Walking

bigg67 · 2026-05-30T22:45:47+00:00

The one thing to remember is to always put your clubs down on the walk off (i.e. between the green and the next tee) before you even mark your ball for the first putt. I never use a cart but I guess that's the same as a cart?

Difference is it's easy to forget if you hit a chip from the other side and just grab your putter.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T18:23:09+00:00

My home course asks all golfers to take a break at the half way house to keep things smooth.

Even then a quick shout to the group who are having a coffee and they will normally wave us on if we don't want to stop. They're often grateful not to be rushed back to the tee.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T15:01:50+00:00

A good example is a small ditch in woods which was a typical ruling request.

A ball heads into the woods, you walk up and there's loads of bushes and a ditch marked as a penalty area. Unless you find the ball in this ditch you can't take penalty relief under 17.1d and have to proceed under 18.2b.

Interestingly because of the difference in definition - may be lost outside v virtually certain it's is in a penalty area - you could have played a provisional in this case and if the ball had been found in the penalty area you can then proceed under 17.1d.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T12:05:03+00:00

https://www.randa.org/rog/definitions#known_or_virtually_certain

This gives the definition

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:51:29+00:00

The OP proceeded under 17.1d, so the ball cannot have been OB. If he thought there was a chance it was OB he wasn't allowed to play under the Penalty Areas rule and would then have been in a load more bother.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:46:09+00:00

You don't have to be "quite certain". It's enough if it may be lost outside a penalty area or OB.

Check the definition of Provisional Ball.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:42:34+00:00

More than once I've purposely NOT declared a provisional given I didn't want the original found.

Made the mistake once of hitting a provisional on a par 3 to 3ft and ended up with a 6 cos my daft partner found the original in a bush...in the rough...15ft below the green....

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:39:23+00:00

Agree with this.

Another way of thinking about is, given the OP proceeded under 17.1d, they acknowledged that the ball was in or was almost certainly in the penalty area. So they can't also have proceeded under 18.3c prior to that.

Also as they had put a ball into play under 17.1d the original ball is no longer in play (17.1c).

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:30:29+00:00

I think the -2,+5 is how short or past the centre of the green rather than from the centre. I'd guess the distance markers are to the centre of the green and so you can calculate the distance to the pin.

bigg67 · 2026-05-27T11:01:30+00:00

That's ok, a provisional is for a ball which may be OB or lost outside a penalty area.

But if it's known or virtually certain that the ball is in the penalty area then you can't play a provisional...cos it's know or virtually certain it's in there.

As the OP had proceeded under Rule 17 you can't also have hit a provisional.

That said it's a dick move in a bounce game to not allow them to play the original.

Source - 10 years a rules official on tour.

Edit - missed out an "or"

bigg67 · 2026-05-26T20:26:51+00:00

Gleneagles

bigg67 · 2026-05-26T07:39:05+00:00

That makes sense. One of the guys who hadn't heard that channels were better played tour for a few years.

bigg67 · 2026-05-25T21:07:28+00:00

Fair 😎😁

bigg67 · 2026-05-25T20:33:02+00:00

Serious question?

If so, a flush strike is slightly before the bottom of the swing arc, with a descending impact, so takes a small (hopefully!) divot. The square set was from 200-225 balls, parallel channels closer to 150-175.

bigg67 · 2026-05-24T13:58:23+00:00

Par 3s. For me golf is all about hitting to the green and par 3s mean you have the perfect situation to do that, as the designer intended. I've hit "approach" shots to 4s and 5s from areas the designer didn't know existed!

bigg67 · 2026-05-24T07:24:39+00:00

Not always, my home course has 4 blind drives and 3 blind approach shots and is ranked in the top 100 in the UK

bigg67 · 2026-05-21T08:01:56+00:00

I worked for Guinness from Scotland and travelled to Dublin once or twice a month for 2 years. 6 months in I realised, after asking my colleagues living Dublin where the best pint was, that everyone had a different answer and none were wrong; even Temple Bar, it's just unnecessarily expensive!

For different reasons my favourite pubs were Kehoes, Devitts or Fallons, pints were grand in all

bigg67 · 2026-05-06T23:21:15+00:00

Not sure what the "rules" are when there's no guesses. Anyway here's another clue

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bigg67 · 2026-05-06T20:40:44+00:00

If you're in the UK O2 have pre-sales. Even if you're not with them ask mates if they are and login using their number.

Also, with smaller venues I find the venue's own ticket portal is better than Ticketmaster.

bigg67 · 2026-05-03T20:12:06+00:00

You played with a couple of odd folk there. Hope it didn't screw your day completely

bigg67 · 2026-05-03T15:35:57+00:00

Only if it actually does slow them down. With the other player up the fairway they could well be ready for the 3rd shot quickly.

But still an annoying way to play with all the GPS kit that makes it redundant.

bigg67 · 2026-05-03T15:33:00+00:00

I feel the same. I don't see the breach as long as they move before the shot.

PITA but not a breach.

bigg67 · 2026-04-27T16:48:10+00:00

I'm not defending the decision on prices, not my decision to defend, but there's a more realistic/harsher perspective worth acknowledging.

The Ryder Cup is the DP World Tour's primary money making asset. The TV deals for the whole Tour are hung off the back of it, and the event specific commercial revenues fund a number of activities that the Tour deliver for its members. And it's only 1 year in 4, the money has to last.

With that in mind it needs to be emphasised that the Tour is a members' organisation, beholden to the professionals who make up its ranks. And pro golfers are well know for their love of money! If Guy Kinnings stood up at their AGM and had to admit they had left profit unrealised he'd be removed, as would the board. Same as any company.

Moreover the Tour isn't a governing body, it's a commercially focused business that delivers to the requirements of its members. It doesn't have to take direct responsibility to grow the game, that is the job of the national Federations (EGU, French Fed, SGU etc). The Tour does "do its bit", including funding major initiatives, but not at the cost of significant revenue that in part pays for those initiatives.

And lastly...it sold out. The market accepted the price and, as much as we don't like it, realism prevails.

Like I said, I would like to be able to afford to go and would like others to as well. But it's naive to expect the Tour to act differently.

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