How do you play the game?

[DMoriarty]

Some replacement questions:

1.  Have you read both the Leith Rules and USGA Rule 8-2(b)? Yes.

2.  Do you have a dictionary in your home? Yes.

3.  What does "anywhere" mean?    Everywhere

4.  Do you call your activities prior to hitting a Golf shot your "pre-shot routine"? No.  I save that terminology for drinking games.

5.  If not, what do you call or consider it?  Which part?   The walking or the aiming?  I call the former "walking" and the latter "aiming."

6.  If so, where did you get the idea to consider such activities your "pre-shot routine"?  College.

7.  Did you borrow your pre-shot routine from somebody else?  If so, who?  Is he on TV? Is that where you got the idea you need one?  Walking is fairly common, and no one aims as bad as me.

8.  What is your pre-shot routine? Ordering, usually paying, lifting a glass then lifting the glass. Does it include meditation? Only with tequila.

9.  Yoga?  Boo Baa?

10.  A seance?  Cheamistry?

11.  I start my pre-shot routine:

       a.  when the guy hitting before me is over his ball
       b.  only once the prior shot has landed, so nothing interrupts me
       c.  once I've paid at the bar for my shot.
       d.  None of the above, although c. is my pre shot routine.

12.  If your pre-shot routine gets interrupted, do you:

        a.  Back off immediately and start over
        b.  Fight your way through it and finish
        c.  Back off sometimes but finish other times
        d.  Soak up the spill and continue drinking.

13.  How long does your pre-shot routine take?   In golf? Depends on how far I have hit my last shot.  Usually not very long.

14.  OK, enough with the bullshit PC answer...how long does it really take?    That's between me and my wife.

Did I win?

[Dan King]

Tom Huckaby writes:
And I have played Dan Golf, as you may recall from previous stabs at this.  It was darn fun to play as match play.  But while it CAN be played medal, of course... it makes for a short game the first time one hits the ball in the water or otherwise loses his ball.  DQ.  It might be fun ONCE as a survival test... but well....

I just jumped in here when folks started giving the USGA domain over golf. The USGA has destroyed the game. I'm guessing they have helped to popularize the game, but personally I think the cost has been too high. As you say, few of your friends are willing to play the essence of golf, and would rather play the fairer game of USGA golf. Perhaps the other game of golf would have never gained the fame of USGA golf, but I don't see fame as necessarily a good thing. 

Your game is rather geared toward match play.

We have played it as medal before. It is just whoever is the last person to not get DQed is the winner. If more than one make it through 18 holes without DQ, the low score wins.

BTW... seriously... how many times have you really played Dan Golf?

I haven't played much of any kind of golf lately. Getting ready for law school next month. I got a very nice scholarship to McGeorge, so I'll be a 1L soon.

Back in the day, we used to play it once a month.

I couldn't get my friends to do it more than once.

They are just too conditioned to the game where you touch the ball. My advise: get some new friends :-).

Cheers,
Dan King

Golf is an expensive way of playing marbles.
 --G.K. Chesterton

[Tom Huckaby]

Dan:

Thanks.  But you seem to actively WANT to be a lawyer.  So I shall stick with my own friends, those of whom are lawyers seem to have it forced upon them rather than actively seeking it out, or working too hard at it.

 

Seriously though, Dan Golf is fun.  It would have been cool if the game had started that way and stuck that way.  Sadly though, most are indeed conditioned to touching the ball.  And doing so - either in Golf as Dave Schmidt calls it - or golf, as the rest of the world just calls the game they play - well either way is great by me.  I remain not all that particular, playing whatever "rules" are en vogue on the given day.

[JC Jones]

As you say, few of your friends are willing to play the essence of golf, and would rather play the fairer game of USGA golf.

Dan, the sad thing is that most folks won't/can't even play USGA golf as bastardized by local rules, let alone Golf under "straight" USGA rules, let alone let alone GAWF without the "L", the truest and best form of endeavour whatever its name.

Enough with the self-loathing.

