The Game
For the uninitiated, “a game of golf consists of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules,” the very first Rule of Golf : Rule 1-1, quoted verbatim.
Par for the course
A round of game is usually 18 holes, each hole either a 3, 4 or 5 par, totalling to 72 par. The par of a hole is the number of strokes a scratch (expert) golfer is expected to make, to complete the hole. The hole in this case is the entire area from the teeing ground (the starting place for the hole to be played) till the putting green (an area that is specially prepared for putting).
The distance of the hole varies according to the lay of the land and the way the designer of the course wants the hole to be played. The effective playing length of a course is usually between 6300-7300 yards, the longer courses undoubtedly proving more of a challenge. For men, the distance per each hole is in the range of below 230 yards for a Par 3, below 480 yards for Par 4 and below 650 yards for Par 5.
“par for the course”
Equity
Historian, Kenneth Chapman points out that American, Charles B. Macdonald considered the “Father of Golf Architecture” remarked in 1927, “Golf is a world encircling game. One of its charms is that no matter where you go, whether America, Asia, Africa, or Scotland, the game is the same, with only such local Rules as are necessary to govern the local situation.” No truer statement exists. This game is governed, today, by a set of 34 Rules and over 1600 Decisions (interpretations). Considering that the game is played in Nature and it is virtually impossible to write a code of rules to encompass all that happens on a golf course, it is necessary to find a way to deal with situations that occur, that are not covered by the Rules.
Ergo Rule one to four
Rule one to four: Points not covered by the Rules — If any point in dispute is not covered by the Rules, the decision should be made in accordance with equity.
The genesis of this Rule goes back to 1890 when the golfers of that era wanted to level the playing field by a code of the rules that could be applied with ease for a wide range of golf courses that were springing up then. The 1891 code that followed this request read, “Should the dispute not be covered by the Rules of Golf, the arbiters must decide on equity.
With over 50 Decisions in today’s book dealing with this Rule, for me the most important, amongst the 34, is the principle of equity, making this game the noblest pursuit of them all.
The writer is an International Golf Administrator & Council Member of the Indian Golf Union.
