Barb Hanson

A friend of mine was getting ready to putt and in making her practice stroke she accidentally touched and moved her ball. What is the ruling?

Unfortunately, she incurred a penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a for moving the ball in play, and she had to put the ball back in its original position.

Decision 22/6 says that the request was not proper and Ann certainly did not have to comply. In fact, if Ann and Bev were found to be aiding each other in this way, they could both be disqualified.

I was so sure I knew the answer, but I was wrong. I have to quote the whole rule in order for you to get the complete picture. From the USGA Rules of Golf, Rule 25-2 says: “A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green. ‘Closely mown area’ means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.”

Can you invoke the embedded ball in the rough? No. The rough is not a “closely mown area.”

What is “through the green?” It is the whole area of the course except the teeing ground, the putting green of the hole being played and all hazards on the course.

Is there a penalty for lifting an embedded ball? No, as long as you proceed according to the rules (as stated above).

Barb Hanson

Marlene emailed the other day and said that she and her friends got into quite a “discussion” as to the proper procedure for posting a score when you don’t complete a round. I went to the MGA (Minnesota Golf Association) website for the answer. (www.mngolf.org)

First of all, whenever you play at least 14 of 18 holes or 7 of 9 holes, you must post a score. But how do you determine your score for the holes you haven’t played?

Here’s one possibility: Let’s say that you’re playing a match. On one of the holes, you’ve made a number of mistakes , so you decide to concede that hole to your opponent. Your ball is on the green, but you haven’t putted yet.

“If you do not complete a hole, write down the score you most likely would have made.”

So  you would add the number of putts you “most likely” would have taken to hole out.

Another situation: You have completed 15 holes when it begins to pour or darkness sets in. You decide to quit for the day.

“If you do not play a hole or do not play a hole under the Rules of Golf, write down par plus the handicap strokes you would receive on that hole. Such scores should be preceded by an ‘X’.”

One more situation (and one we’ve all experienced): You’re unhappy with your play on a particular hole and pick your ball up out of frustration. Think carefully before  you do this! If you’re playing in an event where everything must be holed out, you risk disqualification. Know, too, that there is no such thing as a “maximum score” in an event. Participants are expected to write down actual scores, no matter what the number. You adjust the score to your maximum when you post the score.

“I find it amusing and ironic that …(some of the) best ball strikers in the world…can learn to accept their bad shots, while the high-handicappers…often cannot.”

After hitting a bad shot, “getting angry is one of your options. But if you choose to get angry, you are likely to get tighter. That’s going to hurt your rhythm and your flow. It will upset you and distract you. It will switch on your analytical mind and your tendency to criticize and analyze anything you do that falls short of perfection. It will start you thinking about the mechanical flaws in your swing and trying to correct them.

“You will very likely play worse.”

I chuckled when I read this: “I’ve had guys in pro-ams turn to me after a tee shot that wiped out two squirrels and a woodpecker and say, ‘I don’t hit the ball that way.’ To which I am tempted to reply, ‘That’s funny, I thought I just saw that you did.’”

I’ve been on both sides of this fence. Have you?

A: Yes. Rule 9-2a says that “an opponent is entitled to ascertain from the player during the play of a hole, the number of strokes she has taken, and, after play of a hole, the number of strokes taken on the hole just completed.”

Q: In match play, if a player is asked how many strokes she has taken, and her caddie answers with incorrect information, is the player held responsible and subject to penalty?

A: Yes, unless the error is corrected before the opponent makes her next shot.

Q: In match play, Jane hits her ball into a water hazard. Brenda asks Jane how she’s going to proceed to which Jane replies that she is going to drop out and take a one-stroke penalty. After Brenda plays her next shot, Jane changes her mind and plays her ball out of the hazard. Did Jane give Brenda the “wrong information” according to Rule 9-2?

A: No. Jane didn’t have to answer Brenda’s question, but the fact that she did does not preclude her from changing her mind.

In Minnesota we are forced to take a four to five month hiatus from the game of golf, so when nice weather returns, we are wild to get back out on the golf course. I find that the first round of the year is different from many others. It’s exciting; it’s free-flowing; it feels comfortable; it’s just fun. Why? Because I approach it with NO EXPECTATIONS! I’m just happy to be swinging the club again, to be taking a nice, long walk, to be outside in warmer weather, and to be with my golfing friends. In my mind, what happens with my game is secondary.

Expectations can really mess you up. They crop up after playing a round with few mistakes (“I’m going to golf this well every time!”), after breaking through a score barrier, i.e. breaking 100 (“I’ll never shoot another score of 100+!”), after taking a lesson (“I’ve got it figured out now!”), after reading a great tip (“Now I know how to get out of a bunker!”), or after a good practice session (“I’ll never shank another shot!”).

That’s just not how golf works. We need to have goals, and we need to take lessons, read tips, and practice in order to reach those goals. But the ascension to those goals is not a steady upward path. There are peaks and valleys. What’s important is what you do/how you react to those times when you slip backwards.

Dr. Bob Rotella in his book, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, says that “expectations are great i you confine them to long-range considerations. It’s fine, for example, to expect that if you work at your game intelligently for an extended period of time, you will improve. But expectations can hurt you if they are narrowly focused on the results of a particular stroke, hole or round…. You have to put expectations out of your mind by the time you get to the first tee.”

The first thing to do is to hit a provisional ball. It doesn’t take much time to do so and it could save you a bunch of time later. (Rule 27-2) Although you don’t have to, you may go look for your ball, searching for a maximum of five minutes. If you find it, you must play it as it lies or declare it unplayable and take a one-stroke penalty. If you don’t find it, you take a one-stroke penalty and continue play with your provisional ball (Rule 27-2b).

What should you consider as  you select your club? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• How far am I from the center of the green?
• Where is the hole located on the green – front, middle or back/
• Is this an uphill shot where I should take more club or a downhill shot where I should take less club?
• Should I take more club to carry a hazard?
• Is the wind a factor – either for or against me?

Once you’ve got the club in your hand, there should be no more thoughts about which club you’re holding. Your mind should go to the target and stay there. Let your body make a confident swing

Barb Hanson

“I didn’t know what I was doing, so I was uncomfortable.” This is a direct quote from a businesswoman I met recently. She has succintly stated the reason many women don’t play golf, much less play golf for business.

My daughter just told me about her friend who was hired by a major company looking  to 1) hire more saleswomen, and 2) do more business outside of the office, specifically on the golf course. Sounds like a fun job!! The flaw in the plan lies in an assumption that these salespeople (men or women) are going to be successful in generating or retaining business without some specialized training.

That specialized training is golf education. Not necessarily swing training, although that’s an important part of playing the game. A broader training is required in order to feel “comfortable” and “at ease” in the golf environment. A golfer should have a basic grasp of the etiquette, rules and vocabulary of the game as well as a “business game plan” in order to bring a deal to fruition.

I offer a “Golf for Business” course to individuals and companies who are interested in giving their sales staff this competitive advantage.

Golf Education: Knowledge = Confidence