The United States Golf Association announced a list of 33 proposed changes to the Rules of Golf today, to get feedback in advance of their 2018 Rules updates.
At first read, nearly every one of these changes feels like common sense.
No more penalties for issues out of a player’s control.
No more penalties for accidental touches or things that have nothing to do with making a stroke.
Simple fixes when a ball moves or a drop needs to occur.
And even a couple of rules changes that will speed up the game!
The USGA even proposed a rule that Northeast Ohio Golf outlined on these pages in great detail last November: a maximum stroke play score!
Kudos to the USGA for this first batch of suggestions; it’s a great start. See the full list of proposed 2018 Rules of Golf changes here, with an explanation as to why the change is being proposed for each one.
Of course, the devil is always in the details. See what some of those rule changes might look like published in an update Rules of Golf booklet here >
Have an issues with any of these proposed changes? Post your comments below…
amadio has no issues with the proposed rule changes. Not because they may potentially speed up the game, because they are fair and common sense. amadio is pleased the USGA and R&A have no plans to create a rule which would provide relief to a player should his ball find a divot in the fairway. That is counter to the primary tenant of the game … play the ball where it lies. And then they would have to define what does and does not constitute a divot.