As a high school coach, I was worried about the 2019 USGA Rule changes, and how it would affect competition. I have to say after taking some time to get familiar with them, I am extremely happy.
Now, i understand that not everyone who reads this plays or is involved with high school golf. However, making the game more accessible and exciting for the youth is something that everyone should be interested in. Some of the USGA rule changes are going to make a big impact on the high school level, and its going to be for the better.
When it comes to high school golf, not all of the kids that are out there are playing to win. Some of them are out there to have a good time, hang out with their friends, or to play a sport to keep from getting in to trouble, or skirting other responsibilities that they would be given if they weren’t on the golf course.
The case is the same for adults. A lot of us aren’t going to be winning anything anytime soon (at least that we want to win). You go to enjoy the game, with your friends or playing partners. There are a lot of people out there that have used golf as an excuse to get out of doing something around the house as well.
Making sure that the game adjusts in a positive manner is incredibly important. Making the game easier to understand, while making it simpler to play without adjusting the difficulty level is something that was done quite well during the adjustments or changes to the 2019 USGA rule changes that were implemented.
I don’t think i need to go through all of the rule changes, as they aren’t all going to have an effect at this level. There are a few that stand out, and these are the ones that i wanted to look at. In no particular order, the local rule allowing for a two-stroke drop when going out of bounds. The search time dropping to three minutes instead of five. Being encouraged to play “ready golf” and to make each stroke within 40 seconds. Finally, a ball is allowed to be moved accidentally during a search, by any party.
(Disclaimer – I coach boys golf. I try to stay neutral on terms. If I don’t, my apologies)