John Paramor has been a top international golf referee for 34 years and in that time he has amassed an unrivalled knowledge of the rules of golf and their practical application.
To celebrate the launch of Sidaro, an incredibly useful new mobile phone tool for golfers, we met with John and asked him some of the questions that Golfalot users have sent in. Five questions are answered in the video and the rest are below.
Golfalot: Firstly, John, we've been had a lot of questions complaining about this rule or that rule. Are there any rules you would like to see changed yourself?
John Paramor: I have been trying to reverse the provisional ball procedures. It seems that if you don’t mention the ball provisional then the ball you play immediately becomes the ball in play. Not many people realise you have to use that word provisional. I felt a change would make more sense to what happens in normal play from what I’ve experienced. There are very few others I would change. Fundamentally they are pretty sound.
Golfalot: Your friend buys a double faced chipping club. You tell him that apart from a putter, double faced clubs are illegal so he'll have to take it out of his bag. Is this correct? (Doug Jeffery)
JP: Yes, it’s a non conforming club. You get a two stroke penalty on the 1st and 2nd hole just for carrying it - and that before you even play it!
Golfalot: Playing a match against a visiting club, one of your oponents who has never played the course before plays an approach shot to the wrong green. You feel bad that you didn't tell him which green it was, but it didn't enter your mind before he played. You feel you should tell him to replay the shot without penalty. Is this allowed? (Doug Jeffery)
JP: Unfortunately not, no. You’ve got explain: “Sorry about that, if you just drop off the wrong green and play across in that direction, you’ll be back on line!”
Golfalot: You deem the ball unplayable. Where is the nearest point of relief and what is the correct measurement for deciding on the nearest point of relief? (Hal Boddington)
JP: When a ball is unplayable you have various options. Go back to where you played the original shot, move ball two club lengths not nearer the hole or go back as far as you like, keeping the same line. All cost a one shot penalty and the rule is not applicable in hazards.
Golfalot: A playing partner hit his approach shot from a bunker out of bounds. Where does he drop the ball? Does he need to put it back in the hazard? (Adrian O'Connor)
JP: Yes, back at the nearest point. Although you can smooth out the bunker beforehand.
Golfalot: Playing in a competition my friend marked his ball on a sloping green using a tee. When he replaced his ball and moved the tee the ball rolled to within two inches of the hole. What would be the correct procedure to follow? (Jamie Snook)
JP: Provided that he’d placed the ball at rest, that’s fine. He just plays it two inches from the hole – lucky him!
Golfalot: Before you strike your shot can you place a club across your shoulders to help with alignment? (Arthur Dobbie)
JP: Yes you can - can’t leave it there when playing the shot though!
Golfalot: I was told I should have permission before using "X-Out" balls in a medal. Is that correct? (Bob Smith)
JP: It all depends what the committee have in their conditions of competition – if they’ve adopted a list of confirming golf balls then you’d have to play one from the list. This is not normal for medals though.
Golfalot: If your ball lands on the fringe of the green and then bounces on to the green are you allowed to repair the pitch mark?
JP: Providing they’re not going to improve area of intended swing or lie of the ball then yes. Where people normally transgress is pitch on and spin back but then fix pitch mark which is in their line of play then that would be a penalty. It's good etiquette to fix a pitch mark on the fringe in a timely manner.
John Paramor has set an exclusive rules quiz for Sidaro offering golfers the chance to test their practical understanding of the rules as well as winning great prizes and the chance to compete in an annual play off Wentworth.
To find out more visit www.sidaro.com