[Dan King]

Tom Huckaby writes:
Thanks.  But you seem to actively WANT to be a lawyer.

No plans to ever actually be a lawyer. That would really screwup my plans to spend the rest of my life getting educated -- and then see it all go away the day I die. I just like the idea that when I leave, all the knowledge I gathered up will go with me. I think that is what I want on my tombstone: "What a waste."

I find the idea of law school much more appealing than the idea of being a lawyer.

Cheers,
Dan King

A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a thousand men with guns.
 --Mario Puzo

[JC Jones]

me too!  That's what I teach law school now instead of practicing.  You'll love it, no better education on the planet.

[Tom Huckaby]

Dan - I KNEW that's what you were gonna say!  Dammit, I regretted that part as soon as I typed it.
But you did reaffirm my faith anyway.  You as a lawyer.. good god the very soul of humanity shrieks.

So yes, all education is good education.  However....I pity the poor youngins' who will face your logical wrath... they have no idea what they are in for....

 

[Bill_McBride]

No plans to ever actually be a lawyer. That would really screwup my plans to spend the rest of my life getting educated -- and then see it all go away the day I die. I just like the idea that when I leave, all the knowledge I gathered up will go with me. I think that is what I want on my tombstone: "What a waste."

I find the idea of law school much more appealing than the idea of being a lawyer.

Cheers,
Dan King

Very much in the spirit of Vonnegut.

And so it goes.............

[Sean_A]

I think the best thing going for this Dan Golf is that maybe courses would become more playable.  The idea of lost balls within the boundary of a course could be eliminated forever.  I think this is more than a generous trade off for chucking away the rule book. Plus, all the rules could be printed on the ball - no more arguments!

Ciao

[JC Jones]

Well, at least the 20 year old waitresses referenced in that other thread will be safe.

Not so sure about the 23 year old daddy's girls (California girls, no less) with attitude...

JC, how do you manage?  .

Dan:  do you know if Costco sells head covers in the quaruple-sized containers like they sell Charmin?

I believe you had the same inquiry at Kingsley It ain't easy, that's for sure.

[Pat Burke]

1) Do you prefer walking or riding?       riding, but no problem with walking only courses
2) Do you use a rangefinder/GPS device to judge distance?             Yes, definitely speeds things for me
3) Do you always play the ball as it lies?          yes, I play golf
4) At one point is a putt "good?"                         only in match play
5) Do you keep a handicap?                               no longer
6) Do you generally wager?                                rarely
7) Under what weather circumstances will you not play?           at home, rain/cold       In Scotland NO RESTRICTIONS
 Do you take lessons?                                                                                                 Yes, love to learn from good instructors
9) Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round?              no
10) Do you use a line on a golf ball to align your putt?                                                   no, not because of any rule "issues", just too busy for me

[Mark Pearce]

GCA brethren,

In light of some recent discussions on how one plays the game, I thought it would be interesting to conduct a brief survey of GCA member's playing preferences.  

1) Do you prefer walking or riding? Always walk
2) Do you use a rangefinder/GPS device to judge distance?No, but I do use yardage books
3) Do you always play the ball as it lies? Yes
4) At one point is a putt "good?" At the point my opponent concedes it5) Do you keep a handicap? Yes
6) Do you generally wager? Yes
7) Under what weather circumstances will you not play? When I can't keep myself or my grips dry
Do you take lessons? Yes
9) Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round? Yes, if there's a suitable facility
10) Do you use a line on a golf ball to align your putt? No, I prefer to look at a clean white ball when  I'm putting

[Matt MacIver]

1) Do you prefer walking or riding? Prefer to walk, happens ~80% of the time
2) Do you use a rangefinder/GPS device to judge distance?No.  Prefer only sprinkler markers and colored flags
3) Do you always play the ball as it lies? Yes
4) At one point is a putt "good?" Specific to the day, quality of round and opponent, if any.  But I putt most of them bc I need the practice. 
5) Do you keep a handicap? Yes
6) Do you generally wager? Yes but only when others want to.
7) Under what weather circumstances will you not play? +100 degrees is no fun, cold and rainy doesn't bother me.
Do you take lessons? 3x in last 6 years -- need more.
9) Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round? Always. 
10) Do you use a line on a golf ball to align your putt? Yes the pre-printed one.  Then mid-putt I change my swing to compensate for the poor read!

