances), but if the conditions are at all 
reasonable, I play it down.

  ,...,.,,
 /666;    ',    jim tims
////;    _~ -   p00168@psilink.com
(/@/----0-~-0
 ;'  . `` ~ \'
  , `    ' , >
  |\..((   -C---->> I'm not ready for a stymies comeback, but they ought to
;;| >-  `.__),;;    return to 2 shots and distance for OB.  1 shot is sissy.