Almost every golfer has an opinion on The Rules of Golf, particularly the rules that they would want to change... It can seem harsh that you don’t get free relief when your perfect drive finishes in a divot, or when you have to hit three off the tee after you find your ball a yard out of bounds. In this video, Joel Tadman and Dan Parker take a lighthearted look at the 7 rules they would change in order to make the sport fairer, more fun and introduce a greater level of skill back into the game.
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00:00Joel, I actually find the rules of golf really quite confusing and a bit boring, to be honest.
00:03Yeah, they are quite complicated, actually, aren't they?
00:05I mean, is there anything that you'd change about them?
00:07I've got a few ideas, actually.
00:08Have you? I've got a few ideas as well.
00:10Shall we go talk about them?
00:10Yeah, let's do it.
00:19Right, so to kick us off, I think this is probably the most obvious rule that most golfers want to change, Dan.
00:23It's having relief from a ball in a divot.
00:25100%. If you asked a thousand golfers now, what rule would you want to see changed tomorrow,
00:29I think 999 would say, I want relief from divots in the fairway.
00:34We'll come on to that in a second.
00:35But, you know, I've hit a perfect drive down here, got a flick with a wedge in,
00:39I've got to play out of this putrid divot here that someone's had a right hack at in a previous life.
00:44So, yeah, simple as that, right, Joel?
00:46Are you in agreement with me here?
00:48No, I'm not in agreement.
00:49I'm the one out of a thousand that don't agree you should get relief from a divot.
00:53I think there's far too many grey areas here.
00:57Obviously, you can see your ball is obviously in a divot,
00:58but there'll be other situations where you've got old divots where they've been mostly kind of recovered,
01:03but there's still a slight indentation.
01:06You know, you could argue that pretty much everywhere on the fairway there's been a divot at some point.
01:10So how do you categorize a different age of divot?
01:12You know, if you've got a bad lie in the fairway, it doesn't look like a divot.
01:15Could you claim there's a divot?
01:16I think there's just too many grey areas for you to actually define what a divot is
01:20and therefore apply a consistent ruling.
01:22So you think it'd be too much of a slippery slope if this actually came into effect?
01:25Yeah, and you could argue that obviously it's unfair that you get relief from animal holes,
01:31rabbit scrapings, that sort of thing.
01:33You get free relief from those, so why not just extend it to a divot?
01:36But for me personally, I just think it's too messy.
01:39I think it'll slow down play as well.
01:40I think there'll be an awful lot of players calling over their playing partners,
01:43can you check if this is a divot? Is it not a divot?
01:46You know, what is it? Is it just a bad lie in the fairway?
01:48And then, you know, what happens if you get in a divot in the rough or the semi-rough?
01:52I agree, that is a bit of a muddy area, even I think people who want this rule to come into place.
01:56Especially if it's not clear if you're quite in the fairway or not.
01:59Yeah, yeah, that's even more. It gets very muddy.
02:02I still think it should come into play somehow.
02:04The rules makers in the world need to figure that out, figure out those grey areas.
02:07Let us know what you think. Are you one of the 999 or are you one of Joel's mates?
02:16Right, so another rule of golf we would like to change
02:18refers to the number of clubs you are allowed to carry in your bag.
02:22Dan, talk us through exactly how you would change it.
02:25Yeah, quite passionate about this one, actually. I think 14 is way too many golf clubs.
02:28A, it's heavy, right? It's expensive.
02:31I think it takes a little bit of skill out of the game as well
02:33when you've got a club that does these sort of very minute things, you might get out once or twice.
02:37So, no one knows why it's 14 clubs, by the way.
02:40It came into effect in about the 1930s when steel shafts started getting used instead of hickories.
02:44But it's the rule now, I think it's rule 4, no more than 14 golf clubs.
02:48I would reduce it to 10. Nice round number.
02:51Let's take 4 clubs out of the bag, make it a bit lighter, make it a bit cheaper for people.
02:55Bring that skill back in where you've got to finesse different kind of shots, you know, half shots, 50% shots.
03:01So, with that in mind, Joel, I'm going to ask you now.
