Three more classes on the schedule today: Rules of Golf, Mechanics of the Short Game, and Microcomputer Applications.
At Rules of Golf, PGA Instructor Ed Ekis handed out the Rules in the pocket-sized version you’re probably used to seeing as well as an illustrated guide. It’s a glorified picture book of the different rules. There are 34 rules (plus subsets), and we’re going to memorize them all by the end of the semester. We also took a tournament entrance exam, 36 questions relating to tournament procedures and the rules of the game. We’ll see how we did as a class. Rumor has it most students get a C or worse the first time they take it. The test should give Ed a pretty good idea of where we stand and where we need to improve.
After a short break, it was on to Mechanics of the Short Game with PGA Instructor Jay Friedman. Jay also teaches Golf Fundamentals. It was only a 50 minute class, and we debated the greatest putters of all time from Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. We also discussed Rule 14-1b, anchoring the club. This is the rule that bans belly putters beginning in 2016. Jay is of the opinion that the rule may never go into effect or that the PGA Tour and Champions Tours may adopt their own rules to allow such putters to stay on tour. I think this is a terrible rule. The USGA had decades to declare belly putters and anchored clubs illegal. Now, it’s too late. Don’t get me started!
We finished the day with Microcomputer Applications and a review of computer concepts. I don’t have class tomorrow, but I do have a club fitting with Tim Eberlein. He’s one of only two PGA Master Teaching Professionals in the state of Arizona, so I’m pretty excited. We get a pretty big discount for being Golf Academy students, so I’m hoping a new set of irons won’t cost too much.