Almost every golfer has an opinion on The Rules of Golf, particularly the rules that they would want to change... It can seem harsh that you don’t get free relief when your perfect drive finishes in a divot, or when you have to hit three off the tee after you find your ball a yard out of bounds. In this video, Joel Tadman and Dan Parker take a lighthearted look at the 7 rules they would change in order to make the sport fairer, more fun and introduce a greater level of skill back into the game.
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00:00Joel, I actually find the rules of golf really quite confusing and a bit boring, to be honest.
00:03Yeah, they are quite complicated, actually, aren't they?
00:05I mean, is there anything that you'd change about them?
00:07I've got a few ideas, actually.
00:08Have you? I've got a few ideas as well.
00:10Shall we go talk about them?
00:10Yeah, let's do it.
00:19Right, so to kick us off, I think this is probably the most obvious rule that most golfers want to change, Dan.
00:23It's having relief from a ball in a divot.
00:25100%. If you asked a thousand golfers now, what rule would you want to see changed tomorrow,
00:29I think 999 would say, I want relief from divots in the fairway.
00:34We'll come on to that in a second.
00:35But, you know, I've hit a perfect drive down here, got a flick with a wedge in,
00:39I've got to play out of this putrid divot here that someone's had a right hack at in a previous life.
00:44So, yeah, simple as that, right, Joel?
00:46Are you in agreement with me here?
00:48No, I'm not in agreement.
00:49I'm the one out of a thousand that don't agree you should get relief from a divot.
00:53I think there's far too many grey areas here.
00:57Obviously, you can see your ball is obviously in a divot,
00:58but there'll be other situations where you've got old divots where they've been mostly kind of recovered,
01:03but there's still a slight indentation.
01:06You know, you could argue that pretty much everywhere on the fairway there's been a divot at some point.
01:10So how do you categorize a different age of divot?
01:12You know, if you've got a bad lie in the fairway, it doesn't look like a divot.
01:15Could you claim there's a divot?
01:16I think there's just too many grey areas for you to actually define what a divot is
01:20and therefore apply a consistent ruling.
01:22So you think it'd be too much of a slippery slope if this actually came into effect?
01:25Yeah, and you could argue that obviously it's unfair that you get relief from animal holes,
01:31rabbit scrapings, that sort of thing.
01:33You get free relief from those, so why not just extend it to a divot?
01:36But for me personally, I just think it's too messy.
01:39I think it'll slow down play as well.
01:40I think there'll be an awful lot of players calling over their playing partners,
01:43can you check if this is a divot? Is it not a divot?
01:46You know, what is it? Is it just a bad lie in the fairway?
01:48And then, you know, what happens if you get in a divot in the rough or the semi-rough?
01:52I agree, that is a bit of a muddy area, even I think people who want this rule to come into place.
01:56Especially if it's not clear if you're quite in the fairway or not.
01:59Yeah, yeah, that's even more. It gets very muddy.
02:02I still think it should come into play somehow.
02:04The rules makers in the world need to figure that out, figure out those grey areas.
02:07Let us know what you think. Are you one of the 999 or are you one of Joel's mates?
02:16Right, so another rule of golf we would like to change
02:18refers to the number of clubs you are allowed to carry in your bag.
02:22Dan, talk us through exactly how you would change it.
02:25Yeah, quite passionate about this one, actually. I think 14 is way too many golf clubs.
02:28A, it's heavy, right? It's expensive.
02:31I think it takes a little bit of skill out of the game as well
02:33when you've got a club that does these sort of very minute things, you might get out once or twice.
02:37So, no one knows why it's 14 clubs, by the way.
02:40It came into effect in about the 1930s when steel shafts started getting used instead of hickories.
02:44But it's the rule now, I think it's rule 4, no more than 14 golf clubs.
02:48I would reduce it to 10. Nice round number.
02:51Let's take 4 clubs out of the bag, make it a bit lighter, make it a bit cheaper for people.
02:55Bring that skill back in where you've got to finesse different kind of shots, you know, half shots, 50% shots.
03:01So, with that in mind, Joel, I'm going to ask you now.
03:03Okay.
03:03Take your 14 clubs that you probably carry at the minute.
03:06Which 4 would you get rid of if this rule came into place?
03:08Really good question. For the record, I am totally in agreement with this rule change.
03:11Oh, excellent, thank you.
03:12But yeah, in terms of the clubs, I would say I could definitely do without my lob wedge.
