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The Rules of Golf and the Golf Course Superintendent

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The Rules of Golf and the Golf Course Superintendent Some Committee Questions That Come to Mind by ELI BUDD Green Committee Chairman, Oak Ridge Country Club, Minnesota NE OF THE QUESTIONS I am that 95 percent of the meeting is not frequently asked is, "Should related to the superintendent's domain. Ogreen superintendents participate It would be an imposition to a man in green committee meetings?" whose hours start from daybreak and I would have to give a positive YES end at sunset daily during the season, answer to this question. The green com- Eli Budd to sit for three or four hours and listen mittee meeting is the best forum for the to other club matters that do not pertain superintendent to explain his objectives to him. There is at least one exception. for both his current and future programs, That is the case of a significant change to explain his needs for new equipment, in the golf course itself. Surely the super- chemicals, fertilizers, trees, and seed. intendent should attend such meetings. It's his opportunity to learn the members' "Should the superintendent attend thoughts and what he can do about them. budget meetings?" It is also the superintendent's conduit to If you are referring to budget com- the membership. It is perhaps the most mittee meetings that encompass all of important means for members to under- the club's committees, I would say no. stand the problems the superintendent At Oak Ridge, Keith Scott, our super- faces. intendent, prepares his annual budget Another frequently heard question is, and presents it to the entire green com- "Should the superintendent attend mittee for approval. It is then submitted board meetings?" by the green committee chairman to the I can't see the necessity for the super- board for final approval. We have never intendent to attend board meetings. In had a problem getting his budget ap- my 25 years on club boards, I have found proved through these channels. The Rules of Golf and the Golf Course Superintendent by WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS, JR. Vice President, USGA AM DELIGHTED to have this correct. A golf competition should be For those who yearn for the simpler opportunity to speak to you about determined by the skill of the players days of the original 13 rules, I might lcourse condition and setup from the and not the resolution of a Rules prob- mention that Rule 13 deals with French point of view of a Rules official and lem, an inadvertent Rules violation, or ditches and dykes, scholars' holes, and former Chairman of the USGA's Rules a bad course condition. soldiers' lines - the first local rule. And of Golf Committee. Accordingly, it is in our common you will especially enjoy Rule I: "You When I set out to officiate at the U.S. interest to avoid Rules problems that must tee your ball within a club's length Open, the Amateur or the Masters, my detract from a competition. of the hole. "Did the original 13rules last friends frequently say they hope to see First, a word about the history of the long? The second page is largely taken me on television. Not me! That means Rules. The earliest written Rules we are up with changes in Rules 5 and 13,which that there is a Rules problem, and Rules aware of were laid down in 1744, at Leith, were apparently found to be unsatis- problems can be very difficult to resolve. in or near what is now Edinburgh, factory. It's not just that I'm chicken, which I Scotland, to govern a competition for Early in the 19th century several clubs am, but no one likes to see the outcome the Silver Club of the city of Edinburgh. had their own rules. Later in the century of a major golf competition turn on a There were 13 rules; they took up less there was an approach toward uni- Rules incident or an official's decision, than two handwritten pages, and they formity based on the Rules of the Royal even if most believe the decision was still exist in a bank vault in Edinburgh. and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews 20 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD.
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