Before the match begins, make it clear to your team members that, although they will undoubtedly see you around the course at various locations, they should consider you just another spectator. You will not be critiquing their play. You are there as a fan, not as a coach. You will only relay any changes in the match, any information relative to the pace of play, and any local information from the golf course management.
CONDUCT ON THE COURSE
As a spectator, you may see some game management flaws by some team members. You may notice poor club selection or a recurring problem in putting. Note these bits of information and discuss them during the next practice session. Be extremely careful in your body language and conversation to others in the gallery. You must instill in your team the confidence you have in them. A great round, a bad round, or an indifferent round should not dictate your actions.
I’ll always remember how intimidated I used to be whenever my coach walked up near a tee as I began to play. I felt compelled to hit a good shot, and the pressure was sometimes overwhelming. One day my coach sat me down and explained that he attended the matches strictly as a fan and that he was confident in my abilities. After that day, I was able to play in his presence without fear or pressure.
Your responsibility to the competing team members is just as important. Treat them with respect and fairness. You elevate your image as a golf coach in the community when all school players see you as a professional.
If a team member has a difficult day, wait until the match is over before you offer consolation. Golf can be humiliating, but working through the physical and emotional aspects of a bad round is part of the developmental process. Be sure to comfort and soothe discouraged students after the match, but never during it. As in any sport, teach them to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.
Lesson Learned
I have always encouraged parents to follow players during matches or tournaments. However one year I had a player who did not care to have his parents follow him. In order to keep him mentally sharp, I accepted his decision. During the state championship, this player hit his second shot from 210 yards on a par-5. He thought he pulled it a little and lost it in the sun. After searching for the allotted five minutes, he went back and hit his next shot out of bounds, eventually holing out for a nine.
When walking off the green, he found his original ball three feet off the green and only 20 feet from the pin. To make matters worse, the scorekeeper assigned to the group saw his ball and knew the location but did not know to speak up. The player ended up one stroke short of making the top 10, and the team finished four strokes out of first. This player’s parents are both golfers, and I know they would have followed his ball. I now find someone to follow each player to avoid such situations.
Gregg Bailey, Crofton High School, Crofton, Nebraska
MENTAL PREPARATION
As the coach, you must prepare your players for the pressure of competition. Reassure students that the pressure they experience while trying to execute various shots is controllable through proper mental management. As the coach, you should be neither too sensitive nor too insensitive. Be respectful to your players, but don’t cower.
The important thing to remember is moderation. Too much or too little of anything is generally bad. However, we are only human. There is no such thing as perfect management. Therefore, you should provide your students with coping mechanisms and ways to self-correct.
For example, a friend of mine and I use the word “Jonas” when we find ourselves reacting negatively to a situation. Don’t ask me how we arrived at the word “Jonas,” but it works. A trained psychologist probably could put this activity into a simple category using complicated definitions to describe human behavior. We just know it changes our attitudes immediately. I have known of professional athletes who physically turn around in order to “turn around” their behavior.
Work with students to help them find their own coping strategy: a word, routine, action, or thought that helps them turn a negative reaction into a refocusing. Try to keep it simple.
Between practices and before tournaments, encourage your players to try visualization. If there is a shortcut to achieving a good swinging motion, it would be seeing it in your mind, then moving your body as you see it. However, it is almost impossible to hit the ball using a swing that is an exact duplicate of a visualized swing. The anticipation of contact becomes a major factor when the ball is present. Reminding students of the two-position swing and drilling the full swing without a middle will help lessen the bracing feeling students feel when about to strike the ball. The more students rehearse the swing based on how they visualize it, the more likely they are to repeat that swing when the ball is present.
Visualization also will help students execute shots around the course. This applies to putting, chipping, pitching, and full swings. If students can see it in their minds, their bodies have a better chance of executing the shots. Encourage students to see it, feel it, and do it.
The following pages provide a review of some of the rules of golf. Review the rules with your players well before the match. Make sure they know and understand each rule. Remember the three unwritten rules, too: play the course as you find it, play the ball as it lies, and if you must break one of the first two rules, then proceed under the rule of equity and do what is fair.
The rules listed here cover most of the common situations your players will encounter on the course. As your players’ interest, skills, and frequency of play increase, they will learn more about special situations not mentioned here. Be familiar with the terminology and definitions, and know how to use the USGA rule book.
Golf is one of the unique sports where rules are self-governing. There is no referee to control and govern play; usually players are on their own. Therefore, the rules of golf, as written by the USGA, are based on players’ honesty and integrity and the fun and fair play of the game.
