Elimination of drop

[Rogaman]

Dennis

I too have produced a reformed set of rules, a significant element of which is to eliminate ‘dropping’ in favour of ‘placing’. Arguments for this, which are too lengthy for reproduction here, can be found on ‘www.rogamania.blogspot.com’.

Of particular interest to you may be the proposal for a ‘standard procedure’ for taking relief – another concept in which the authors also have expressed an interest – which states:

Taking relief
Except when specifically modified by a rule, when relief is to be taken in accordance with a rule, a ball must be placed at the nearest point of relief which avoids interference by the condition to the player’s stance or intended swing, or to the lie of the ball. The point of relief must be on the part of the course where it is known, or there is conclusive evidence, that the ball came to rest, or where the reference point for relief is situated.

While it may be argued that with ‘placing’ there exists an enhanced opportunity for a player to choose a preferred placing spot, the ‘nearest point of relief’ is still defined, meaning that options for choice are limited. Furthermore, there are currently provisions (as you are no doubt aware) for a ball to be placed (after two drops) and, in my view, any perceived advantage arising from ‘placing’ is minimal and largely 'swings and roundabouts'. As the authors say: ‘We should be more willing to accept the occasional terrible or great result if it would lead to a significantly simpler Rule…’ I agree.