The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14


to the rules Of golf committee from all parts
Of the earth, and they are answered in
patches.
Other questions that crop up regularly
are due to an ignorance, Grass and profound,
of the elementary principles. Az medal
play a round may not be discontinued Tor
any reason, in Justice to the other COM
p~etitors: vet the question most often asked
Is whether it is fair to d~isqualify a player
who waits in shelter or under a tree for a
rainstorm 10 pass.
IL is extraordinary, too, that so many DO
not know the rule for a lost ball AZ medal
play. Hundreds habitually break the rule
in ignorance and merit disqualification.
The almost invariable delusion IL that II
you lose a ball at stroke play you drop
another under penalty of a stroke. as near
es possible where you judge the first ball
was lost. Some drop on the fair green;
others tee. and il is quite exceptional TO find
a player who Knows the rule accurately.
II there is a revision Of the code the words
-loss Of distance" should be eliminated, as
they are a cause Of confusion. When a ball
Is lost at stroke play the proper thing Is 10
return as near as possible to the spot from
which the lost ball was struck, tee a ball
and lose q penalty stroke.
One Of the instances of clumsy expression
in the rules appears in No. q. If the paren-
thetical clause be eliminated II makes the
rule f~arcical. 1t reads:
The ball must be fairly struck at. not
scooped, scraped. nor spooned. under pen
atty of the loss of the hole,
What was meant Isl "The ball must be
fairly struck at; the penalty for a scoop,
.scrape or spooned ball is loss of the hole
' Within the last few months A Western
player has brought out an American code
of golf rules, but IL gains little in concise
ness, and no one plays under it; yet Mr..
Jermain's ode is of value as a suggestion,
and there is nothing ambiguous in any OF
his rules. Walter Fairbanks has prepared
a set Of rules of golf in brief which Is useful
and Alex Britton Of the L. s. @. A. COM
mittee has suggested a digest Of the rules
to aid in understanding them. Fairbanks
is a veteran amateur golfer and his views
nick well with those expressed by Forgan'
He writes:
4 very high authority long ago told the
world that 1.-THE letter killeth. but the spirit
maketh alive The rules are amazingly
effective among real golfers. Who ever
heard Of a dispute between two first class
professionals or amateurs? The rules en-
body the principles Of the game as We all
wish to see IL played with sufficient clear
ness for all good players who have Jaken
the trouble to study them. Rare and in
genious problems arising from them are
Of small consequence and can be easily de-
cided by equity. The real trouble Is that
al few players will make themselves ac-
quainted with the rules.
The agitation for a recasting of the rules
ia not restricted to this country, Tor there
has been a general desire for a new and
briefer set in England. The decisions OF
the rules committee of st. Andrews are often
sharply criticised, but there is no appeal
from them. Recently in deciding a point
that arose in a foursome in the Edinburgh
Despatch trophy tournament. the committee
had to deal with these facts:
Al the fifteenth green A and BIS ball lies
about a foot from the hole. and & and DIS
ball two or three inches from the hole. A
and Il are there in three strokes, and & and
in four strokes. A has taken up his stand
TO putt, with his club two or three inches
in front of the ball. when the ball moves,
caused by a sudden gust Of wind. but II does
not touch either himself or his club. A
stops and again addresses his ball. and holes
out IN four strokes. G. and j claimed the
ball moved and should be penalized one
stroke. making the hole a half in .. and ID
not being asked to hole out. The question
whether there Is a penalty attached or not
the PLAYERS agree 70 leave to the committee
az the tournament to decide. & and ID say
nothing about claiming the hole, and all
are under the impression that the hole at
lenst Is a half in 5. 4 and Bstill hold the honor
and drive TO the sixteenth hole without any
challenge. After the match. & and D now
claim the fifteenth hole. saying that 4 played
two consecutive strokes. and the committee
UNFOLD their claim, and award & and d the
hole according to Rule 20. II this right?
The answer OF the committee was: "A
appears to nave grounded his club. and the
movement Of the ball constituted a stroke
and not a penalty stroke. D should then
have played. Not having done so, A and
B lose the hole. The matter wa left to the
committee TO decide, and their decision ia
correct under Rule : (~paragraph2 and Rule
2o."
Yet the committee erred in this instance.
and hundreds rushed into type TO say so,
The opinion wa that the ruling would
have been excellent had II been asked
for and given at the moment the incident
occurred.
The rules committee was not asked hat
the law Is when a player In a foursome,
having moved his ball in addressing IL,
PLAYS the next stroke instead Of his part
ner; but whet her a side, having definitely
claimed a certain penalty, is entitled to
amend it's Claim after the hole has been
quilted or, as a matter OF fact, in this
instance, after the match Is over. G and
- made no claim at the time for the hole
in respect Of A having played out OF turn.
All they claimed was a stroke for the al
legged moving OF the ball. This claim was
disputed by A and b. and the match pro-
ceeded on the understanding that A and B
either halved or won the hole, according as
the tournament committee decided whether