Like most people, I really hate rules. I accept the logical ones and understand that new ones are constantly needed, but generally speaking, if there’s not a clear, definable problem that needs solving, just leave your new rules at home.
Golf seems to have a problem with this mindset. In fairness, it’s a pretty nuanced game that needs to account for lots of variables, but this is too often used to justify upholding a bunch of convoluted rules that lead to ridiculous results.
The USGA — golf’s governing body — did some good work last month when it finally eliminated one contentious rule, but it’s ending the year preparing to implement an entirely new one: On Monday, the USGA announced that, starting early next year, golfers who choose to play alone can no longer submit scores towards their handicap.
There are a few things that make this rule annoying, not least of which the hypocrisy of it. Golf prides itself as a game of honor, one in which players uphold the tradition of a game by acting as their own referees. But, apparently, that high-minded ideal stops when it means actually entrusting people to do it.
If people want to lie about playing a game, let them lie. Have fun with that, person who lies about playing a game. Even if you try to stop them, they’re probably just going to do it anyway, so why penalize all the honest people who just want to play golf by themselves occasionally?
The bigger issue, though, is that this is just another instance of golf secluding itself. Golf has a problem because the next generation thinks it’s too expensive and takes too long — it’s why participation numbers have remained largely stagnant in recent years. If the industry needs more golfers (which it does), it needs to make golf more accessible, which is the opposite of what this rule does. Make getting a handicap less convenient and less people will do it, so less people will feel an attachment to the game.
And this doesn’t happen in other sports, by the way. This is a golf-specific phenomenon. Granted, most sports don’t have handicaps that you need to take into account, but there are comparable situations. The NBA, for example, doesn’t decree that people aren’t allowed to say they made 10-straight free throws in their backyard unless there was someone else watching. Believe them if you want, don’t if you don’t. It doesn’t really need to be more complicated than that.
