Rules/Numbers

November/December 2020 By The Numbers

This edition of Rules Quiz features an excerpt from MAGA official John Thorman’s e-book, “Let’s Get It Right,” which

is available at https://issuu.com/dear_john/docs/dear_ john_-_book_20162021?fr=sNDFkOTE5ODc3MTg

Rambo

Dear John: A player’s second shot on the par-5 13th hole came to rest up on the bank behind a dead tree. It was a 15-foot tall 6-inch diameter trunk that was rotting away. The tree interfered with the player’s swing (i.e., he was right-handed). To my surprise, the player started elephant-ramming the trunk trying to break it off at the ground (i.e., hitting it like a linebacker). He broke loose a three-foot chunk from the top of trunk before we could stop him from hurting himself! The player went on to hit a punch-shot down to the fairway and finish the hole. Should there have been a penalty? - Timber!

Answer

Dear Timber, Are you referring to the Rules of Golf or breaking some law? At least no one got hurt. Golf is a gentleman’s game that linebackers play, too. A player may not “move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object” if doing so improves the conditions affecting the stroke (Rule 8.1a). The tree is no longer growing, but it is attached (i.e., rooted in the ground) Although the player broke off the top piece of the dead tree, that did nothing to improve the area of his swing; therefore, no penalty. Had the player succeeded in breaking the tree off at the ground and gaining a normal swing, the penalty would have been two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.

Thanks, John

103 This is the number of players on the PGA Tour who average more than 300 yards in driving distance. Ten years ago - in 2010 - the 300-yard Club included only 12 members. In 2000, it included one - John Daly at 301.4 yards. 23 The number of MAGA Player of the Year honors Ellen Port has celebrated. Port and other POY winners were toasted on Dec. 2 at Bogey Hills Country Club and the honorees are featured in this edition of The Metropolitan. A poem Port read at the ceremony is on page 20. 3.1 The millions of dollars raised by The Memorial Tournament (by Nationwide) for charity in a pandemic year, which required the venerable championship be conducted without fans. An amazing achievement by the folks in Dublin, Ohio.

395 The number of feet in a putt holed by Brett Stanford in 2017, recognized by Guinness Wordd Record as the longest ever made. The Australian trick shot artist struck the putt from the 5th fairway of Point Walter Golf Course, from where it bounded onto the green and into the hole. 20 The percent by which the number of junior golfers (equal to 500,000 players) may have increased by the end of 2020, according to estimates by The National Golf Foundation. In what has been a remarkable year of growth for a sport that adapts so well to the social-distancing demands of the pandemic, the NGF also estimates new or lapsed golfers may have increased by as much as 20%, as well.