Playing by the rules is to every players’ advantage. Playing by the rules makes conditions equal for all players, but they do not make all players equal. The rules change as they are continually scrutinized. Encourage players to keep a current copy of the rules booklet with them on the course, in their golf bags, for example.
Beginning golfers do not need to concern themselves with every technicality, but they should be aware of the regulations that apply to the situations they will encounter most often. Players should also know the terminology used in the rules book.
Competition
There are two types of competition: stroke play and match play. In stroke play, the winner completes his or her round in the fewest number of strokes. In match play, each hole is either won, halved (tied), or lost. The winner is the player who wins the most holes.
Some rules vary depending on the type of competition. In stroke play, the usual penalty for violating a rule is to add strokes to the player’s score. In match play, the usual penalty for violating a rule is the loss of the hole.
The underlying principle to competitive golf, regardless of which type of competition it is, is to play the ball as it lies and do not touch it except when striking it with a club. The rules permit players to touch the ball during play, with or without a penalty, in certain situations, but most of the time players are expected to play the ball as it lies, counting a stroke each time they intentionally swing at the ball, even if the player misses hitting the ball.
The Course
The golf course is divided into four areas: teeing grounds, hazards, putting greens, and the rest of the course, called through the green. Each area has specific rules. Rules for water hazards, bunkers, and putting greens are described later in this chapter.
Each hole starts on the teeing ground. On the first hole, the player who gets to hit first has the honor, which is determined by draw or lot. On all subsequent holes, the player who has the lowest score or who won the previous hole (or, in the event of a tie on a hole, won the last hole that wasn’t tied) has the honor.
During match play, if a player tees up outside the teeing ground his or her opponent may recall the shot and make the player tee again inside the teeing ground, without penalty. If a player accidentally moves the ball off the tee before taking the stroke, he or she may replace it without penalty.
After teeing off, play continues toward the green with the player farthest from the hole hitting first. The hitting order continues until the balls are in the hole.
During play, if a player moves the ball either accidentally or intentionally after addressing it, one penalty stroke is added to the player’s score for the hole. The player must play the ball where it lies. If the ball rolls out of bounds, it is played under out-of-bounds procedures of stroke and distance.
If a player accidentally kicks the ball or moves it while not addressing it, the ball is replaced, a one-stroke penalty is added to the player’s score, and play continues.
In stroke play, if an outside force, such as a dog, or another player moves the ball, it is replaced with no penalty and play continues.
Ground Irregularities
Except when on the teeing ground, you may not remove or press down any ground irregularities that could in any way affect your lie, swing, or line of play. You cannot improve the position of your ball by moving, bending, or breaking anything fixed or growing, such as a tree limb in your way or a weed in front of your ball. You must play around or over trees, bushes, large boulders, and other natural, unmovable objects, but you may remove loose, natural impediments such as stones, twigs, or fallen leaves, unless your ball and these objects lie in a hazard. You may also move manmade obstructions such as paper, bottles, boxes, and maintenance equipment.
Lost and Out-of-Bounds Balls
If you lose your ball or hit it out of bounds, you must drop another ball as close as possible to the spot from which the first ball was hit. Count the previous stroke and add a penalty stroke to your score before you play the dropped ball.
If you think the ball you hit may be lost or out of bounds, you may hit a provisional ball. Two conditions apply:
1. You must hit the provisional ball before you go forward to look for your first ball.
2. You must inform your opponent, fellow competitor, or marker of your intention before your next shot.
If you discover that your first ball is not lost or out of bounds, then it remains the ball in play and you must abandon the provisional ball. On the other hand, if your first ball is in fact lost or out of bounds, then the provisional ball becomes the ball in play. You then count both strokes played (the first ball plus the provisional ball) and add a penalty stroke to your score.
These rules do not apply to a ball lost in a water hazard.
Dropping the Ball
When you must drop a ball, stand erect, hold the ball at shoulder height and arm’s length, and drop it. There is no restriction on the direction you face.
Unplayable Balls
You may declare a ball unplayable if it is in a position that you cannot play, unless it is in a water hazard. If you declare a ball unplayable, you have three options:
1. Hit another ball from the point where you hit the first ball, count both shots, and add a penalty stroke.
2. Drop a ball within two club lengths of the unplayable spot (no nearer the hole than the ball’s original position) and add a penalty stroke.
3. Drop a ball behind the unplayable spot, keeping that spot directly between yourself and the hole. You may go back along that line as far as you want, as long as you remain in bounds. Add one penalty stroke.
If you declare a ball unplayable in a bunker, you must drop your ball in the bunker.