03:03Okay.
03:03Take your 14 clubs that you probably carry at the minute.
03:06Which 4 would you get rid of if this rule came into place?
03:08Really good question. For the record, I am totally in agreement with this rule change.
03:11Oh, excellent, thank you.
03:12But yeah, in terms of the clubs, I would say I could definitely do without my lob wedge.
03:16100%.
03:1760 degree wedge, I pretty much only use it at bunkers.
03:19I think I could get away with using a 54 or a 56 quite comfortably.
03:23I think I'd get rid of my 3 wood.
03:25I only really tend to use that on second shots into par 5s.
03:28But, you know, I can use a hybrid and flick a wedge in.
03:30I think my 5 iron as well.
03:32I mean, those are 3 clubs that I think could easily be taken out.
03:35I don't think I'd see a massive drop off in performance or scores as a result.
03:39I agree with you on the lob wedge.
03:40I love my 3, so I keep it.
03:42I'd only play odd irons, so I'd go 5, 7, 9 wedge.
03:46So, I lose my 6 and my 8, my lob wedge, and then...
03:50Your 4 iron?
03:51I don't carry a 4 iron.
03:52I probably would if I carried 14.
03:54Probably, realistically, one of my hybrid or 3.
03:57I'd have to sit down with myself and really work out.
03:59Look at your arc cost data, maybe.
04:00Exactly.
04:01See which one's doing the same job as the other.
04:02So, yeah.
04:03Come on, I need your 14.
04:04I need the 4th club out of there.
04:06Yeah, I'd probably get rid of one of the wedges, maybe the gap wedge.
04:10You could get rid of the gap wedge.
04:11Anyway, yeah, I think a great rule.
04:12We're both in agreement on this one.
04:14Let's get 14 clubs down to 10.
04:19Right, so I'm just thankful, Dan, we found some shade.
04:20Yes.
04:21It's a beautiful sunny day here at Paliero Golf Course in Madeira.
04:23But I'm a bit disgruntled, Dan, because my drive off this 18th hole,
04:27it's come down the left, it's kicked left.
04:29This guy's still there in your way.
04:30And this guy is going to cause me a lot of issues.
04:33Yeah.
04:34Because the other post is caught off in line here, going back past the camera.
04:37So, the ball is just out of bounds.
04:39I've found it.
04:41As we all know, the penalty is very severe when it comes to out of bounds.
04:44I have to take stroke and distance, so walk all the way back to the tee.
04:47Because I haven't hit a provisional ball, so I didn't think it was going to be out of bounds.
04:50All the way back to the tee, play three off the tee.
04:52So, if I hit a good drive, make good distance to this one, playing four from the fairway.
04:57On a par 4, it's just...
04:58I don't even think about it.
04:59That is actually crazy.
05:00It is.
05:01How severe the penalty is for out of bounds.
05:02Obviously, going back to the tee slows down play a lot.
05:04You've got that walk of shame, that embarrassment factor as well.
05:08But I think a fair and reasonable penalty, in my opinion, would be if you've dropped it
05:12or you haven't found it, but you can reasonably, with some certainty, know where your ball has gone into the out of bounds.
05:19I think you should be able to drop a ball in bounds, the point that it crossed the out of bounds line.
05:23As you would do with red posts and yellow at the minute.
05:25Exactly.
05:26With a penalty shot.
05:27So, playing your third shot.
05:28So, you've got a penalty.
05:30You've been disadvantaged by going out of bounds.
05:32But the penalty is not so severe.
05:34I think it's a fairer penalty.
05:37It's a much fairer way to deal with out of bounds, I think.
05:38And while we're here on out of bounds, I think we're both in agreement.
05:41Internal out of bounds.
05:42Sack it off entirely.
05:43Absolutely.
05:44I can't stand it.
05:45I mean, I know there's a safety element to it.
05:47But, yeah, internal out of bounds between two holes.
05:49You know, if you hit a wayward drive and it's sitting perfectly on another fairway, but you're randomly out of bounds.
05:55It doesn't make any sense to me.
05:56Yeah.
