One of the best known golf associations is the United States Golf Association. The U.S.G.A.is the governing body of golf in the United States. The U.S.G.A. is responsible for the rules of golf which is published in the official U.S.G.A. Rule Book. When there is a rule dispute of any kind the U.S.G.A is responsible for making the final ruling.
The Professional Golf Association governs play in the United States. It also oversees the PGA Tour which is a seperate entity. The PGA is responsible for all professional golfing activity and has over 28,000 members. In order for a player to compete in tour events he/she has to belong to two golf associations, the PGA and the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour governs all sanctioned tour events. First a player has to become a member of the Professional Golf Association. Once a member they have to go to the PGA qualifying school which is a 5 day tournament competition. There are 150 competitors of which 25 golfers with the lowest scores will receive their PGA Tour Card. The Tour Card gives a golfer the right to enter most PGA sanctioned tour events.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association is the counterpart to the PGA and is the governing body of women’s golf. It is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida and is primarily responsible for running the LPGA Tour which had a total prize money of $54,285,000.00 for 2007. As with the PGA, the LPGA is also an organization for female club professionals and teachers. The LPGA was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 women, including the world known golf professional Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Carolyn Bivens presides over the LPGA one of the oldest of all golf associations. In 2001, the LPGA established the Women’s Senior Golf Tour. The Legends Tour, as it is called, is for women aged 45 and above.
Of all the various golf associations the American Junior Golf Association is one of the only nonprofit entities. The AJGA is dedicated to the development of juniors between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age. Players with little means may qualify for the AJGA’s ACE Grant program which is a government program that provides support for players that cannot afford to play in junior golf competition.
Playing the game of golf has very few requirements. You need a set of golf clubs, some golf balls and a golf course to play. What about knowing all the rules of the game? Absolutely, my opinion is that if you are the typical amateur golfer you are only familiar with basic golf rules. The PGA tour player, on the other hand, has a dire need to know all the rules of the game. They know it could mean the difference between winning and losing and great financial loss. There have been a few times in the past where a player who won a tournament forgot to sign their scorecard. Failing to sign a scorecard is a disqualification. Just like the laws that govern our nation, the rules of golf do not forgive ignorance.
I have always carried a rule book in my bag and strongly recommend that everyone that plays the game should do the same. Should you know every rule in the book? Knowing every rule is not necessary but having the book with you is. It means that,if the situation arises, you can refer to the rule book and settle any questions right there on the spot. A rule book can also save a lot of hard feeling caused from disagreements.
Having good general knowledge of the basic golf rules is certain to improve the quality of your game by eliminating situations that can cause disputes.
In my experience there is one rule that seems to be habitually broken by far too many golfers. The rule involves ball placement in the tee box. As eveyone should know, the rule states that a ball can be placed in an area no more than two club lengths behind the tee markers and somewhere in between. This gives a golfer plenty of space to place the ball for the shot. I have seen too many players break this rule by placing their ball just in front of the imaginary line between the two tee markers. I don’t believe that it’s done intentionally they just fail to realize it’s in front of the markers. If you are in front of the tee markers and hit your shot your oppnent/s can declare an infraction and you will be penalized.
This is one of the basic golf rules that even the novice player should be aware of. Rule books can usually be found at any golf course pro shop, retail outlet or on the internet. They are very inexpensive and everyone who plays the game should carry one.
