We’re now playing golf in Minnesota! And with spring golf comes the question of “winter rules,” that nebulous privilege of being able to move your ball in your own fairway if you find it lying on a bare spot.
Harvey Penick, one of the game’s all-time greatest teachers, when asked by his college team players whether they would be playing winter rules that day, replied with this: “Well, are you going to play golf or some other game?”
There are a number of reasons I choose not to play winter rules even if others in my group are doing so. The most important is just what Penick said above. It’s not real golf. Secondly, moving the ball can develop into a very bad habit to the point where you mentally can’t get past a bad lie. If you never practice hitting off a bad lie, you’ll never be comfortable with that shot.
Finally, there are all kinds of things that might keep you from hitting a good shot, including wind, rain, a loud noise, an uphill lie, a sore toe, etc. etc. Don’t make a big deal out of a bad lie. Mind over matter….