Golf Rules Plain & Simple
- Book Review,
by Mark Russell, John Andrisani
Amazon.com
As befitting a royal and ancient game, golf's rules are complicated and often confusing. On the PGA Tour, players have tournament officials to help keep them on their toes. Those not fortunate enough to be on the Tour are left to the mercy of the official Rules of Golf--a fine book, but somewhat bogged down in legalese. To remedy this situation, veteran golf writer John Andrisani teamed up with PGA Tour tournament official Mark Russell to create Golf Rules Plain and Simple--a plain-spoken guide to dealing with 37 common rule violations. Some of the rules seem too strict for the weekend duffer (are you really going to penalize your opponent two strokes for asking you what club you used?), but committed golfers will want to abide by them anyway. After all, golf is a game of honor. With its compact size and durable covers, Golf Rules Plain and Simple is the perfect addition to any golf bag. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
"The game's big lie is that the rules of golf are simple. The actual fact is that they are complex and confusing, which is why millions of earnest amateurs unwittingly violate them every time they play. PGA Tour official Mark Russell is one of golf's best at making complicated rules decisions clear and understandable to the best players in the world, and now he's presenting his common sense approach in plain drawings and plainer English. If you want to truly understand the rules and confidently play by them, read this book." -- Jaime Diaz, Sport Illustrated
About the Author
Mark Russell is a former golf teacher and director of golf at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Since 1983, Russell has been a rules official for the PGA TOUR. John Andrisani is a former editor of Golf Magazine and author of several best-selling books with the world's top PGA TOUR players and golf instructors. Jeff Blanton is a freelance photographer whose work has appeared in popular golf magazines and books by renowned golf professionals and teachers.
Excerpted from Golf Rules Plain & Simple by Mark Russell, John Andrisani, Timothy W. Finchem. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
IntroductionLooking back, much has changed dramatically in the golf world, particularly over the last two decades--except one thing: Average golfers didn't know the rules then, and they don't know them now.Some of you high handicappers might think I'm referring to you alone. I'm not. When it comes to naiveté about the rules, golfers who play at all handicap levels--novices and veteran players alike--lack a full understanding of how to proceed correctly on the course.There's no need to feel embarrassed about not being a rules expert. The rules, as laid down by the USGA and R & A, in The Rules of Golf, are extremely detailed and precise. That's because this booklet is designed to handle the numerous situations that can and do arise during a round of golf.Golf Rules Plain & Simple, the book you are about to read, is not complex, yet it will teach you a lot about the rules. This book is short and simple, yet so informative that it will help you learn the correct procedures for dealing with such course situations as those that follow: lateral water, an embedded ball, touching the line of a putt with a club, removing a loose impediment from a bunker, and waiting too long for a putt to drop into the hole. After reading Golf Rules Plain & Simple, you will know how to handle these situations, and many others, qiuckly and correctly. The knowledge you gain will help you solve many rules problems during your Saturday and Sunday game.Golf is a game played over approximately 150 acres of land and under all types of conditions. The rules are the same for all players, whether they are amateurs competing in a weekend Nassau game, or professionals competing for millions in prize money. The trouble is, when people start playing golf they are concerned about their swing technique, not the rules that govern the game. It is not until they become proficient enough at golf to compete in club tournaments that they have to deal with the rules. Many golfers would like to play by the rules, but the majority of them do not even know the basics or how to apply them.Golf Rules Plain & Simple was purposely designed to be golfer-friendly, in order that enthusiasts like yourself either learn the rules or be able to reference them easily.In this book, I--and my coauthor John Andrisani--cite, thirty-seven rules situations that all golfers deal with frequently, then explain each simply. We even list the exact place in The Rules of Golf where these situations can be found. By making this presentation, we hope to help golfers use the rules book and make them familiar with the most fun way to play the game of golf, which is by the rules.Also included in Golf Rules Plain & Simple are "buzz-pharses" at the end of each rule, which will help those you who just breeze through the book to pick up some important procedural pointers. Additionally, I have marked five Rule Situations--numbers 18,21,32,34, and 36--with an asterisk. Learn only these and you'll be known as the rules expert of your weekend foursome.If you think back over the years you've played golf, and recall the frustration experienced when dealing with rule procedures on the course, you will want to read this book and recommend it to other players. If you do, golf will bea better game.The contents and interpretations in this book are solelybased on my own opinions on The Rules of Golf.Mark Russell Orlando, Florida
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