There is a hardly a week that passes in my life when I have not been questioned regarding a certain rule of golf and the sense that it makes.
True, the 34 rules of golf, 62 definitions, more than 1600 decisions and 4 appendices can confound even the most erudite. But not all are blessed like some of us, having been weaned on golf, growing up under the watchful tutelage of friends and fathers. For many, learning the rules is more in a haphazard fashion, much like a bird scavenging for scraps.
While many may be confused as to the actual purpose of some of the rules, the original 13 rules enshrined in 1744 have had to change, frequently and extensively.
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The conditions of play have changed dramatically, from the grazing fields of Scotland to the likes of the pristine and salubrious surrounds of Augusta. With almost 80 million globally playing the game, there has been rapid commercialisation, even as there has been an advancement of technology in the clubs and balls. There is, thus, a direct link between the number of golfers and the way the rules change.
In order to satisfy the clamouring demand for rules knowledge, the R&A has established a formal, three-tiered Rules Education System.
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In a first of its kind, the R&A partnered, in 2010, with the Indian Golf Union (IGU), to establish rules education in India. Tailored to provide basic knowledge to beginners, as well as satisfy the need for higher levels of rules knowledge for officiating, our programme has it all.
Level 1 is a simple, one-day affair called the Introductory Rules School. The process calls for a half-day session in the classroom, viewing videos of incidents and rules explained through graphics. The afternoon is dedicated to a 3-hour session on the course, performing practical demonstrations of the rules, followed by a fairly simple examination. For 2015, the IGU plans to have 4-6 such schools across the country.
Those who score 70 per cent or more are invited to attend a once-a-year, Level 2 Rules School. For 2014, this school was held from January 9 to 11, 2015, at the picturesque Hyderabad Golf Association, set within the ruins of the majestic Golconda Fort.
Level 2 is a three-day affair. Day 1 is all-classroom, to study the rules in detail, accompanied by videos and illustrations. Day 2 is an on-course practical demonstration by the instructors, followed by a gruelling 2-hour examination, in which the second part is an open-book type, requiring examinees to find rules and corresponding decisions for alleged breaches by a fictional pair of John and David, putting their way around the golf course. An ‘Art of Refereeing’ session by experienced referees sets up successful candidates (scoring 75 per cent or higher) to undergo a stressful practical examination on Day 3.
This consists of the examiner, assisted by an assessor, performing the role of a player seeking a ruling from the referee. While 11 marks out of 15 are required to pass, the accent is on the technicality, clarity and accuracy of refereeing, rather than just having theoretical knowledge.
The two best performers are then sent to the R&A’s Level 3 School at St. Andrews, held annually in February, which is the ultimate test of knowledge and skills in refereeing, where a pass of 80 per cent and higher gets international accreditationThe IGU has trained more than a 100 referees, and in the latest edition, Sonam Chugh of Mysore and Saurav Ghosh of Jamshedpur have been selected to travel to Scotland next month.All said and done, there is an old adage that goes, ‘Nobody is ever satisfied with the rules of golf as they may happen to stand.’