At Monday night’s Ladies’ AGM the idea of having a “Rules Night” was mooted and met with approval as we all experienced our first ever virtual ladies’ meeting. How well everyone has done to learn new skills in order to allow the Club’s AGM and then the Ladies’ Branch AGM to proceed! I know that many folk use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Webex (to name just a few of the now-essential online platforms that we’d never heard of this time last year) in their daily lives to enable them to work from home, however many others had little or no experience of any of these and so we must congratulate them on their willingness to embrace new technology.
Getting back to the rules…today I received not one but two emails encouraging me to download the R&A’s “Rules of Golf” App.
Little did they know – I’m a bit of a geek and I’ve already got it on my phone! Nevertheless it encouraged me to have another look at it and to recommend that you download it.
Firstly, it’s free. It’s described as “An App to help you apply the Rules correctly when playing golf with family and friends or during a competition.” I don’t think there’s anyone reading this who would claim to know all of the rules of golf. Sure, the professionals don’t always know what to do in every situation – there are so many rules and so many different scenarios, that’s why professional tournaments have numerous Rules Officials patrolling the course.
I always kept a copy of “The Rules of Golf” in my golf bag but often it got damp and was a bit mouldy by the end of the season. Most people carry their phone on the course (on “silent” of course!) so why not have the rules on it! What makes this App better than the book is the fact that you can search so easily, and that’s what’s important when you’re out on the course. Just go to the “Visual Search” page and tap on the relevant issue. There’s no faffing around in the index and then flicking backwards and forwards with wet fingers to find the rule you need!
There are some helpful diagrams too, although I’m sure these are in the printed version too.
If, like me, you enjoy a good quiz, you’ll be delighted to know that there are three different levels of questions – beginner, intermediate and advanced. I’m too embarrassed to tell you my latest score! Some of the questions are pretty tough, but they’re all situations you could easily find yourself in on the course.
So, if you’re interested, why not download the App – even if you don’t use it on the course, have a go at a quiz or two!
