RULES OF GOLF
THE Royal & Ancient (R & A) and their American counterpart the United States Golf Association (USGA) have revealed changes to the rules of golf that will be introduced a year next January.
The five most significant changes will also impact on the club game.
The rule changes are as follows:
How to drop a ball: Players will be able to take a drop any distance above the ground and provided the ball doesn’t touch anything, it will then be back in play.
Time for ball search: With rounds throughout the game in most instances taking too long – and in a bid to speed up the game – the search for a lost ball will be reduced from five to three minutes.
Repairing spike marks: It will be acceptable to repair spike marks; damage by shoes, clubs together with almost all damage done to the green.
Leaving flagstick in hole: If a stroke is made from on the green and the ball hits the flag in the hole then there will be no penalty.
Relaxed rules in a penalty area: Players will be able to ground clubs, and remove loose impediments in a penalty area.
The R & A are now looking for feedback and golfers can respond up to August 31, 2017 by visiting randa.org on the par-four ninth hole while Wynne Walters also signed for 33 points (birdie on 13 and eight pars).
Fifth-placed Anthony Newton entered the clubhouse with 32 points, as did Alan Horton, David Huw James and George Lee.
On the 31-point mark came Kieron Joseph Harman, who followed his brother in sinking an eagle putt on the 13th green, Steve Hurley (two on hole 14) and Jake Hapgood (twos on holes 7 and 14 along with birdies on the sixth and 13th holes).
Through four rounds of Hardy Annuals the top four players are: Ian Meredith 31+37+41 = 109, Byron Evans 38+38+30 = 106, Marcus Goldsworthy 30+36+39 =105 and Jon Goldsworthy 35+37+33 = 105.
Meanwhile, Colin Edmunds rounded off his year as club captain with a mixture of golf and a clubhouse dinner last Friday in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Wales.
Though tough weather conditions greeted the golfers, some fine scores were carded with Barrie Goode and Gerald Cox winning the golf only category with 47 Stableford points.
In the golf and evening event, Paul Brabban and Alun Reed won the day with 44 points; Mark Brown and Neil Fenn carded 42 points to finish one in front of Dave and Simon Morgans.
Fifth-placed Fauve Birch went birdie on holes two and 16; carded 11 pars only to rue a seven on the sixth green in shooting 803-77.
And sixth-place finisher Mary Ellis also got a two on the fourth hole with her numbers reading 9214-78.