The Washington herald., 1908-07-19

| stroke under the rule governing a pan
which is accidentally moved In some re-
sPects this seems to be real hardship,
for experience proves that nine out Of ten
tee shots played when the BAH is just
dropping OF the tee end IN a disastrous
I fOozle- Then when a bail is in water the
player may strike at il when II is NOV
ing, but he must not delay to make his
stroke in order to allow the wind or
stream 70 better the position Of the bali
under loss Of the hole.
The fore caddie. the eaddie. or any kind
friend who stands on a bill to show the
player the line Of blind hole must leave
the proposed line while the stroke is
being made" under penalty Of loss Of the
hole In dropping a ball u is now pro-
posed that the player should drop the
bail behind him over his shoulder" in
stead Of. as at present. from the head.
Ihis alteration IS neither good nor ad-
visaole- It viii perpetuate the uuseemly
abuse Of players either bending backward
or causing the ball to spin out of their
fingers in order 10 secike the most favor
able lie The committee. therefore. would
be well advised 10 keep intact the enact
ment about the correct method Of drop
ping contained In the present rule Is.
Next It is provided that when there is a
play. with the opponents consent a ball
in play may be lifted for the purpose OF
identification; but must be carefully re-
placed This IS. Of course. an alteration
necessitated by the confusion habitually
caused through the prevalence Of a single
stereotyped system OF ball marking.
Wise Provision Made.
A wise provision has also been inserted
rI-f he II
ing the player 10 search for his lost ball
in the rough and accidentally treads upon
il Many cases have occurred in the
past where the kind-hearted opponent has
had the hole claimed against him be-
cause he or the,c ,csddie trod on the ball
for which the party were searching. The
exaction OF that penalty was a clear
abuse The penalty for a ball "out of
bounds Is to be one stroke. instead OF
loss Of distance only, If played from the
teeing ground. another bail may be teed;
elsewhere the bah must be dropped.
Casual water on the putting green has
always been great difficulty in the
working OF the present rules On an un-
dulatiDg putting green the casual water
sometimes means lifting Che bail. going
behind a dozen yards or more. and play
I
The new rule on this point provides the
sensible and fair solution. The proposal
IS 70 allow the player 10 place his ball
within one club length Of the margin
cf the wafer" instead Of being placed bv
hand behind the water Again. II
player had holed out his bali and his
opponent then plays 70 the Iip OF the
hole. the player may not knock the ball
away. but the opponent shall hole it out
II asked 20 co 50 In the ordinary time
necessary to make the stroke. The wis
dom Of that provision IS doubtful, for it
viii inevitably lead 10 friction, and tie
liberty given under the old rules 10
knock away the ball when It came 10
rest avoided controversy.
Recommendation to Clubs
The rules committee makes some rec
to other clubs as to the
making OF local rules for trees. hedges.
gates. and fences But the following
subsection is far from being clear in its
intention, and its phraseoIoEv certainly
needs redrafting: When a hall Is 1ifted
under a local rule. the rule OF golf com
mittee recommends that II Il be PLAYED
from tsic) through the green. Il should
be dropped. and II It Is 10 be played on
the putting green of the hole which IS
being played 10 il should be placed"
That is assuredly one OF those things
that might be expressed differently. Most
golfers will cordially welcome the com
nittee's recommendation about the
form and make OF golf clubs The
committee intimates that it will not
sanction any substantial departure from
the traditional and accepted form and
make Of golf balls. which. in its opin-
ou- consists oT a u,Tafu shaft o-d q be.s
which contains no mechanical COntriv-
ance. such as springs
Another most valuable rule which has
a bearing on the increasing tendency OF
Dresent-day golfers 70 contract out OF
Tie playing Of the stynlie is that wherein
i Is provided that Competitors shall
not agree 10 exclude the operation Of
any rule or local rule. At any time. IN
Ier penalty Of disqualification. and
also that "A competitor shall not waive
any penalty incurred by his opponent.
1nde- penalty Of disqualification The
-uies committee also recommends that l
players should not concede. points to their
These are the main aItera- 7
ions which are proposed 10 be made IN I
he new code Obviously. they embody 4
he experience acquired in answering I
questions put 10 the rules committee by I
,Iubs and players all over the world. T
Ind. though 1t IS more than likely that
'areful scrutiny will reveal a blemfsh 4
lere and an omission there on some
'oint Of delicate detail. the work os re-
-iSion has been carried out with an evi-
lent loyal desire TO meet all reasonable 4
contingencies in the playing Of the game
N every green and 10 uphold It's best
traditions.