Respectfully Submitted, Foremost

The University of the South* Sewanee, Tennessee Foremost was excited to play the recently renovated Sewanee Course which had received rave reviews. “Do you have any Local Rules?”, asked Foremost, making his usual inquiry at a new course. “Yep, cheat like hell” said the attendant, not missing a beat. Reader Rev CS, a Sewanee Divinity School alum, unwittingly took this advice to heart. Facts “It’s okay if I step down the grass by my ball, isn’t it?”, he asked as…

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Facts Nothing is more refreshing than a frank, respectful, and spirited Rules discussion between two popular and veteran golfers, both mindful of the history and spirit of the great game of golf, and of the obligation each player has to the sportsmanship, traditions, etiquette, and Rules of play, which make golf the greatest game on earth. In this spirit, Reader RF approached Reader WT on the practice range at BMCC and asked him why he was “so damn slow”. Upon…

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(Rules 6.3,7.4, 9.4, 12) As golfers move into the year under the New Rules, they should familiarize themselves with the new terminology of golf. By now, most players know that “Water Hazards” are now “Penalty Areas” (See Def, “Penalty Area”) and “Bunkers” are no longer “Hazards”, but instead receive special treatment of their own under a new Rule for “Bunkers” (See Def “Bunker”; and R12). Other new terminology that has received less attention to date is the designation of a…

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With the weekend Livingston competition on the horizon at BMCC, and In anticipation of an onslaught of Rules controversies and questions, Foremost travelled to Orlando and the spectacular Orange Tree Golf Club for a couple of playing sessions and rules consultations with golf’s premier Rules guru, Mark Russell. Mark has been a PGA Rules official since 1980, and is currently Vice President of Rules and Competition overseeing all aspects of competition on the Tour. (Yes, he’s the guy you see…

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R14.3b; R14.5 Drops Facts It was great to see Reader SS back on the golf course! SS missed the entire 2018 golfing season after shoulder surgery, and is trying to make a comeback in 2019 while recovering from back surgery which involved the fusion of the L-2 and L-5 , or something like that …very painful and serious surgery. His only play prior to running into Foremost had been a 9-hole outing with his wife, the lovely and talented, SzS….

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Facts “You’ve gotta be kidding”, said Reader LB, after Foremost dropped a penalty on him on the 17th hole of a spirited match play competition. He did not look happy. Indeed, the timing for a penalty assessment was awful, as LB faced a five footer for his par, which would have merited a halve (or tie)of the hole, as F was already in with his net par. Truthfully, F was most reluctant to cite an infraction at this time in…

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Concessions R3.2b; Order of Play R6.4 a and b; A Player’s Responsibility R3.2d Golf fans around the world had to enjoy the little rules flap that overshadowed the Kuchar -Garcia quarter-final match on Saturday! If you missed it, Sergio missed a seven-footer for a win, and then missed a back-handed, raked, four-incher for the tie before Kuchar could concede the putt. Sergio thought nothing of the rake and walked to the next hole thinking he had tied the hole. Kuchar…

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Facts In threesome “birdie-bash” competition, Foremost and teammate, JS, had teed off and were looking around for their fellow teammate who was nowhere to be seen. (Due to the delicacy of this factual situation, we will reference this “Remaining Partner” as “RP” so as to conceal his identity). It seems that RP had experienced serious “gastrointestinal issues” on the way to the tee box, and had excused himself to find the nearest facility. Unfortunately, due to the course construction work…

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Facts Thanks to the handicap system, Foremost and Reader EC were engaged in a tense competition against a couple of long-knocking young challengers in Readers BF and SM. Before putting, F reached down and rotated his ball for alignment. As he did so, it occurred to him that he should have marked his ball before rotating, but then he realized at this same instance that his putter head was on the ground effectively marking the ball, and thus, he was…

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BMCC Assistant Pro, DA, perhaps making his first appearance on these pages, stopped Foremost in the hallway simply to advise him that Scottish Day had come and gone without a single Rules question or controversy! “Nothing?”, asked F. “Nothing” was the response. “Perhaps a few minor inquiries about ‘casual water’, but the field seemed to resolve this issue on its own, since virtually the entire course was under casual water.” As a Rules commentator F was frankly disappointed, of course,…

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