I apologize in advance if this post sounds a little preachy; some things need to be said. To truly improve at golf, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Sophocles said, “Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.” I suggest you challenge yourself. Next time you play, follow the rules strictly. If you hit the ball out of bounds or your ball is lost, go back to where you hit the shot and replay (stroke and distance penalty). Learn the difference between red-marked hazards and yellow-marked hazards and play accordingly. Putt out every hole—no “inside the leather” gimmies and always play it as it lies. If you accept this challenge, I think you will find your score is much higher than usual. Golf is difficult. Having to navigate bad lies, bad bounces that cause your ball to end up behind a tree, or any of the myriad of things that happen in a round is the game of golf!
In the second round of the 1961 British Open at Royal Birkdale, Arnold Palmer found himself in a difficult situation. On the Par-4 fifteenth hole, his drive ended up in what Henry Longhurst, the famous BBC commentator, described as “the bottom of a small, sandy bank, buried deep in some blackberry bushes.” Legend has it that an American in the crowd mumbled something about how terrible the conditions were, and the bad bounces and breaks were unfair. A local in the gallery overheard this and replied, “He’s a professional golfer. Let’s see what he can do!” What Mr. Palmer did was rip through the shot, taking half the bush out along the way. The ball ended up on the green. Two putts later, he walked off with par. There is a plaque embedded at the base of those bushes to this day commemorating the event. That is a long way to emphasize that in golf, you play the ball where it lies. No complaints. No excuses. You do your best and see what happens.
I will now climb down off my soapbox.
On the other hand, if your goal is to socialize with friends, enjoy the sunshine, and get in some physical activity, do as you please. Roll the ball into a good lie, move it from behind those pesky trees, lose a ball; drop one and keep going. I would encourage you to play in this casual manner almost every time out. It is much less stressful! The exceptions are if you are playing for money or in a sanctioned competition, then the rules must apply. Otherwise, have fun out there.
One final thought on this. Golf is a challenging game. Only 20% of all golfers can shoot in the 80s or better. Please don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re one of them unless you strictly follow the rules, play it as it lies, and putt out every hole. Enjoy your game for what it is, not what you wish it were. It’s better to shoot an honest 95 than a fraudulent 81. Your game will improve if you count every stroke. Sophocles would agree.
As always, your comments are welcome.
Doug