GOLFERS BE PREPARED! Know the rules for 2019

With a look back at rules gone by

Phillip Ellis, Golf Today
Posted 3/28/19

Golfers, like Boy Scouts, always need to be prepared. In today’s world, you never know what is going to happen when you leave home, even at the sanctuary of your favorite links.With that in …

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GOLFERS BE PREPARED! Know the rules for 2019

With a look back at rules gone by

Posted

Golfers, like Boy Scouts, always need to be prepared. In today’s world, you never know what is going to happen when you leave home, even at the sanctuary of your favorite links.

With that in mind, listed below are a real set of rules concerning golf play that was posted in 1940 in England during World War II at the Richmond Golf Club. Richmond is a private course located about ten miles from the heart of London. The 2500-acre links, which survived the war and is still in operation, was built in 1891 by Tom Dunn.

Some of you will find these funny, but they were not intended to be. Only the British could show this much concern about proper etiquette while dodging machine pistol fire and bombs raining down on their heads.



Richmond Golf Club-1940 Temporary Rules

1. Players are asked to collect Bomb and Shrapnel splinters to save this causing damage to the Mowing Machines.

2. In competitions during gunfire or while bombs are falling, players may take cover without penalty for ceasing play.

3. The positions of known delayed-action bombs are marked by red flags at a reasonably, but not guaranteed, safe distance there from.

4. Shrapnel and/or bomb splinters on the Fairways or in Bunkers within a club’s length of a ball may be moved without penalty, and no penalty shall be incurred if a ball is thereby caused to move accidentally.

5. A ball moved by enemy action may be replaced or, if lost or destroyed, a ball may be dropped not nearer the hole without penalty.

6. A ball lying in a crater may be lifted and dropped not nearer the hole, preserving the line to the hole, without penalty.

7. A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place. Penalty one stroke.

With the times we live in you never know when this information could come in handy. It might even be a good idea for the local courses to copy this article and post it in their pro-shop.

Attention Golfers! If you are putting together a large charity golf tournament, have some interesting golf stories to share, are a PGA professional that’s new to the area, or was recently promoted,

I want to hear from you. Email me at golftodaynews@yahoo.com.