05:57And I think, alongside the divot one we spoke about earlier, this would be a really, really popular one for golfers back home.
06:07Right, Dan.
06:08That was a nice round, wasn't it?
06:09Very enjoyable.
06:10Thanks for that, Joel.
06:11It's time to sign our scorecard.
06:12It is.
06:13I believe there's a rule that you might want to tweak.
06:14Disregard.
06:15I think there's a chance to change this now.
06:16And so, the USGN and the RNA brought a new rule in, in 2023.
06:19A model local rule that meant you wouldn't get disqualified anymore for not signing the card.
06:25Which I think was a good rule.
06:26Do you agree with that?
06:27I think it was always a bit harsh, wasn't it?
06:28That you don't put your little squiggle down.
06:30It's often just this sort of blind scribble anyway, isn't it?
06:33You get DQ'd.
06:34That's now a two shot penalty.
06:36However, it's only a model local rule, which means clubs don't have to adopt it if they don't want to.
06:40I think it should be written and entrenched in the rules now that if you don't sign for your scorecard,
06:46if you forget to put a signature on there, it's just a two shot penalty.
06:49Which I think is penalty enough for what is really a stupid mistake that we should all be doing anyway, right?
06:53There's something else written on the scorecard there as well.
06:55Yeah, so at the bottom of this one here it says,
06:57like this video and subscribe to the Golf Monthly YouTube channel for more videos like this.
07:01That's a good idea.
07:02That's pretty sound advice.
07:03Yeah.
07:07So one rule that we want to change that I hadn't actually considered before comes down to putter design, Dan.
07:12In particular, the alignment assistance you get from putters and also on golf balls as well.
07:17I think you've got quite a drastic change that you'd like to make.
07:19Well, this is a really interesting one.
07:21When we were brainstorming ideas for the video, we sat down as a group and said,
07:25what do we want to change?
07:26And Joe, our colleague, said, I think we should get rid of alignment aids on putters.
07:29And I said, well, okay, let's maybe get rid of them on balls as well.
07:32And the more I thought about it, I think the more I like it.
07:35There's rules in place at the minute.
07:36I don't know the exact ones that say you're allowed them and the height they're allowed in the club
07:40and the substance that you can use and, and, and, and, and.
07:42I would personally wipe it clean.
07:45And that's from putters.
07:46So you can see here on my spider, which I do love and I do use this quite a lot,
07:50sort of two alignment aids here, right?
07:51You've got the line going down the middle and the Y that they use, the white Y.
07:55And then on golf balls like this, I mean, again, really popular, but I'm sorry,
07:58TaylorMade, Callaway, Bridgestone now, get them gone.
08:01Let's wipe it clean and bring a bit more skill back into the game, I guess, you know,
08:06not having it all lined up.
08:07You've got to know where you put a head's face in, if it's open, if it's closed,
08:10you've got to trust your alignment with the ball, stuff like that.
08:13I think it's a really interesting one.
08:14And one, the more I think about it, the more I'm into.
08:17Yeah, I think if you look, think about other sports, you know, snooker, for example,
08:20you don't have alignment assistance from your cue.
08:23You could argue using lines on the ball or features like we've got on that TaylorMade
08:28Tall Response Stripe slows play down a lot when you're trying to line it up perfectly.
08:32You love fast play, don't you? I've noticed that.
08:34I do love fast play. I don't like messing around too much.
08:36So getting that precisely right can take a lot of time.
08:40So, yeah, it's definitely a case to make for simplifying the design of the clubs
08:44and the balls a little bit, bring more skill back into the game,
08:48and best putters will probably still come through.
08:51Yeah, and I think it's just, look, I'm not going to align it.
08:53You knock it down nice and easy, and you just hold putts like that.
08:57You don't need the alignment aids.
08:59You've just demonstrated it.
09:00Thank you. Let's wipe them off completely.
09:02But let us know about that one because it's a bit more of an interesting one.
09:07Okay, then, Joel, next rule change, please. What have you got for us?
09:09So we're going to talk about the teeing area, Dan.
09:11So this all comes under rule 6.1b. It's fascinating stuff.
