Be honest when you don’t know the rules of golf

What you need to know:

  • If one is not certain whether to play a lob or a sand wedge in the bunker, they may walk in with both clubs and when they finally make up their mind on which club to use, it is perfectly okay to place the extra club in the bunker as long as it is not assisting in any way.
  • For those golfers that do not carry a Rules of Golf book in their bag, please be honest when you don’t know a rule.
  • Admitting that you don’t know a rule would be preferable to scaring fellow golfers with trumped-up penalties.

A story is told of an old man from Murang’a, let’s call him “Mzee Mariga,” who was filled with dread at the thought of going to the Nairobi central business district.

He had heard many stories of scoundrels lurking around all corners of the city, ready to dispossess absent-minded old men of their personal effects.

He had been told that one sure place to get mugged in the city were the narrow passageways between buildings. In Mzee Mariga’s village, there were also many stories about people who got sick from eating in restaurants in Nairobi. They believed that the only safe eateries had to have either the ‘Farmer’s Choice’ or ‘Kenchic’ logos.

One day, Mzee Mariga had an appointment to see a doctor in Nairobi.

For the tests he was supposed to undergo, he was not supposed to have had any breakfast. After his appointment, he was famished, having had nothing to eat or drink in more than 12 hours.

On his way to get a matatu back to Murang’a, he spotted a restaurant with the ‘Farmer’s Choice’ logo. The only problem was that to get to it, he would have had to go through a narrow, ominous passageway.

He hesitated and looked at the restaurant’ wondering if he should take the risk. He saw a smartly dressed man standing nearby and thought that he may seek some advice.

He walked up to the man and asked him in Kikuyu if it was safe to walk through the passageway. Okang’eo! was the stern answer that he received from the man. The answer shocked Mzee Mariga that he forgot his desire for food.

He walked straight to the matatu stage and went straight home. What Mzee Mariga did not realise was that the stranger was not Kikuyu; and that okang’eo is Dholuo for “I don’t know.”

The smartly dressed man meant to communicate to Mzee Mariga that he was not Kikuyu but “okang’eo” has a different meaning in Kikuyu.

He unwittingly told Mzee Mariga that he would be slaughtered in Kikuyu.

Unfortunately, majority of golfers will not be caught in the unedifying position of admitting that they do not know some Rules. They would rather fill their fellow competitors with versions of the rules that are simply dreadful.

One area of the golf course that has more misconceptions than Mzee Mariga’s version of Nairobi city is the bunker.

These sand traps have filled many a new golfer with fear due to the many fake rules that have been created over the years.

There are many myths about not touching or removing anything in the bunker.

I recently overheard as a new golfer was castigated by his elderly caddie for removing a piece of paper from behind his ball in the bunker. He was wrongly informed that the only thing that he is allowed to remove in the bunker was a stone.

Unfortunately, this kind of information is what perpetuates falsehoods. The rule of thumb when it comes to bunkers is that ‘taka taka’ (rubbish) is your friend and nature is your enemy.

You are allowed to remove anything that is not natural, like paper, a pencil, a rake, etc. However, removing anything natural like banana peels, leaves, stones and twigs will earn you a two-stroke penalty in stroke play or loss of hole in match play.

A committee may make a Local Rule allowing the removal of stones in the bunker.

If there is no such local rule at the club, then a stone must not be touched or removed from a bunker while the player’s ball still lies in the bunker.

Other unfounded rules are that one must not ask for or receive a club from their caddie when standing inside, and that they must not place their clubs on the sand.

I have heard people say that one must step out of the bunker to receive a club from their caddie. I have no idea where this came from, but there is no such restriction in the Rules of Golf. When it comes to placing clubs inside the bunker, we must remember that in most of the developed world, golf is played without caddies.

If one is not certain whether to play a lob or a sand wedge in the bunker, they may walk in with both clubs and when they finally make up their mind on which club to use, it is perfectly okay to place the extra club in the bunker as long as it is not assisting in any way.

For those golfers that do not carry a Rules of Golf book in their bag, please be honest when you don’t know a rule.

Admitting that you don’t know a rule would be preferable to scaring fellow golfers with trumped-up penalties.