Let’s Talk About the Rules

I think it’s time we had a talk about the Rules of Golf. There are 34 of them… and they are really hard to understand. In class today, we attempted to dissect Rule 25: Abnormal Ground Conditions, Embedded Ball, and Wrong Putting Green. It took us over an hour to parse through the legalese. The Rules were written by attorneys, so I guess that’s what you get. Under Rule 25-1a alone, there are seven definitions that need to be looked up. They are: abnormal ground condition, stance, putting green, line of putt, and line of play. Add up all the time it takes to get through just one rule, and you have what I believe is one of the inherent problems with the game itself – the rules are simply too complex.

In Mechanics of the Short Game, we talked about putting. As with the full swing, club face angle determines which direction the ball is going to go. That makes sense if you think about it. Aim and speed are the most important elements of putting. When you putt, your feet should be a little less than shoulder width apart with your arms hanging directly below your shoulders. Your eyes should be just over or on the inside edge of the ball.

So is the proper fit. I got Campus Director Tim Eberlein to give me a putter fitting this morning because my aim has been off to the right and I’m missing putts to the left. Tim recommended I go with an offset, heel-toe weighted putter 33 inches in length. So I went right next door to the PGA TOUR Superstore and bought a new putter to tinker with. It’s a TourEdge Backdraft GT. It cost me $32. The Super Stroke grip I put on there cost me $23 if that tells you anything. It’s the first time since I first really started playing golf that I’m not using a name brand putter, so it’s a bit of an adjustment. I just want to make more putts, and I’m hoping this will help. We also adjusted the lie angle on this putter from 64 to 68 degrees.

In Microcomputer Applications, we’re studying PowerPoint. I haven’t used PowerPoint since presenting my college thesis in 2002, so it’s been a while. You can really put together a complex slide show if you have the time and the willpower.

On the schedule tomorrow: I’m working the driving range at the Phoenix Open with several of my classmates. Tiger Woods tees off No. 10 at 7:57a after struggling to an opening round 73 (+2/T104), his first round of 2015. He’ll definitely be warming up. So will Michael Thompson (-4/T9). I grew up in the same Tucson neighborhood as Michael, who won the 2013 Honda Classic and played his college golf at the University of Alabama. He goes off No. 10 at 8:15a, and I’m going to try to catch up with him if I can. We work from 6:30-1p, and there’s rain in the forecast. It rarely rains in Phoenix! I’m bringing rain gear.