"Change comes slowly in golf, a game that traces its origins to 15th-century Scotland. Its longstanding rules, honored under a gentleman’s code, endure even when they seem to defy logic and reasonableness. “'Golf is an inherently complicated game, and the concepts of simplicity and fairness very often pull in diametrically opposed directions,' said David Rickman, the director for rules and equipment for the R&A, formerly the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the sport’s ruling body in much of the world. "But change is not unheard of. And it came this week with a whiff of the revolutionary. The R&A, along with the United States Golf Association, which administers the game in this country, amended nine principal regulations from the Rules of Golf, the bible of the game. No longer will a player be penalized a stroke if the wind moves his ball while his club is near it. And if he or she smoothes the sand before playing a shot from a bunker, and in doing so does not gain an advantage, well, that’s O.K., too." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/s...-penalties-and-it-only-took-centuries.html?hp The R&A - Official Website of The R&A - Golf's governing body
Reminds me of the clarification on "Loose Impediments" after Tiger and Friends moved that boulder. For a game that is so simple? it can be very complicated. If you think about it, most of the rules are meant to assure "Fair play" and enforce the 'Honor System'. Which seems like an Oxymoron now that I think about that!