03:16100%.
03:1760 degree wedge, I pretty much only use it at bunkers.
03:19I think I could get away with using a 54 or a 56 quite comfortably.
03:23I think I'd get rid of my 3 wood.
03:25I only really tend to use that on second shots into par 5s.
03:28But, you know, I can use a hybrid and flick a wedge in.
03:30I think my 5 iron as well.
03:32I mean, those are 3 clubs that I think could easily be taken out.
03:35I don't think I'd see a massive drop off in performance or scores as a result.
03:39I agree with you on the lob wedge.
03:40I love my 3, so I keep it.
03:42I'd only play odd irons, so I'd go 5, 7, 9 wedge.
03:46So, I lose my 6 and my 8, my lob wedge, and then...
03:50Your 4 iron?
03:51I don't carry a 4 iron.
03:52I probably would if I carried 14.
03:54Probably, realistically, one of my hybrid or 3.
03:57I'd have to sit down with myself and really work out.
03:59Look at your arc cost data, maybe.
04:00Exactly.
04:01See which one's doing the same job as the other.
04:02So, yeah.
04:03Come on, I need your 14.
04:04I need the 4th club out of there.
04:06Yeah, I'd probably get rid of one of the wedges, maybe the gap wedge.
04:10You could get rid of the gap wedge.
04:11Anyway, yeah, I think a great rule.
04:12We're both in agreement on this one.
04:14Let's get 14 clubs down to 10.
04:19Right, so I'm just thankful, Dan, we found some shade.
04:20Yes.
04:21It's a beautiful sunny day here at Paliero Golf Course in Madeira.
04:23But I'm a bit disgruntled, Dan, because my drive off this 18th hole,
04:27it's come down the left, it's kicked left.
04:29This guy's still there in your way.
04:30And this guy is going to cause me a lot of issues.
04:33Yeah.
04:34Because the other post is caught off in line here, going back past the camera.
04:37So, the ball is just out of bounds.
04:39I've found it.
04:41As we all know, the penalty is very severe when it comes to out of bounds.
04:44I have to take stroke and distance, so walk all the way back to the tee.
04:47Because I haven't hit a provisional ball, so I didn't think it was going to be out of bounds.
04:50All the way back to the tee, play three off the tee.
04:52So, if I hit a good drive, make good distance to this one, playing four from the fairway.
04:57On a par 4, it's just...
04:58I don't even think about it.
04:59That is actually crazy.
05:00It is.
05:01How severe the penalty is for out of bounds.
05:02Obviously, going back to the tee slows down play a lot.
05:04You've got that walk of shame, that embarrassment factor as well.
05:08But I think a fair and reasonable penalty, in my opinion, would be if you've dropped it
05:12or you haven't found it, but you can reasonably, with some certainty,
05:16know where your ball has gone into the out of bounds.
05:18I think you should be able to drop a ball in bounds,
05:21the point that it crossed the out of bounds line.
05:23As you would do with red posts and yellow at the minute.
05:25Exactly. With a penalty shot.
05:26So, playing your third shot.
05:27So, you've got a penalty.
05:30You've been disadvantaged by going out of bounds.
05:32But the penalty is not so severe.
05:34I think it's a fairer penalty.
05:37It's a much fairer way to deal with out of bounds, I think.
05:38And while we're here on out of bounds, I think we're both in agreement.
05:41Internal out of bounds, sack it off entirely.
05:43Absolutely. I can't stand it.
05:44I mean, I know there's a safety element to it.
05:47But, yeah, internal out of bounds between two holes.
05:50If you hit a wayward drive and it's sitting perfectly on another fairway,
05:53but you're randomly out of bounds, it doesn't make any sense to me.
05:56Yeah, and I think, alongside the divot one we spoke about earlier,
05:59this would be a really, really popular one for golfers back home.
06:07Right, Dan, that was a nice round, wasn't it?
06:08Very enjoyable. Thanks for that, Joel.
06:09It's time to sign our scorecard.
06:10It is.
06:11I believe there's a rule that you might want to tweak.
06:13Disregard.
06:14I think there's a chance to change this now.
06:16And so, the USGN and the RNA brought a new rule in, in 2023,
06:19a model local rule that meant you wouldn't get disqualified anymore
06:23for not signing the card, which I think was a good rule.
06:26Do you agree with that?
