There are 34 Rules of Golf. If you attend a 3-day workshop, that means you learn about 11 rules a day.
Seems easy, right? Not quite.
I received a packet containing three books, "Rules of Golf Handbook", "Decisions for the Rules", and "The Principles Behind The Rules of Golf", a couple weeks after registering.
This USGA/PGA Golf Rules Workshop was a detailed exploration of the rules of golf. Generally, the crowd consisted of older men that are already rules officials or trying to become rules officials for PGA Tournaments. You could say I was intimidated as a 22-year-old female basketball player in a golf skirt.
The very first day, a nice man named Pete sat next to his friend, which also happened to be next to me too. He was about the only person that talked to me for the duration of the workshop, and I appreciated him greatly for it.
We learned 10 rules on the first day, and it went quickly as I was eager to begin learning. The second 8-hour day went a little more slowly. Luckily the Michigan State v. Louisville men's NCAA basketball game kept me entertained. And the final day was the slowest of them all; we went over 14 rules.
Basically, an old dude explains the rules of golf explicitly from a PowerPoint slide presentation for eight hours a day. In two words: God awful.
The final day was test day. You can choose to take the 80-question or 100-question test, in which you must complete within the 3 1/2 hour time limit. The first half of the test is closed book. After you turn in that portion of the test, you are given the second half to take with your "Decisions" book open.
Note: You may only take this test once a year. Workshops are only offered before the golf season begins in April.
Here is an example of a question you might see on the test:
Q. In which of the following has the player played a wrong ball?
- A. The player found a stray ball which he believed was his original ball, deemed it unplayable, dropped it under the Rule 28c procedure and played it.
- B. The player's original ball which the Committee ruled was played by the player from a wrong place in serious breach of the Rules.
- C. The player's second ball which he played under Rule 3-3 but not in accordance with the Rules.
- D. The player's original ball know to be in a water hazard and, after the player had dropped a substituted ball outside of the hazard under Rule 26-1c(i), was found in the hazard and played.
The answer is D.
To be honest, I felt that the test consisted of ridiculous "what if" questions, with answers so similar only one word differentiated them. The questions and answers are very wordy, making it hard to finish the entire test in a matter of 3.5 hours. If you are trying to get a general sense of the rules, this test will be disheartening.
As someone who did not do great on the test, I would like to offer a few study tips to help other first-timers attending the Golf Rules Workshop.
How to get the grade - Recommendations to help you succeed:
- Watch golf in your free time! This will help you get familiar with the language of the game as well as pick up on some rulings.
- Study the rules a little bit prior to attending. Don't read the books all the way through necessarily, but perhaps memorize what part of the game each rule number refers to. You will learn details throughout the course.
- If you are currently enrolled as a full time student at a university, wait to attend! I was doing homework and worrying about my classes instead of putting my full attention into golf rules.
- Use USGA University online tools and study guides. Additionally, Bing search study guides for the golf rules test. There are several good outside sources that will help!
- If you are a beginner, I would definitely recommend taking the 80-question test instead of the 100-question test. Apparently it's geared more towards beginners to understand general concepts and rules. Whereas the 100-question test is geared for experienced people who have studied these rules for years.
- Finally, stay for the review session after it's all over. I did not do this because I was frustrated and ready to leave after receiving a bad score. Pete recommended I stay because it teaches you your mistakes.
And when it's all over, do not be discouraged no matter your score on the test! The Rules of Golf are very complex and require a ton of studying as well as usage in real life situations.
So why even take the exam?
Some people take it to learn the rules of golf. Some people are in similar job positions as myself where they run a junior players tour and need to be proficient on the rules. Others are rules officials or hoping to be rules officials.
Exam Score Goals
70 = CGA Senior Rules Official minimum
75 = minimum score needed to officiate USGA Amateur Championships (except Am & Women's Am)
85 = eligible to attend special USGA/PGA rules workshops
92 = minimum score needed to officiate at US Open, US Women's Open, US Senior Open, US Amateur, US Women's Amateur
Last Thoughts
Life lesson learned: Being the youngest/least experienced is a strange position wherever you are. If I attend anymore conferences similar to this, I will be sure to take the youngest person there under my wing. That's what Pete did for me and my experience would have been ten times worse without him there to help me throughout those days.
Be prepared to consume an extremely unhealthy amount of caffeine (check out my next post about alternatives to pop/caffeine coming soon!).
Even though I did not do well on the test, I am much more confident in the Rules. I learned a lot while I was there, but there is still plenty of learning left to do!
-TNT
