Hannigan's rules story draws fire
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
In this year of seemingly bizarre golf rules incidents--see Juli Inkster's swing aid and Dustin Johnson's well-populated bunker--former USGA Executive Director Frank Hannigan in the December Golf Digest defended the rules and suggested that easy "fixes" only made matters worse. Several readers took exception, with this one arguing that most golf rules are a waste of time anyway.
Mr. Hannigan's article shows that he, as a typical representative of USGA, has no "common sense." He is just another taliking head from that group. The USGA consistently ignores the majority of golfers in this country, those of us who play the game for fun and don't give a damn for the USGA rules. For us losing a ball is penalty enough for hitting a ball in a lake. We really don't care how many clubs we have in our bag. If we could find a driver we could hit long and straight, the USGA moment-of-inertia rule would not stop us from buying it. There is nothing wrong with a "mulligan." We don't play tournaments. We can't spin a ball on the green, so what difference does changing the grooves mean to us? It is time for the USGA to get realistic and cut out trying to produce meaningless rules for the majority of the golfers. Just admit that tha USGA is an arm of the PGA and the club manufacturers, and make rules for the pros only. By the way, we are probably the most prolific buyers of golf products in a dying sport, so try not to draw our animosity. Brian B. Torsney Sr., Palm Desert, CA
Please note that Hannigan left the USGA 20 years ago and would not be described in Far Hills as an unwavering supporter of the association. He just happens to believe in the
Rules of Golf and thinks most of the amendments suggested post-PGA Championship don't improve things. But your point, Brian, is well taken. We sometimes forget that most golfers play by what we once called "the reasonable man's rules of golf," not the laws of serious competitions. The point is to have fun, right? My only issue with "reasonable" rules is that--and this has been proven by the events of 26 years of golf trips--those rules lead to almost as many infractions and fracases as the real ones.
Bob Carney
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