Embedded Balls
In the closely mowed area of the fairway, if your ball becomes embedded by the force of its impact you may lift, clean, and drop the ball at the nearest spot, no nearer the hole than the ball’s original position. Note: Some clubs may have local rules that permit you to drop from an embedded ball through the green, except in sand.
If you ever play the wrong ball—any ball but the one you have in play or a provisional ball—you must go back and play the correct ball, adding two penalty strokes to your score for the hole. Do not count any of the strokes played with the wrong ball. If you play a wrong ball in match play, you lose the hole. It is very important to put an identifying mark on your ball so you won’t incur this severe penalty.
Water Hazards and Bunkers
Water hazards and lateral water hazards include any seas, lakes, ponds, rivers, ditches, or open water courses, whether or not they contain water. All the ground in the margin of a water hazard or lateral water hazard is considered part of the hazard.
Bunkers are hazards that have been prepared by removing soil or turf and replacing it with sand. Grass areas in the bunker are not part of the hazard.
When your ball lies in or touches a hazard, you may not touch the ground, sand, or water with your club until you make the forward swing. Play the hazard as you find it, except that you may move manmade objects.
If your ball enters a water hazard—defined by yellow stakes or lines—you may either play it as it is or take a stroke penalty and do one of two things:
1. Keeping the point where the ball last crossed the hazard margin between you and the hole, go back as far as you like and drop a ball.
2. Drop a ball at the point from which your original ball was last played.
When your ball enters a lateral water hazard—one that runs approximately parallel to your line of play and is defined by red stakes or lines—you have the same options as for a water hazard, plus two additional choices: you may drop a ball within two club lengths of the point where the ball last crossed the hazard margin or two club lengths from a point on the opposite margin of the hazard that is equidistant from the hole. Either way, the point where you drop the ball must not be closer to the hole than the point where the ball last crossed the hazard margin. Of course, you may always choose to play your ball from the hazard.
Obstructions
If a manmade obstruction—such as a water pipe, sprinkler head, restroom, or bridge—interferes with your swing or stance but not your line of play, you may drop the ball within one club length of the nearest point that provides relief from the obstruction. (This does not apply to obstructions in water hazards or out-of-bounds markers.) After you drop the ball, it must come to rest no nearer the hole than its original position.
If a movable obstruction—such as a hose or rake—interferes with the lie of your ball, you may move the obstruction with no penalty. If your ball lies on the movable obstruction, you may lift your ball and move the obstruction. If you are on the green or in a hazard, drop the ball as near as you can to the spot directly under the obstruction where the ball would lay. If you are on the putting green, place the ball at that point. If your ball moves when you move the obstruction, replace the ball with no penalty.
Unplanned Obstacles
On the green, if your ball lies in casual water, on ground under repair, or in a hole (a cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, reptile, or bird), or if any of these unplanned obstacles interferes with your stance or swing, you may lift your ball without penalty and drop it within one club length of the nearest point on the course that gives relief from the condition, as long as it is no nearer the hole than the ball’s original position.
If you encounter these conditions in a bunker, you may play the ball as it lies or lift it, without penalty, and drop it in the bunker as near as possible to the spot where the ball lay (no nearer the hole than the ball’s original position) in an area that provides the most relief from the condition. Alternatively, under penalty of one stroke, you may lift the ball and drop it outside the hazard, keeping the spot where the ball lay between you and the hole.
These rules also apply if your ball is in a water hazard, except that there is no relief from casual water or burrowing animals.
On the putting green, if your ball lies in casual water, on ground under repair, or in an animal’s burrow, or if these unplanned obstacles intervene between you and the hole, you may lift the ball and place it, without penalty, at the nearest point that gives relief from the condition.
The Putting Green
The putting green is a specially prepared surface. When your ball touches the green, it is considered on the green. When your ball is on the green, you may not touch the line of your putt except to repair ball marks or remove loose impediments. You may not test the surface of the putting green by rolling your ball or roughing the surface. After you putt, be sure to repair any spike marks you or another player may have left before you leave the green.
Before you lift a ball on the putting green, mark its position by placing a small coin or other object directly behind it. Should your mark interfere with another player’s line of putt, use your putter head to move your mark to the side. Be sure to move your mark back to its place before you play your stroke.
If another ball moves your ball from its resting place on the putting green, you must replace your ball. In stroke play, if both balls are on the green and a competitor’s ball moves yours, the competitor is penalized two strokes and must play his or her ball where it ends up.
If your ball lands on the wrong putting green, you must lift your ball, without penalty, and drop it off the green within one club length of the green, no nearer to the hole you are playing than the ball’s original position.
If your ball strikes the flagstick when played from anywhere on the putting green, your penalty is loss of hole in match play and two strokes in stroke play.