09:15It's my favourite rule, that one.
09:16As everyone knows, the teeing area relates to kind of the straight line from the front of the tee markers
09:21to club legs back and then kind of a parallel line along here.
09:24This is your teeing area.
09:26But if you don't tee your ball up in the teeing area and play your shot,
09:30you get the general penalty, which is two shots.
09:33Okay.
09:34And you have to correct your mistake, i.e. play another ball from within the teeing area.
09:38Now, in my opinion, that is a very harsh penalty for in a situation
09:43where you're not really gaining a massive advantage.
09:45So, for example, if I tee the ball accidentally, say here,
09:49just in front of the tee markers, I've gained a couple of inches.
09:53It's not worth it.
09:54It's not worth it.
09:55It's not worth the penalty, right?
09:56I'm not gaining a huge advantage by doing this,
09:59and therefore I feel like the two-shot penalty plus correcting your mistake is very harsh.
10:04Okay.
10:05I think the one-shot penalty…
10:06Like, I understand that you need to protect the game
10:09and you can't have people teeing up way in front of the markers,
10:12but in this particular situation, I think the penalty is too harsh.
10:16Okay. I think I tend to agree with you, Joel.
10:19Where's the line, though, literally?
10:21Because, you know, it's like VAR on offside, isn't it?
10:24If they bow a toe, they shouldn't give it to them.
10:26Let's make that not offside.
10:27Okay, cool.
10:28How far does it go?
10:29And you could get some person who just keeps nudging themselves up.
10:32I think there's hardly anyone who would go and tee, you know,
10:35if you're playing this way, no one would tee up over here.
10:37No, okay, that's fair.
10:38People would only make the mistake, you know, within like a 12-inch range.
10:42And I don't think you're gaining…
10:43So, would that be the line?
10:44I think so.
10:45I understand your point, but my kind of main gripe is the penalty is too harsh.
10:48Agreed. I think so.
10:49And most of the time, people do this on accident, right?
10:52Exactly.
10:53So, in match play, there's no penalty.
10:55Your playing partner can ask you to play it again,
10:58or if you've hit it into the rubbish, they can say that shot counts and that's fine.
11:02And I understand, you know, if you're teeing up the other side of the…
11:04So, that was my next question, though.
11:06You know, what if it's a hybrid to play for position, but you're not good with a hybrid?
11:10So, if you keep coming back and back and back, I want to get a driver now.
11:13You probably gain more advantages going that way than you do this way.
11:17I think so.
11:18Because you can, like you say, if you're in between clubs
11:20and you've got the club that's going to go too far,
11:22too far back, then you can… it becomes a perfect yardage.
11:25So, I kind of understand it.
11:26So, I'm okay with this way, less okay with it this way.
11:28Okay. Yes, I definitely understand your point.
11:30I think the rules have got to just sort of relax a bit, man.
11:32You know, chill out a little bit, and this would be a great way of doing it.
11:38Probably the most dramatic and drastic of the ones we've spoken about.
11:41It could change the game forever. Talk us through it.
11:44It's a humdinger, Dan.
11:45Yeah, I think we should ban teeth.
11:46Bang. Boom. Have that.
11:48I think the privileges that are extended to golfers on the teeing area
11:52versus the rest of the golf course are excessive.
11:54Okay.
11:55I've got my phone.
11:56I can reel off some of the things that you can do on a tee.
11:59In between these two sticks.
12:00You can't do anywhere on the golf course.
12:02Okay.
12:03Tees can be up to four inches long.
12:05Yeah.
12:06You can alter the surface of the ground.
12:08You can make indentations with your foot or the club.
12:11You can move, bend, or break grass.
12:12We know you can't do that on anywhere else on the golf course.
12:15Correct.
12:16You can remove objects in the teeing area.
12:17You can press down sand and soil.
12:19You can remove dew, frost, and water.
12:21You can do all sorts of stuff.
12:22You've got carte blanche here to do what you want with the golf ball, right?
12:24Exactly.
12:25And you don't want to see that.
