Is It Possible To Simplify The Rules Of Golf?

It’s very easy for people to say that the Rules of Golf are too complicated, and in some ways understandable, too, for the Rules are indeed long in order to cover all manner of eventualities and scenarios from the commonplace to the more obscure. 

Of course, it is always possible to simplify things, and that is one of the goals The R&A and USGA have in their Rules revision process, which typically takes place every four years. This was particularly the case in the 2019 Rules revisions, when many things were changed quite radically. 

But the underlying aim of that process was improvement over and above mere simplification, for there would be little point in simplifying something if it made matters more confusing or the Rule book less thorough. While not all golfers were/are in favour of all of those 2019 changes, things have pretty much settled down into a new rhythm now, and some of those changes were very much about simplifying things.

Just a few examples from the 2019 revisions:

* No penalty for hitting the flagstick when putting means less to think/worry about on the green.

* No penalty for moving your own ball when searching for it means less reason to worry about where you tread.

* No need to call someone over to watch you lift your ball when you need to identify it in the rough streamlines that process.

* No penalty for moving loose impediments in bunkers and penalty areas simplifies things by eliminating a previous Rules difference, or discrepancy if you like, between various areas of the course.

The 2019 revisions provided strong evidence that it was, and is, possible to simplify the Rules but even though the Rules became quite a bit shorter, with a reduction from 33 down to 24 Rules (now back up to 25!), there is, of course, still a lot to digest. So why does it have to be this way?

Well, the first thing to say is that, if you’re hoping that one day the Rules of Golf will fit on a single sheet of A4, I’m afraid you are going to be disappointed. Many clamour for a simple “hit it, find it, hit it again” approach to the Rules, and while that would indeed be the ideal, golf is played on a vast, diverse arena covering many acres. The nature of the terrain and everything on it varies enormously from one course to the next and even in tennis, where the playing arena itself is strictly defined, the International Tennis Federation’s rules still run to 46 pages.

Out on the golf course you may encounter mown grass, thick rough, bushes, trees, flowerbeds, woodland, bunkers, paths, roads, lakes, rivers, streams, bridges, buildings, fences, walls, irrigation boxes, drainage covers… the list could go on. The Rules of Golf have to effectively address countless ‘what if?’ scenarios and introduce set procedures so that everyone is playing by the same code.

Much as you might say “just hit it, find it, hit it again”, what if you can’t find it (under water in the middle of a lake), or you do find it but it's physically impossible to play it (right up against a wall)? Do you just abandon your round and mark ‘did not finish’ on your scorecard? That wouldn’t be a lot of fun or a great way to keep people playing.

In order for you to be able to complete your round, the Rules simply have to find ways for you to be able to proceed in these kinds of scenarios. We could visit loads of different Rules here, but let’s home in on one and investigate the various things that have to be covered for that scenario.

Let’s say you find your ball after a wayward drive but it’s 15ft deep inside a thorny, impenetrable bush and almost certainly unreachable. What do you need to know and do before proceeding?

* Is it definitely your ball and what constitutes a positive identification?

* Do you have to physically retrieve the original ball to continue?

* What are your options that will allow you to proceed with your round?

* If you have to drop somewhere, where do you drop and how do you drop?

* What if the ball rolls outside where you’re permitted to drop or you drop it incorrectly?

* Are there any other options to dropping?

* Are there any penalty shots for any of the options and, if so, how many?

One simple but fairly typical scenario, and at least half a dozen questions. Of course, if you’ve been playing golf a while you’ll probably know all the answers. But try to imagine that you’re starting from scratch and don’t know any of them – the Rules need to clarify as clearly and thoroughly as possible what you need to do to continue your round to ensure that you are proceeding in the same manner as other golfers.

When you factor in myriad other things that can, and do, happen out on the course, each of which needs to be covered to the same degree for consistency, it perhaps helps to explain why the Rules of Golf can probably never be simplified to the degree that some golfers seem to think should be possible.

So, while The R&A and USGA are always striving to improve and simplify the Rules of Golf where possible, they will never do so at the cost of thoroughness and clarity.