[Brad Wilbur]

1)Do you prefer walking or riding?  Usually ride, but prefer walking.
2)Do you use a rangefinder?GPS device to judge distance?  If it is on the cart.
3)Do you always play the ball as it lies?  Yes
4At one point is a putt "good"?  If I think I can't miss it.  Unfortunately, since I can miss a lot of them, that means I have to putt almost all of them.
5)Do you keep a handicap?  Yes
6)Do you generally wager?  No
7)Under what weather circumstances will you you not play?  Under 40 degrees and when the temp here in Vegas is an FM radio station-------like 106.5 yesterday afternoon.
8)Do you take lessons?  When my game is really bad, or for next year's trip to Scotland.
9)Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round?  If possible, unless I'm playing every day on vacation.
10)Do you use a line on the golf ball to align your putt?  Yes, but I don't do the Furyk back-away move.

[Greg Ross]

1)Do you prefer walking or riding? Walking
2)Do you use a rangefinder?GPS device to judge distance?  No.
3)Do you always play the ball as it lies? Yes
4At one point is a putt "good"?  < 2 feet
5)Do you keep a handicap?  Yes
6)Do you generally wager?  Yes
7)Under what weather circumstances will you you not play?  Under 35 degrees or raining
8)Do you take lessons?  No
9)Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round?  Yes
10)Do you use a line on the golf ball? No

[Tom Huckaby]

I have a question for those who answered "yes" to question 3:

You ALWAYS play it as it lies?  You have NEVER bumped the ball, or moved it from a divot, or cleaned some mud off it or anything EVER?  Not in casual play?  Never played what we here in the US anyway call "winter rules"?  NEVER, NOT EVEN ONCE?

I'd say I admire you, but I'd also say you are way too anal.  But I'll give you all a chance to correct that before I do so.

 

[Melvyn Morrow]

Tom

Remind me again what is the name of the game you play.

Anything to do with say Frank Sinatra “I play it my way golf”

Melvyn
 

[Tom Huckaby]

Melyvn:

It's called golf.  You should try it some time.  It's very fun, and it has many different forms in which in can be played, depending on time and place and situation.  I really feel sorry for those who are so limited that they can't see it MY WAY.

I am sure you are not one of those.

 

[Mark Pearce]

I have a question for those who answered "yes" to question 3:

You ALWAYS play it as it lies?  You have NEVER bumped the ball, or moved it from a divot, or cleaned some mud off it or anything EVER?  Not in casual play?  NEVER, NOT EVEN ONCE?

I'd say I admire you, but I'd also say you are way too anal.  But I'll give you all a chance to correct that before I do so.

 

Only if playing in a competition where pick and place has been allowed and I can't recall more than a couple of those.  NEVER in a casual round.  Why would you?

[Tom Huckaby]

Mark - there's this stuff called beer.  There's also this concept called a practice round, for lack of a better word.  Tiger Woods cannot answer this question "yes" based on what I saw on TV last night.  There's also an attitude called "what the hell."

But mainly... there's also this thing called an ABSOLUTE.  The words "always" and "never" are very hard to fulfill.

Obviously when a round means anything, one plays it as it lies.  There are times when a round is meaningless.  These are few and far between for most, I'd guess.. but well.. I get back to these absolutes.

Also, "winter rules" is pretty darn common here in the States.

 

[Kalen Braley]

I have a question for those who answered "yes" to question 3:

You ALWAYS play it as it lies?  You have NEVER bumped the ball, or moved it from a divot, or cleaned some mud off it or anything EVER?  Not in casual play?  NEVER, NOT EVEN ONCE?

I'd say I admire you, but I'd also say you are way too anal.  But I'll give you all a chance to correct that before I do so.