12:26But, you know, placing the ball on a tee on the ground, on the teeing area,
12:29on the ground is enough to give you a good enough lie
12:33to be able to gain an advantage versus where you are on the rest of the golf course.
12:36Yeah.
12:37And then you've got the argument about the golf ball going too far
12:40and how the tee is pretty much directly responsible for golfers
12:44being able to launch the ball higher with less spin
12:47because they're able to attack the ball on the up
12:49because the ball is raised above the ground.
12:51Whereas if you put the ball on the ground,
12:53you would see lower ball flights with more spin, less distance.
12:57You would definitely increase the level of skill that would be required
13:01to hit the shots correctly with a lower lofted 3-wood.
13:04Or maybe if you still want to hit a driver,
13:05I think it brings the skill back into the game.
13:07It produces less distance.
13:09It solves an awful lot of problems.
13:10It does.
13:11Can I just pitch a couple of questions at you?
13:13Of course you can.
13:14I think people might be shouting at home, right?
13:15So, broadly on board with it, I think it's a fun idea.
13:19Would it rule out that club entirely from existence?
13:23What about golfers who struggle with their driver at the minute
13:25to get it up in the air and off the ground?
13:27Those are my main questions.
13:28Yeah, I mean, obviously they'd be unpopular with golfers who struggle with their driver.
13:32And obviously a lot of golfers are used to playing the ball on a tee raised up.
13:36But I think people would get used to hitting driver off these sorts of lies.
13:39Yeah, they might play a slightly higher lofted driver as a result
13:42or a lower lofted 3-wood, like I've said.
13:44But, I mean, I could demonstrate.
13:46I mean, we see driver off the deck anyway, don't we?
13:49I mean, that is from the more skilled players.
13:51But maybe that will bring that element of the game
13:53back into the sort of high handicaps of the world.
13:56You know, on teeing grounds, you can get some pretty good lies.
14:00Because that is still now.
14:01We'll show you close up.
14:02Sat up fairly nicely.
14:04It's sat up pretty nicely.
14:05And I haven't hit a lot of shots today.
14:06So this could go horribly wrong.
14:09Let's give it a whirl.
14:13Oh, Joel.
14:14Look at that.
14:15That is your first swing of the day.
14:17First swing of the day.
14:18Just down that right-hand side of the fairway.
14:20It's probably gone a good, you know, 250 yards.
14:22And that's fine.
14:23That's all you need.
14:24See, that's bringing the skill back into it.
14:25I know I'm a relatively good golfer, you know, 3 handicapper.
14:27But, and the high handicappers,
14:29they're probably going to struggle with this sort of lie.
14:31But I do think removing tees altogether
14:34and the privileges you get around preferring your lie,
14:36you know, using your wedges to raise up the ground
14:39and that sort of thing we see Laura Davies do,
14:40I think that needs to be banished from the game altogether.
14:42Yeah.
14:43And wouldn't it be fascinating to watch the professionals
14:45play all these great golf courses
14:46that we can then come see back in the game again?
14:48You know, the rollback argument is
14:50we don't see some of the great old courses anymore
14:52because they're bombing it too far.
14:53Wouldn't it be great to see those golf courses back?
14:55And it's that risk-reward as well.
14:56Do you want to risk hitting a driver off the deck,
14:59off the tee, in case it goes horribly wrong?
15:01Yeah.
15:02But obviously you get rewarded if you hit it like that.
15:03You do still get some pretty good distance.
15:05It's a fascinating one, Joel.
15:06I think, one, some food for thought for you guys watching at home.
15:09I think probably a really good rule to crown off that video.
15:11Yeah, there's going to be a lot of comments, I think.
15:13Well, let us know.
15:14Would you like to see that?
15:15I'm feeling a lot of anger
15:17because some golfers aren't, lots of golfers aren't that great
15:19and they're going to struggle with that.
15:20But I'm feeling lots of positives on the rollback perspective.
15:22But is it, I was going to say,
15:23is it a better solution than rolling back the golf ball for everybody?
15:26I would say yes.
15:27I would say yes as well.
15:28So let us know if there's any that we've missed
15:29that you would like to see.
15:30But for now, from Madeira, thanks for joining us.