Do you want to play faster, score better and have more fun? Try the Modified Rules of Golf when not playing in a tournament. http://modifiedrulesofgolf.com/

Only few golfers follow every Rule of Golf every day. This site gives a list of modifications that will improve the pace of play and help many golfers have more fun. If you use these rules when competing with friends you will know what to expect of them and they will not be concerned when you do not follow all of the traditional rules of golf.

Many of us already use some of these Modified Rules of Golf.

While we can all appreciate the motivation behind "Modified Rules of Golf", many of us consider these ideas to be gimmicks that essentially dumb down golf. So someone shot a personal best of 88. Was it under the real Rules or the Modified Rules? If you are a golfer that plays 4 times a year and does not maintain a handicap, go for it. Serious players won't give these modifications a second look.

bkuehn1952 you are probably right. I hope you noticed that the Modified Rules of Golf suggest that any golfer should use the Traditional Rules of golf if they desire. But apparently less than 20% of golfers maintain a USGA Handicap. These rules are aimed at the casual golfer, the beginners and some of us older guys and gals that just don't enjoy playing by all the rules all the time. If you can have fun and maintain a good pace of play following all of the rules, more power to you. Many golfers have found they can't and give up the game.
GrampaB70

I tend to agree with bk 1952. The one thing that would really help high cappers is MOVE UP a tee.

Side note: I am all for 6" cups.

Here are a few examples of the 13 Modified Rules of Golf.

Divots are ground under repair.

Out of Bounds. Golf balls hit out of bounds shall be played like a ball lost in a hazard. The ball may be placed no more than two club lengths from the OB margin closest to where the ball came to rest with a one stroke penalty.

Lost ball. Three minutes maximum to look for a lost ball. If not found, put a ball in play in short grass (fairway or rough) near where you expected to find the lost ball. One stroke penalty.

I don't dispute the intention and find that some of it actually makes sense. Where it truly doesn't is to count an OB or a lost ball as a single penalty stroke.

You don't want to go back to the tee and you have no time for a provisional (buy you do have the time for a mulligan!)? Ok: drop where you say, but count TWO penalty strokes, not just one, then you'd have a better approximation of what your (real) golf score might be.

Otherwise, I'd say this set of modified rules is mostly destined to inflate the ego of bad golfers.

What's the point? There's no-one that checks if everyone playing a round on a warm sunday-afternoon exactly follows all the rules. And as long as you don't use these "modified golf rules" when playing in a match or competition, who cares?

The problem I have with "standardizing" these "modified golf rules" is that people are going to assume they are valid rules. Just let everyone use their own rules if they want. But please, try to refrain from pushing these non-rules, almost giving it an official status.

BTW, on that page you refer to, you (?) compare these rules with games that are simplified through smaller playing-fields. That already is done in golf, it's known as "pitch and putt". These rules compare to golf as ignoring lets in tennis.

If you don't like the Modified Rules of Golf try looking at these: http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-10/photos-reasonable-rules#intro

These are suggestions on how to play casual golf for fun and help the pace of play.

Most of these are repeats of the Modified Rules. If someone needs to score an "85" or "98" to feel good, fine, they can take all the liberties they want. Someone wants to report that "85" score for handicap purposes, great. Many golfers will be fine with announcing they just shot a personal best despite trampling over the established rules.

Personally, I don't play that way and really don't care to hear someone else's golf stories knowing their "birdie" was achieved after granting themselves a "mulligan" or moving a ball out of a divot hole. I certainly do not want them as a partner in a handicapped "best ball" event. They are always, of course, welcome as an opponent as long as they don't expect to play with modified rules.

Frankly, the golf stories I enjoy hearing are the ones about a double bogey after slightly touching the sand with their backswing on their 2nd shot from a fairway bunker AND they called the penalty on themselves.

Ed is one of my golf partners every Friday. Having fun and playing it forward make golf very enjoyable if you are willing to try it. I know some traditionalists will take issue with the premise but so be it. As you become more comfortable in your own skin you begin to see that enjoying the game is important.

Congratulations Ed. Good job.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

Frankly, the golf stories I enjoy hearing are the ones about a double bogey after slightly touching the sand with their backswing on their 2nd shot from a fairway bunker AND they called the penalty on themselves.

To each their own. Here is a story I enjoyed most. When I recently golfed with 2 ladies who golfed from a set of Tees that fit them (Longer than recommended by the PGA and USGA in their Tee it Forward initiative) they had a good day of golf. One won't say her age but she collects Social Security and the other will be 85 in a few weeks. One had 4 birdies and 5 pars, but alas the other only had 5 pars. Her putting was off a little. All they had to do was pick the right club, make a good swing, hit it the right direction the right distance and make the putt. I don't know if they moved a grain of sand or not, and none of us cared.

GrampaB70 wrote:

I don't know if they moved a grain of sand or not, and none of us cared.

Okay, I understand. You want to play modified rules because you enjoy that more. Some of your friends and acquaintances enjoy playing modified rules.

Any way you spin it, however, you are not playing golf.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

Any way you spin it, however, you are not playing golf.

Fortunately the PGA does not agree with you.
See their memo they call "It's OK to Play Golf for Fun. http://pdf.pgalinks.com/p-g-a/Its_Okay_Hints.pdf

And the USGA does not agree with you either. USGA Handicap Manual Decision 4-2/1 states in part: "The phrase " in accordance with the principles of the Rules of Golf " refers to situations where the player has played a hole in such a manner that the score would be sufficiently accurate to be used for handicap computation purposes. Occasionally, holes are not played strictly in accordance with the Rules of Golf. Thus, flexibility has been provided in the USGA Handicap System for a score to remain acceptable for handicap posting purposes in certain situations."

GrampaB70 wrote:

bkuehn1952 wrote: Any way you spin it, however, you are not playing golf. Fortunately the PGA does not agree with you. See their memo they call "It's OK to Play Golf for Fun. http://pdf.pgalinks.com/p-g-a/Its_Okay_Hints.pdf "

You will note the tag line, "When you are ready, see your local PGA/LPGA Golf Professional or visit usga.org to learn and play by the USGA Rules of Golf." I don't think anyone has told you to not play modified rules. Just don't delude yourself that you are playing the same game that many of us do.

GrampaB70 wrote:

bkuehn1952 wrote: Any way you spin it, however, you are not playing golf. And the USGA does not agree with you either. USGA Handicap Manual Decision 4-2/1 states in part: "The phrase " in accordance with the principles of the Rules of Golf " refers to situations where the player has played a hole in such a manner that the score would be sufficiently accurate to be used for handicap computation purposes. Thus, flexibility has been provided in the USGA Handicap System for a score to remain acceptable for handicap posting purposes in certain situations."

Note the word "occasionally" in the citation from the USGA Handicap Manual. If one applied all the modified rules to a round of golf, that seems to me to go beyond "occasionally" and becomes closer to "always".