4 | July 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net For the most part, the new proposals seem to lean toward making the game less punitive, by eliminating some of the cumbersome stipula- tions as to incidental ball movement, and a bit quicker to play, by reducing time limits for a lost ball search and encouraging “ready golf.” Joe Foley, USGA Manager, Rules Outreach and Programming, believes the time was right for some rules adjustments. “About five years ago, we decided – on both ends of The Pond – that the rules were just too complex,” Foley says. “It seems that, about every 30 years, they get this way, and the last major revision was in 1984. So both the USGA and the R&A made it our mission to try to make the rules more consistent and fair for all.” To get to the public feedback phase where they are now, and which runs through August, the USGA and R&A held numerous committee meetings, made suggestions, considered items that had been flagged by the public and nar- rowed their focus to a select group of items. Interestingly enough, two of the most com- mon issues raised by the public during this 6-month feedback period, stroke & distance and ball relief from fairway divot marks, were not among the rules undergoing modification at this time. The Committee has brought up for discussion a number of proposals that golfers of all skill levels frequently encounter, however. Some of the new recommended guidelines include: no penalty for accidentally moving your ball during a search or for accidentally moving your ball or ball marker on the putting green, relief without penalty for an embedded ball anywhere except in the sand, permission to re- pair almost any type of damage on the putting green, and no penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits an unattended flagstick. Though the Committee has been mulling over these rules changes for quite some time, past high-profile penalty brouhahas like those that surrounded Dustin Johnson at the PGA, Jus- tin Rose at The Players Championship and, more recently, Lexi Thompson at the ANA Inspiration, have made all of this seem espe- cially timely. “First of all, we want fairness and simplicity for golfers at every level of competition,” says USGAGivesPublicaVoiceonNewRulesInitiative New rules allow repair of almost any type of damage on the putting green BY JUNIOR GOLF STAFF Foley. “So modernizing the rules is important, not only in how they’re applied, but also in how people learn them and engage them. We want to teach rules in a way that is very easy to understand.” As for TV audiences calling penalties on play- ers from the comfort of their living rooms, Fo- ley notes, “The rules are set up so that any ev- idence, for whatever reason or from whatever source, must be considered. So it’s our respon- sibility to review all of this. At the same time, we want to be reasonable and find solutions that are equitable to all.” The public is encouraged to voice its opinion about the new rules proposals, through the end of August. You can find a list of the new rules at www.usga.org/rules. To provide feedback, visit that same USGA site or www.randa.org. You can also express your views through social media sites, using the tag #golfrules2019 or by calling 908-326-1850. “What it all comes down to,” says Foley, “is that when you’re on that tee on Saturday morning at your local golf course, you know you’re playing by the same rules as Dustin Johnson or Jordan Spieth. It’s all about fairness.” Rules are not often made to be broken, but in golf they can be changed. That seems to be the consensus with the dramatic new Rules Modernization Initiative from the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient (R&A). The initiative, though part of a standard review that occurs every four years or so, seems especially significant this time, with 33 different rule change proposals in eight different categories, including ball at rest, ball in motion, taking relief, equipment and player behavior, among others.