06:27I think it was always a bit harsh, wasn't it,
06:28that you don't put your little squiggle down
06:30and it's often just this sort of blind scribble anyway, isn't it?
06:33You get DQ'd.
06:34That's now a two-shot penalty.
06:36However, it's only a model local rule,
06:38which means clubs don't have to adopt it if they don't want to.
06:41I think it should be written and entrenched in the rules now
06:44that if you don't sign for your scorecard,
06:46if you forget to put a signature on there,
06:48it's just a two-shot penalty,
06:49which I think is penalty enough for what is really a stupid mistake
06:52that we should all be doing anyway, right?
06:54There's something else written on the scorecard there as well.
06:56Yeah, so at the bottom of this one here, it says,
06:58like this video and subscribe to the Golf Monthly YouTube channel
07:01for more videos like this, which I think is pretty sound advice.
07:03That's a good idea.
07:04Yeah.
07:07So one rule that we want to change
07:08that I hadn't actually considered before
07:10comes down to putter design, Dan.
07:12In particular, the alignment assistance you get from putters
07:15and also on golf balls as well.
07:17Yeah.
07:18I think you've got quite a drastic change that you'd like to make.
07:20Well, this is a really interesting one.
07:21When we were brainstorming ideas for the video,
07:23we sat down as a group and said,
07:25what do we want to change?
07:26And Joe, our colleague, said,
07:27I think we should get rid of alignment aids on putters.
07:29And I said, well, okay,
07:30let's maybe get rid of them on balls as well.
07:32And the more I thought about it, I think the more I like it.
07:36So there's rules in place at the minute.
07:37Don't know the exact ones that say you're allowed them
07:39and the height they're allowed in the club
07:41and the substance that you can use and, and, and, and, and.
07:43I would personally wipe it clean.
07:45And that's from putters.
07:46So you can see here on my Spider,
07:48which I do love and I do use this quite a lot,
07:50sort of two alignment aids here, right?
07:52You've got the line going down the middle
07:53and the Y that they use, the white Y.
07:55And then on golf balls like this, I mean, again, really popular,
07:58but I'm sorry, TaylorMade, Callaway, Bridgestone now,
08:01get them gone.
08:02Let's wipe it clean
08:03and bring a bit more skill back into the game, I guess,
08:06you know, not having it all lined up.
08:07You've got to know where you put a head's face in.
08:09If it's open, if it's closed,
08:10you've got to trust your alignment with the ball,
08:12stuff like that.
08:13I think it's a really interesting one.
08:15And one, the more I think about it, the more I'm into.
08:17Yeah, I think if you look, think about other sports,
08:19you know, snooker, for example,
08:21you don't have alignment assistance from your cue.
08:23You could argue using lines on the ball
08:26or features like we've got on that TaylorMade
08:28tool response stripe,
08:29slows play down a lot when you're trying to line it up perfectly.
08:33You love fast play, don't you?
08:34I've noticed that.
08:35I do love fast play.
08:36I don't like messing around too much.
08:37So getting that precisely right can take a lot of time.
08:40So yeah, it's definitely a case to make
08:42for simplifying the design of the clubs
08:45and the balls a little bit,
08:46bring more skill back into the game,
08:48and best putters will probably still come through.
08:51Yeah, and I think it's just, look,
08:52I'm not going to align it.
08:53You knock it down nice and easy,
08:55and you just hold putts like that.
08:58You don't need the alignment aids.
09:00You've just demonstrated it.
09:03But let us know about that one
09:04because it's a bit more of an interesting one.
09:08Okay then, Joel, next rule change, please.
09:09What have you got for us?
09:10So we're going to talk about the teeing area, Dan.
09:12So this all comes under rule 6.1b.
09:14It's fascinating stuff.
09:15It's my favorite rule, that one.
09:16And as everyone knows,
09:17the teeing area relates to kind of the straight line
09:20from the front of the tee markers,
09:21two club legs back,
09:22and then kind of a parallel line along here.
09:25This is your teeing area.
09:26But if you don't tee your ball up in the teeing area
09:29and play your shot,
09:31you get the general penalty,
09:32which is two shots.
09:33Okay.
09:34And you have to correct your mistake,
09:36i.e. play another ball from within the teeing area.
09:39Now, in my opinion,
09:40that is a very harsh penalty
09:42in a situation where you're not really gaining a massive advantage.
09:45So, for example,
09:46if I tee the ball accidentally,
09:48say here,
09:49just in front of the tee markers,
09:51I've gained a couple of inches.
