Who makes the rules in golf?
I know I’m still alive because I’m learning new things all the time, and I know I’m getting old because many of the things I’m learning don’t surprise me. I used to make a living as a database administrator, so I didn’t get to play or follow golf as much as I would have liked.
Like almost every sport, there is a governing body in golf whose job it is to maintain a level playing field for all participants, but I didn’t know there were two, nor did I know what are their areas of responsibility. Case in point, I knew that NASCAR has defined limits on their racing car engines, supposedly to keep the races competitive. Those same limits are decried by some of the race car drivers as causing the tracks to be too congested at critical places, leading to wrecks. Thankfully, improvements in saftey gear and practices have allowed most of the drivers involved in the crashes to walk away unhurt. Even so, it seems that more of them have been getting angry with one another, sometimes leading to skirmishes.
Every football field is the same size, same with basketball courts and hockey rinks. Baseball has a fixed distance between the bases, but the other dimensions differ from ballpark to ballpark. Every golf course has multples of nine holes and every hole is the same diameter, but every course varies in it’s layout, distance and the number and sizes of hazards.
Golf has been played for hundreds of years, and according to Wikipedia, the number of holes was standardized at 18 in the 15th century. There are two governing bodies; R&A Rules Ltd and the USGA.
R&A Rules Ltd, established in 2004 and consisting of a group of companies, was handed governing authority by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, in St. Andrews, Scotland, where the rules of golf were standardized in 1897. It governs golf everwhere except the United States and Mexico, which are ruled by the United States Golf Association. R&A Rules Ltd is made up of eight committees, one of which is names the Rule and Equipment Committee.
Since 1952 the R&A and the USGA have collaborated every four years to publish the rules of the game. Local clubs have jurisdiction when it comes to course boundaries, ball drops, and ESAs (environmentally sensitive areas). Rules of etiquette define what is proper player behavior.
Each governing body handles handicapping and course ratings differently: R&A Rules Ltd defers to the specific nations involved since there are so many, USGA does it centrally.
Now, all of this may or may not be interesting to you, but these governing bodies also determine the performance parameters for clubs and balls.
But that’s another blog which you might be interested in. Of course, I could be wrong.
TAGS:
golf, glof, sport, governing body
participants, NASCAR, defined limits, racing car
competitive, critical places, improvements, safety gear
practices, skirmishes, dimensions, nine holes
hazards, R&A Rules Ltd, USGA, Royal and Ancient Golf Club,
St. Andrews, local clubs, rules of etiquette, proper player behavior
handicapping, course ratings, performace parameters,
golf clubs, golf balls
I know I’m still alive because I’m learning new things all the time, and I know I’m getting old because many of the things I’m learning don’t surprise me. I used to make a living as a database administrator, so I didn’t get to play or follow golf as much as I would have liked.
Like almost every sport, there is a governing body in golf whose job it is to maintain a level playing field for all participants, but I didn’t know there were two, nor did I know what are their areas of responsibility. Case in point, I knew that NASCAR has defined limits on their racing car engines, supposedly to keep the races competitive. Those
same limits are decried by some of the race car drivers as causing the tracks to be too congested at critical places, leading to wrecks. Thankfully, improvements in saftey gear and practices have allowed most of the drivers involved in the crashes to walk away unhurt. Even so, it seems that more of them have been getting angry with one another, sometimes leading to skirmishes.
Every football field is the same size, same with basketball courts and hockey rinks. Baseball has a fixed distance between the bases, but the other dimensions differ from ballpark to ballpark. Every golf course has multples of nine holes and every hole is the same diameter, but every course varies in it’s layout, distance and the number and sizes of hazards.
Golf has been played for hundreds of years, and according to Wikipedia, the number of holes was standardized at 18 in the 15th century. There are two governing bodies; R&A Rules Ltd and the USGA.
R&A Rules Ltd, established in 2004 and consisting of a group of companies, was handed governing authority by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, in St. Andrews, Scotland, where the rules of golf were standardized in 1897. It governs golf everwhere except the United States and Mexico, which are ruled by the United States Golf Association. R&A Rules Ltd is made up of eight committees, one of which is names the Rule and Equipment Committee.
Since 1952 the R&A and the USGA have collaborated every four years to publish the rules of the game. Local clubs have jurisdiction when it comes to course boundaries, ball drops, and ESAs (environmentally sensitive areas). Rules of etiquette define what is proper player behavior.
Each governing body handles handicapping and course ratings differently: R&A Rules Ltd defers to the specific nations involved since there are so many, USGA does it centrally.
Now, all of this may or may not be interesting to you, but these governing bodies also determine the performance parameters for clubs and balls.
But that’s another blog which you might be interested in. Of course, I could be wrong.
Read Full Post »
Dave's Divots 
Who makes the rules in golf?
Posted in Commentary, Golf Commentary, Golf History, tagged competitive, course ratings, critical places, defined limits, dimensions, glof, golf, Golf balls, golf clubs, governing body, handicapping, hazards, improvements, local clubs, NASCAR, nine holes, participants, performace parameters, practices, proper player behavior, R&A Rules Ltd, racing car, Royal and Ancient Golf Club, rules of etiquette, safety gear, skirmishes, sport, St. Andrews, USGA on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I know I’m still alive because I’m learning new things all the time, and I know I’m getting old because many of the things I’m learning don’t surprise me. I used to make a living as a database administrator, so I didn’t get to play or follow golf as much as I would have liked.
Like almost every sport, there is a governing body in golf whose job it is to maintain a level playing field for all participants, but I didn’t know there were two, nor did I know what are their areas of responsibility. Case in point, I knew that NASCAR has defined limits on their racing car engines, supposedly to keep the races competitive. Those
same limits are decried by some of the race car drivers as causing the tracks to be too congested at critical places, leading to wrecks. Thankfully, improvements in saftey gear and practices have allowed most of the drivers involved in the crashes to walk away unhurt. Even so, it seems that more of them have been getting angry with one another, sometimes leading to skirmishes.
Golf has been played for hundreds of years, and according to Wikipedia, the number of holes was standardized at 18 in the 15th century. There are two governing bodies; R&A Rules Ltd and the USGA.
R&A Rules Ltd, established in 2004 and consisting of a group of companies, was handed governing authority by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, in St. Andrews, Scotland, where the rules of golf were standardized in 1897. It governs golf everwhere except the United States and Mexico, which are ruled by the United States Golf Association. R&A Rules Ltd is made up of eight committees, one of which is names the Rule and Equipment Committee.
Since 1952 the R&A and the USGA have collaborated every four years to publish the rules of the game. Local clubs have jurisdiction when it comes to course boundaries, ball drops, and ESAs (environmentally sensitive areas). Rules of etiquette define what is proper player behavior.
Each governing body handles handicapping and course ratings differently: R&A Rules Ltd defers to the specific nations involved since there are so many, USGA does it centrally.
Now, all of this may or may not be interesting to you, but these governing bodies also determine the performance parameters for clubs and balls.
But that’s another blog which you might be interested in. Of course, I could be wrong.
Read Full Post »