Why Passing A Rules Test Should Be Compulsory For Competition Golf

I played golf recently with a good friend of mine who is a casual golfer. He hit a ball into casual water off the tee on one hole and was about to play it as it lies when I interjected: “You can get relief from that lie.” He looked at me as though I was from Mars! “What do you mean, take relief?” he questioned. I then had to explain the rule for taking relief from casual water, showing him how to identify his nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole, where the ground wasn’t saturated. 

I was amazed that he had never heard of the rule yet alone used it (especially after last winter). This was not a stand-alone incident. In fact, I am staggered on a weekly basis, at how many golfers who are marking a card in a competition round don’t know even the most basic Rules of Golf. 

Compulsory Testing

It is my ever-growing frustration with what seems like a lack of guidance or certainly standards of acceptability in this department that has prompted me to make what some might seem to be quite a controversial suggestion - that we MUST pass a basic Rules of Golf knowledge test before we are allowed to enter a qualifying competition. 

Now, before you get irate and suggest that we are in an era of trying to grow the game by making it more accessible to the masses than ever before and that this would be a barrier, I am talking about competition golf here, not a friendly knock with your mates. I think that it should be compulsory for all golfers to take (and pass) a basic, short rules test before they can enter competitions.

What I’m saying, in effect, is that while it is ok to turn a blind eye to rules mistakes made during casual play, it is totally unacceptable and frankly unfair that there are golfers competing in club, county and even national competitions, marking a scorecard and winning prizes, that are completely in the dark about many of what I would call the “basic” fundamental Rules of Golf. To be frank it’s not necessarily their fault because nobody is enforcing it.

The German System

In countries like Germany, on the other hand, taking a rules test is standard practice. To play golf in Germany, most golfers must possess a license called a ‘Platzreife’ before they can play. It’s expensive (around £300 for a 5-day course) and pretty rigorous (a written and a practical test.) 

The Platzreife is a legal requirement to play golf in Germany, instituted over 40 years to prevent unskilled players from holding up the games of others. Germany has no public courses open to all, so the Platzreife is a way to control who gets to play (critics saying it makes the sport elitist.)

It works the same way in Sweden. You need to play 9 holes with the club pro just to show that you can actually hit a ball, and you'll also need to pass a short test with the basics of the rules. 

Although I’m against the complications, expense and time constraints of the system they use in Germany and Sweden, it does make sense. By having to pass a test they are keeping golf standards.

You wouldn’t expect to be allowed to drive a car without passing a test, you have to take a written and practical exam, so why should golfers compete in competitions without demonstrating that they have a basic, fundamental understanding and knowledge of the rules that govern our game?

Rules Are Golf's History

Looking back on the history of the game, The Rules of Golf were introduced to make golf fair. They have been regularly revised and modernised (most recently in January 2023) and are now available in fast, easily accessible formats such as the R&A Rules of Golf app. There’s really no excuse not to learn them. 

Back in my junior days we were educated on the rules as part of our group kids coaching sessions. This was then reinforced by the senior, experienced members who I played with. The rules “sticklers” as I called them were actually doing me a huge favour by pointing out what I could and couldn’t do when I hit a ball into trouble off the tee and many other scenarios - too many to list. 

This old-fashioned formality at clubs seems to have been put aside in favour of welcoming new members in with no vetting process. There are also a vast number of casual pay-and-play golfers nowadays who don’t belong to golf clubs so aren’t exposed to these mentors, the experienced players. The World Handicap System allows you to input your scores whenever and with whoever you play. It doesn’t check if Joe Bloggs marking your card has a handicap history.

Universal Rules Testing

So why did we introduce a universal World Handicap System, but no standard 'Know The Rules' qualification for competitors? I think that a compulsory golf rules test that you must take and pass before you can play in qualifying competitions would be universally embraced. Think of it like your golf passport. You can’t travel the world without it.

The R&A already has a fantastic Rules app and a multiple choice rules test in place (that very few people know about.) The hard part has already been done. A “pass” stamp could simply be added to your handicap certificate. This could then be used to enforce (by automation) those who can and can’t enter competitions. It would be very easy to do. 

I honestly cannot see any downside to this whatsoever. I want to emphasise again, that this would not be a barrier or deterrent to playing casual golf. Just that there should be a minimum standard of rules awareness to play in competitions. 

Framed the right way this could actually help beginner golfers. Many of us must remember feeling some trepidation in our early games of golf. Unsure if we were doing the right thing, where to stand, how to behave when others are taking their shot, what to do in a particular situation, without even getting to properly playing by the rules. 

When I first joined a golf club and was putting cards in for handicap, I had to play a round of golf with someone on the committee. They were checking on my basic knowledge of the rules and etiquette during the round. A group rules and etiquette induction could banish many of those fears and give a new golfer the confidence to go out and play with others.

Plus there’s the added benefit of getting to know other new golfers. The rules tests could be run in groups, then all the beginners immediately have a set of people they know who are in the same position as they are and can ask questions and organise games together. Surely there are many positives to this. So I ask you again, should passing a golf rules test be compulsory before you are allowed to compete? I think so.