09:53It's not worth it.
09:54It's not worth it.
09:55It's not worth the penalty, right?
09:56But I'm not gaining a huge advantage by doing this.
09:59And therefore,
10:00I feel like the two-shot penalty
10:01plus correcting your mistake
10:03is very harsh.
10:04I think the one-shot penalty...
10:05Like, I understand that you need to protect the game
10:08and you can't have people teeing up
10:10way in front of the markers.
10:11But in this particular situation,
10:14I think the penalty is too harsh.
10:16Okay.
10:17I think I tend to agree with you, Joel.
10:18Where's the line, though, literally?
10:20Because, you know,
10:21it's like VAR on offside, isn't it?
10:23It's like, oh, well, a toe,
10:24they shouldn't give it to them.
10:25Let's make that not offside.
10:26Okay, cool.
10:27How far does it go?
10:29And you could get some person
10:30who just keeps nudging himself up.
10:31But I don't think you...
10:32I think there's hardly anyone
10:33who would go and tee...
10:34You know, if you're playing this way,
10:35no one would tee up over here.
10:36No, okay, that's fair.
10:37People would only make the mistake,
10:38you know, within like a 12-inch range.
10:41And I don't think you're gaining...
10:42So would that be a line?
10:43I think...
10:44I understand your point.
10:45But my kind of main gripe
10:46is the penalty is too harsh.
10:47Agreed.
10:48I think so.
10:49And most of the time,
10:50people do this on accident, right?
10:51Exactly.
10:52And it's worth pointing out,
10:53in match play,
10:54there's no penalty.
10:55You can...
10:56Your playing partner can ask you to play it again.
10:58Or if you've hit it into the rubbish,
10:59they can say that shot counts
11:01and that's fine.
11:02And I understand, you know,
11:03if you're teeing up the other side of the...
11:04Yeah, so that was my next question, though.
11:05What if, you know,
11:06what if it's a hybrid to play for position,
11:08but you're not good with the hybrid?
11:09Yeah.
11:10So if you keep coming back
11:11and back and back,
11:12I want to get a driver now.
11:13You probably gain more...
11:14You probably gain more advantages
11:15going that way
11:16than you do this way.
11:17I think so.
11:18Because you can...
11:19If you're, like you say,
11:20if you're in between clubs
11:21and you've got the club
11:22that's going to go too far,
11:23if you go too far back,
11:24then you can...
11:25So I kind of understand it.
11:26So I'm okay with this way.
11:27Less okay with it this way.
11:28Okay.
11:29Yeah, so I definitely understand your point.
11:30I think the rules have got to
11:31just sort of relax a bit, man.
11:32You know, chill out a little bit.
11:33And this would be a great way of doing it.
11:38Probably the most dramatic
11:39and drastic of the ones we've spoken about.
11:41It could change the game forever.
11:42Talk us through it.
11:43It's a humdinger, Dan.
11:44Yeah, I think we should ban tees.
11:46Bang. Boom.
11:47Have that.
11:48I think the privileges
11:49that are extended to golfers
11:50on the teeing area
11:51versus the rest of the golf course
11:53are excessive.
11:54Okay.
11:55I've got my phone.
11:56I can reel off some of the things
11:57that you can do on a tee.
11:59In between these two sticks.
12:00You can't do anywhere on the golf course.
12:02Okay.
12:03Tees can be up to four inches long.
12:05Yeah.
12:06You can alter the surface of the ground.
12:08You can make indentations
12:09with your foot or the club.
12:10You can move, bend, or break grass.
12:12We know you can't do that
12:13on anywhere else on the golf course.
12:15Correct.
12:16You can remove objects in the teeing area.
12:17You can press down sand and soil.
12:19You can remove dew, frost, and water.
12:21You can do all sorts of stuff.
12:22You've got carte blanche here
12:23to do what you want
12:24with the golf ball, right?
12:25Exactly.
12:26You don't want to see that.
12:27Placing the ball on a tee
12:28on the ground,
12:29on the teeing area,
12:30on the ground,
12:31is enough to give you
12:32a good enough lie
12:33to be able to gain an advantage
12:34versus where you are
12:35on the rest of the golf course.
12:36Yeah.
12:37Then you've got the argument
12:38about the golf ball going too far
12:40and how the tee is pretty much
12:42directly responsible
12:43for golfers being able
12:44to launch the ball higher
12:46with less spin
12:47because they're able
12:48to attack the ball on the up
12:49because the ball is raised
12:50above the ground.