 

Only if playing in a competition where pick and place has been allowed and I can't recall more than a couple of those.  NEVER in a casual round.  Why would you?

I must admit,

If i stripe a beauty down the middle, which isn't exactly a common occurence for me, and its lying in a nasty old divot, or worse yet a piece of dead grass in a failed divot replacement, then yeah why not move it over a few inches?

Its my way of protesting that the rules don't allow for this already, especially in light of being able to fix ball marks on the green and being allowed to take a free drop from a plugged lie.  At best a divot is ground under repair, so in my own Shivas-esque way I don't care what the rules say, I'm going to apply my own level of justice to be consitent with other existing rules!   

All that being said when I have a nasty lie in the rough or unmaintained areas I always play it where it lies.

[Tom Huckaby]

Well... I don't take it that far, Kalen - and that's not really what I meant at all.  I think playing it as it lies - even in those situations - is really the best way to go.  Golf is not meant to be fair... and perfect lies are not meant to always happen, not even in the fairway.  Though your take does have logical merit, it just doesn't prepare one very well for rounds that truly do mean something.  So in general, I do believe in playing it as it lies.

HOWEVER... I get back to my last post.  There are times when playing it as it lies is either stupid (competitions with LC&P or winter rules) or way too anal (practice rounds, rounds where you are just out there to hit the ball around, ie what the hell, beer rounds).  But the main thing is I just don't think there are many things which require an absolute (always or never) to which one can affirm.  And that is more my point... change that word "always" to "when it matters" and hopefully most answer "yes."  Leave it at "always" and I fail to see how anyone can.

TH

[Melvyn Morrow]

Tom

Ten simple ways to keep the faith and your game honest

The Ten Commandments of Golf
1.   You shall have no other Game but the True One
2.   You shall not make for yourself any alternative game of golf
3.   You shall not misuse the name of Golf i.e. not cartgolf etc.
4.   You shall remember the Rules – no resting on carts
5.   Respect your father and mother and Old Tom
6.   You must not kill unless they use a cart or artificial distance aid
7.   You must not commit adultery with another golfers wife
8.   You must not cheat, use outside aids or non Hickory shafted clubs
9.   Your score should be true and achieved by your own abilities
10. You must not be envious of those who can play the game unaided

Melvyn

[Kalen Braley]

Tom,

I agree with what your saying, and folks do it all the time.  For me I guess I'm just wired a little differently as it pertains to poor shots, or shall I say shots that don't find the fairway or green.  To me thats part of the penality of not finding the short stuff, in a way you're getting the punishment associated with the crime.  So I'll always play those cause it just seems right in my mind, and sometimes the lies can be so bad its a fun challenge on some level to see how well you can recover.

P.S. For the record if I was playing for money, or playing a competitive round, I would certainly play by the rules as they exist concerning balls in divots.  But otherwise if I hit one in the fairway, which on average I only do 25-30% of the time anyways, then damn it, I at least don't want to have to contend with a messed up divot. 

[John Moore II]

1) Do you prefer walking or riding? Prefer to walk, but it probably works out 50/50 which I do
2) Do you use a rangefinder/GPS device to judge distance?Not exactly. If someone else has one (which among the groups I play with is fairly rare), yes I use one. I don't have one of my own because I'm too cheap to buy one.
3) Do you always play the ball as it lies? No, depends on the course I am playing.
4) At one point is a putt "good?" Either when a playing partner says its good or if its inside 2 feet or so
5) Do you keep a handicap? Used to
6) Do you generally wager? Yes
7) Under what weather circumstances will you not play? Lighting. I've walked 18 holes in 100 degree temps before.
Do you take lessons? I have in the past, but since I started teaching, I just use my camera and computer to look at myself.
9) Do you generally hit practice balls on the driving range before a round? No, I take some warm up swings and thats it. I find that often times I'll hit some bad shots on the range and think about those all day "Don't do X again" and it makes me worse.  
10) Do you use a line on a golf ball to align your putt? Yes I do, but I am considering not doing so and putting by feel again.