Golf Ain't Rocket Science by John Piccolo

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A lot of people treat golf like the cottage and pack it in come Labour Day.  Fall is my favourite time of year to play; it’s a little cooler, not nearly as busy, and when the leaves start to turn it is an even more enjoyable walk than usual.  Fall golf does come with some troubles however, so I’ll give a few tips on how to deal with these.

The most frustrating thing is hitting what you thought was a pretty decent shot and walking up to find nothing but a sea of leaves.  The good news is, losing a ball in the leaves doesn’t cost you a penalty stroke. The bad news is, the ball cost you $4-5 and will be picked up by the next group when the wind blows the leaves around and reveals a brand new Titleist sitting right there next to the fairway. 

Essentially, the leaf rule makes an accumulation of leaves Ground Under Repair.  It’s a pretty handy rule established to make the game fairer and to speed up play.   It’s not meant to be an excuse to ignore every errant shot with, “I must have lost it in the leaves so I’ll just drop out here by the 150 marker.” If you know for certain your ball is lost among the leaves and not in a water hazard or the woods, take a free drop within one club length of its approximate location no nearer the hole.

If you kick your ball while searching, return it as near as you can and play without penalty.   If your ball is in a bunker covered with leaves you may move leaves in order to identify your ball, but once the ball has been identified you must play it as it lies.   A more leisurely approach to this situation is to drop the ball away from the leaves somewhere else in the trap without penalty and go from there.

If the green is covered with leaves please don’t spend five minutes clearing a path.  By the time you get back to the ball, the wind will probably have rearranged your handiwork anyhow. If you keep track of your putts and take more than 38 or so a round, the leaves will probably knock your ball closer to the hole as often as away from it.

If you do move debris from your line, you can use your hands or club but you cannot bring along a whisk, portable leaf blower, or street sweeper.   Using foreign objects to clear a path will cost you two penalty strokes.   Jesper Parnevik flapped his glove like a broom, failed to record his penalty strokes and thus signed an incorrect scorecard, disqualifying him from a tour event last summer.  His caddy, who admitted he saw Parnevik commit the deed, lost his job for his honesty

As the weather gets cooler you can still play an enjoyable round of golf if you’re properly prepared.   Dressing in layers with the outer layer being wind-proof is your best bet.  The most important thing is to keep your hands warm.  Once you lose the feeling in your hands you’re finished.   Use mitts not gloves, and use those hand warmer things that give off heat when it gets really cold.   If you’re a lousy putter keep your mitts on.   You will probably still be a lousy putter but at least your hands will be warmer.

A lot of golf courses are offering deals that if you buy a membership for next year, you play for the rest of this year for free.  This can be a great deal if we get the fall we had last year.   I remember trying to play on December 15 and there was a 1-2 hour wait at three different courses.

As far as equipment goes the ball is probably the only thing affected much by the temperature.   Balls won’t travel as far when they are cold.   There’s not a whole lot you can do to combat this unless you’re interested in carrying it in your pants between holes.  This gets kind of embarrassing if it takes awhile to find the ball when you reach the next tee.

If you normally play a 100-compression ball you should probably go to a 90 but it’s not that big of a deal.  Graphite shafts may have a tendency to feel stiffer when it gets really cold (10 degrees or below).  If you mis-hit any shot (especially with steel shafted irons) you’ll get one heck of a zing up the shaft but hey, at least you’re playing golf and not shovelling snow.  Snow, incidentally, is a loose impediment and can be removed from your line without penalty.  If the water hazards are frozen you may play your ball as it lies but you cannot ground your club on the ice.  But anyone who puts this information to use really ought to find a new hobby for the winter.

John Piccolo is a custom clubmaker and Head Golf Pro at Eagle Valley Golf Club in Niagara Falls. He can be reached by e-mail c/o syndication@canada.com    

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