The Washington herald., 1918-05-26
GOLFERSFAIL
TOSTUDY RULES
But Few Players In Local
Ranks Are Familiar
With Penalties.
By FRANK H. YOUNG.

For over a year The Herald has
from time to time been calling atteh-
ton to the failure OF golfers 10 Ia
u1iliarize themselves with the rules
Of the game. Only about one out OF
every ten can correctly answer the
simplest question regarding what you
can or cannot do under certain con-
ditions and what the various penal
ties are. This fact was brought nome
rather strikingly in Che final rounds
of both Of the local tournaments Just
held. those Of the Washington Golf
and Country Club and Of Chevy
Chase. as in both of these flnal-rouhd
first-nfght matches the rules were un-
Intentionally broken and no attention
paid to such violations or penalties
applied. As a matter Of fact, In one
OF these matches, through unfamiliar
ity with the r;Ees. both players went
eight holes carrying the wrong score
IN their minds, with the result that
whereas the match ended on the thir-
teenth hole, they did not think 1t
was completed until the fourteenth
and an incorrect score was turned in.
While in every case referred TO
above II 50 happens that the viola
tions in no way affected the result,
due to the fact that both matches
were rather one-sided, and while
some OF the rules laid down In the
book are rather far-fetched and
'.:hair-splitting." yet rules ID rules
the same as pigs Is pigs" and should
either be followed or eliminated.
In one OF the tournaments in ques-
club in q hazard. The rules provide
that Nh, o. fhHa ahall ha tho
loss Of the hole. The player in ques-
was merely a coincidence. The Sec
ond departure from the code" was
another unimportant matter as far
as the result was concerned. one
player putting out of turn. As every
one knows. according to Hoyle," the
player farthest away must play first.
But the third and most impor-
tant ''bOner" was what might be
termed as a "masterpiece." neither
player and half the gallery not
knowing how to score the hole. As
far as the contestants were con-
cerned. there was a complete meet
ing of the minds" as a lawyer
would say ii, as both Of them con-
sidered the hole halved and played
the rest of the match that way. As
a matter of fact. the hole was won
by one of the players. The case was
as follows: the balls of both men
were within putting distance. A hav-
ing played one stroke less than B.
The latter missed his putt. and, as
A was only about a foot or so away.
on his second putt, knocked his own
ball OF the green. this action be-
ing nothing more or less than a
conclusion of the hole. Much to
eyeryone's surprise, A missed an
other putt but sent his second in.
This gave him q s. while B had
played 5 and his ball was almost
trimming the cup for a sure s when
he knocked it away. Both players
completely overlooked the fact that
3 had conceded A the hole and from
then on their scores differed from
those of the gallery. Strictly
speaking. when A took the thirteenth
hole. the match ended. but the two
played another hole and, according
20 their figures. IL ended on Num-
Der II. As II didn't make any diff
ference. nothing was said. and the
above is merely brought out at this
time for the purpose of impressins
upon golfers-good ones, poor ones.
and Indifferent ones-the necessity
OF becoming familiar with the rules.