Rules Changes for 2008
We've received several letters on changes to the Rules of Golf for 2008. The most confusing change, perhaps because of the way we reported it in Golf Digest in January, has to do with "advice."
From one of several readers comes the basic question:
I was reading the rule changes for 2008-2009 in the January 2008 magazine. You said, on page 50, that "Advice clarified to include the exchange of information on distance". Could you please clarify?
Clarification: We got it wrong. That item should have read " to exclude" the exhange of information on distance. Indeed, the Definition of Advice has been altered so that distance is not part of advice and discussion of distance is allowed. Here is the new definition. See specifically paragraph two:
Advice ?Advice? is any counsel or suggestion that could influence a player in determining his play, the choice of a club or the method of making a stroke.Information on the Rules, distance or matters of public information, such as the position of hazards or the flagstick on the putting green, is not advice.
So you can talk about distance, hole location or about the rules, as we're doing here, without incurring a penalty. You can also apologize for a mistake, which we do.
--Bob Carney
