Westwood calls for checks on golf clubs

There was an interesting thing, but not the first time. European number one Lee Westwood has called for compulsory checks to be introduced following the changes to the rules regarding grooves on golf clubs.

The new requirements came into force for professionals for the first time in Abu Dhabi last week, and outlaw “boxed” grooves in favour of a more “v” shape in an attempt to reduce the amount of spin.

As a matter of fact, The changes played a part in Westwood missing the cut on his first appearance of the season after being left in the dark over the legality of a new set of irons with testing only optional.

After missing the cut in Abu Dhabi, Westwood has since had the new discount golf clubs tested. And after they were found to be legal the world number four used them for the first time competitively during today’s first round at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

He carded a four under par 68 to sit just a shot adrift of leaders Oliver Wilson and Bradley Dredge.

Westwood believes once the decision was made to change the rules officials should have pre-empted any confusion by enforcing a time limit for players to have their clubs checked after the start of the new season to ensure a level playing field. He said, “I just don’t see the point in bringing that rule in, why leave it up to the individual?”

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Golf rules are important to your game

Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards, so is golf. Following are some of the basic golf rules and regulations to get you started towards having a fun time on the course.

• Never interfere with the golf ball’s movement while it is in play. You must always play the ball as it lies. The only exception to this rule is if you are taking a stroke penalty to move the ball from an unplayable lie.

• If you are hitting from the putting surface, and you strike the flagstick while it is in the hole, you will be penalized a stroke.

• If you think you have lost your ball or hit it out of bounds, play a provisional ball from the same place.

• On the tee box, you must tee up your ball between the two tee markers. You may play the ball up to two club lengths behind the tee markers, but never in front of them.

• If you are near the flagstick while another player is putting, it is your duty to tend the hole, or pull the flagstick from the hole before the player putts or before their ball reaches the hole.

• On the putting green, whichever player is farthest from the hole has the option of putting first.

• When playing out of a sand bunker, the face of your cheap golf clubs must not make contact with the ground until you are taking your stroke.

• You cannot press down on the ground to improve the line of your putt, but you may remove loose impediments from your putting line.

• Remain quiet and keep still when other players are hitting, putting, or in the midst of their shot routine.

• Many golf courses will have their own local rules or regulations in effect. Check with the club house before setting out on your round to see if there are any local rules you will need to abide by.

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There Types of Handicaps

Generally speaking, there are 3 types of handicaps out there which are honest handicaps, sandbagger handicaps and  Hollywood handicaps.

Honest handicap is the most common one. This is a handicap that is determined by using a standard and accepted formula as defined by the governing golf body in a particular country. The golfer who carries an honest handicap is conscientious about keeping accurate scores by his great golf clubs, adhering to the accepted rules of golf and of considering all rounds played when applying the handicap formula.

The golfer who can be considered to be carrying a sandbagger handicap goes out of his way to make sure that his “official” handicap is somewhat higher than what it should be. The reason for doing this is pretty obvious. When competing in Net Score competitions (often involving money or prizes) he can have a distinct advantage. One can get more advantages by doing this than using good golf equipment.

A proper handicap, as mentioned above, must be based on all rounds played – good or bad. One “not so subtle” way to achieve the status of an elite sandbagger is to conveniently forget to enter good rounds but to be diligent to the extreme when it comes to entering bad rounds. If the golfer is “on a roll” with nothing but good rounds being shot, it may be necessary to make the supreme sacrifice and actually purposely play a bad round. “Gee, I just couldn’t hit a fairway today!”

The third type of golfer is the one who carries a Hollywood handicap. This type of player is extremely interesting. This golfer has his heart in the right place – he takes the game seriously and desperately wants to improve and, perhaps more importantly, to be recognized as an accomplished player by his friends and peers. For the typical Hollywood handicap player, the handicap is everything. He would rather carry a low handicap and lose money than carry an inflated handicap and win money. A rare, but interesting breed!

For Hollywood handicapper, you can enjoy a cold beverage after a round of golf and discuss nonchalantly his final score. It would never occur to him that his 9 on the eighth hole should have any bearing on the validity of the score he discusses – a result where a 7 appears on the scorecard.

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