12:51Whereas if you put the ball
12:52on the ground,
12:53you would see
12:54lower ball flights
12:55with more spin,
12:56less distance.
12:57You would definitely
12:58increase the level of skill
13:00that would be required
13:01to hit the shots correctly
13:02with a lower lofted 3-wood.
13:03Or maybe if you still
13:04want to hit a driver,
13:05I think it brings the skill
13:06back into the game.
13:07It produces less distance.
13:08It solves an awful lot
13:09of problems.
13:10It does.
13:11Can I just pitch a couple
13:12of questions at you?
13:13Of course you can.
13:14I think people might be
13:15shouting at home, right?
13:16Broadly on board with it,
13:17I think it's a fun idea.
13:19Would it rule out
13:20that club entirely
13:21from existence?
13:22What about golfers
13:23who struggle
13:24with their driver
13:25at the minute
13:26to get it up in the air
13:27and off the ground?
13:28Those are my main questions.
13:29Obviously,
13:30it would be unpopular
13:31with golfers
13:32who struggle
13:33with their driver.
13:34Obviously,
13:35a lot of golfers
13:36are used to playing
13:37the ball on a tee,
13:38raised up.
13:39But I think people
13:40would get used
13:41to hitting driver
13:42off these sorts of flies.
13:43Yeah,
13:44they might play
13:45a slightly higher lofted
13:46driver as a result
13:47or a lower lofted 3-wood
13:48like I've said.
13:49I could demonstrate
13:50to more skilled players
13:51and maybe that will bring
13:52that element of the game
13:53back into the sort
13:54of high handicaps
13:55of the world.
13:56You know,
13:57on teeing grounds,
13:58you can get some
13:59pretty good lies.
14:00Because that is still now
14:01and we'll show it
14:02to you close up.
14:03It's sat up fairly nicely.
14:04It's sat up pretty nicely
14:05and I haven't hit
14:06a lot of shots today
14:07so this could go horribly wrong.
14:08Let's give it a whirl.
14:09Oh, Joel.
14:10Look at that.
14:11That is your first swing
14:12of the day.
14:13First swing of the day
14:14just down that
14:15right-hand side
14:16of the fairway.
14:17It's probably
14:18gone a good,
14:19you know,
14:20250 yards.
14:21And that's fine.
14:22That's all you need.
14:23That's bringing a skill
14:24back into it.
14:25I know I'm a relatively
14:26good golfer,
14:27you know,
14:283 handicapper
14:29and the high handicappers,
14:30they're probably going
14:31to struggle
14:32with this sort of lie
14:33but I do think
14:34removing tees altogether
14:35and the privileges
14:36you get around
14:37preferring your lie,
14:38using your wedges
14:39to raise up the ground
14:40and that sort of thing
14:41you see Laura Davies do,
14:42I think that needs
14:43to be banished
14:44from the game altogether.
14:45And wouldn't it be fascinating
14:46to watch the professionals
14:47then come see back
14:48in the game again,
14:49you know,
14:50the rollback argument
14:51is we don't see
14:52some of the great
14:53old courses anymore
14:54because they're
14:55bombing it too far.
14:56Wouldn't it be great
14:57to see those golf courses back?
14:58And it's that risk-reward as well.
14:59Do you want to risk
15:00hitting a driver
15:01off the deck,
15:02off the tee,
15:03in case it goes horribly wrong?
15:04Yeah.
15:05But obviously you get rewarded
15:06if you hit it like that.
15:07You do still get some
15:08pretty good distance.
15:09It's a fascinating one, Joel.
15:10I think, one,
15:11some food for thought
15:12for you guys
15:13watching at home.
15:14I think probably
15:15a really good rule
15:16of not feeling
15:17a lot of anger
15:18because some golfers aren't,
15:19lots of golfers
15:20aren't that great
15:21and they're going
15:22to struggle with that.
15:23But I'm feeling
15:24lots of positives
15:25on the rollback perspective.
15:26But is it,
15:27I was going to say,
15:28is it a better solution
15:29than rolling back
15:30the golf ball for everybody?
15:31I would say yes.
15:32I would say yes as well.
15:33So let us know
15:34if there's any that we've missed
15:35that you would like to see.
15:36But for now, from Madeira,
15:37thanks for joining us.