I always play it down unless weather plays a part or if I'm having a bad round and am trying to figure out whats wrong with my swing. But 99% of the time I play it as it lies
 
In season (Apr - Oct) we generally play it down unless the course is really wet or the fairways have been aerated. Common sense rule applies to ground under repair since our course isn't marked. Once in the while the course is so wet we have to play it up everywhere. Off season is winter rules in which we roll the ball in the fairway and depending on the time of year we'll play it up in the traps (since groundskeeper has a skeleton crew from Dec-Feb). We can't post scores in the off season so it doesn't really impact handicaps.

You'd get laughed at if you asked to hit a 2nd ball on the 1st tee in my group. The same goes with gimmies - everything must hit the bottom of the cup!
 
I've never like gimmies... I don't even like when other's give them to me. I just like hearing the ball in the cup (sounds like mini-applause)
 
In season (Apr - Oct) we generally play it down unless the course is really wet or the fairways have been aerated. Common sense rule applies to ground under repair since our course isn't marked. Once in the while the course is so wet we have to play it up everywhere. Off season is winter rules in which we roll the ball in the fairway and depending on the time of year we'll play it up in the traps (since groundskeeper has a skeleton crew from Dec-Feb). We can't post scores in the off season so it doesn't really impact handicaps.

You'd get laughed at if you asked to hit a 2nd ball on the 1st tee in my group. The same goes with gimmies - everything must hit the bottom of the cup!


What are winter rules?
 
There are rules exceptions for an embedded ball. We also have winter rules= lift clean and replace. I'll only clean mud balls though, not every one like some guys. To me, fluffing a lie is the same as forfieting the hole and taking the esc#. I do enjoy hearing guys quote wrong scores because then at least I know.
 
Playing it down means playing it as it lies. I typically always play that way unless the course is saturated and balls plug and stuff.
Agreed, that's the only way to play.

If we are playing a friendly match, we play a breakfast ball if we want off the first tee. Some of the guys I play with are higher cappers and it takes some pressure off them. It's supposed to be fun.

Some of my buddies play mulligans, but that's their business as long as we aren't playing for anything.

Sometimes the scores turned in after a hole are interesting. I'll get a double and he'll turn in a double and he had 3 in the water, a duffed chip, a scull and then a resignation for a double...hey, great double...LOL
 
Out here in the damp Redwoods we play "Winter Rules" a lot. When the ground is so soggy and the air is so cool and damp that a solid drive still leaves me with a long iron on most par 4's I will take any advantage I can get. Interestingly, the course record has been shot 3-4 times under winter rules and only once under normal playing conditions. "Preferred lies" is a huge advantage.

We occasionally play breakfast balls if we are going straight to the tee and I hate gimmies. Most hackers will miss at least 1 short one a round.
 
I've never "played it up", ever. If the course is completely soaked and balls are plugging in the fairways, that's one thing. But to "bump" the ball in the middle of the fairway or moving it to a thinner area of rough isn't something I've ever done. Or ever want to do, tbh.
 
Know the rules, play by the rules, there are instances when you can touch your ball within the rules. The rules allow you to pick up, clean and drop an embedded ball in closely mown areas but not rough. The rules provide relief if you are in casual water, just know what casual water is. The rules allow for abnormal ground conditions, again know what they are. You can get relief from certain obstructions. It just comes down to knowing the rules, then play by the rules. Otherwise enjoy the game you are playing...golf-lite? pseudogolf? faux golf? :D

(I liked the sign at Taconic in MA so much it is my current avi.)
 
My 71 year old buddy and I (I'm a rookie of 64) just finished playing something today. I guess it wasn't golf since we rolled the ball in the fairway (to find something akin to grass vs. dirt or hardpan) and generously gave each other putts within 6" (yeah, count the stroke but swipe it away). We never do mulligans or "breakfast balls," and in the rough we play it where we find it.

We sure had fun though whatever it was called - he shot 80, and I had an 82 from the "whites." In fact we had so much fun we're thinking of doing it again next week. LOL
 
reading through all the terms that mean nothing.... bottom line is you hit the ball where it lies (hitting it down)... do not move for a better lie (bush league)
 
So whats the actual rule concerning a plugged ball?
 
So whats the actual rule concerning a plugged ball?

If a ball is in its own pitch mark in a closely mowed area then you may lift the ball, clean it and drop it at the same location. If it goes back in its own pitch mark, you can redrop. You may NOT repair the pitch mark until after you hit your shot. If it is not in a closely mowed area play it as it lies.

edit:
Here it is from the rules (25-2)
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the coursethrough the green. "Closely mown area" means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.
 
If a ball is in its own pitch mark in a closely mowed area then you may lift the ball, clean it and drop it at the same location. If it goes back in its own pitch mark, you can redrop. You may NOT repair the pitch mark until after you hit your shot. If it is not in a closely mowed area play it as it lies.

edit:
Here it is from the rules (25-2)
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the coursethrough the green. "Closely mown area" means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.

Excellent. Thanks for the info, Lefty.
 
Always down. Always. Never even understood the mindset which would play any other way. Actually, I play by the rules, and they say play the ball as it lies unless there is a specific exception (Embedded ball, for example). So that's what I do.

Quite frankly, I don't usually enjoy playing with someone like that. I'm not an on course rules preacher or anything of the sort, but I'd rather play with someone who at least makes an attempt to play by the rules as he knows them.

I agree, on both points.
 
Always play the ball down unless the course is so wet the ball plugs...one of my normal groups insists on 2 off the first, i let them do their thing, but I only hit one.
 
It seems anytime I ever improved my lie, I ended up hitting some sort of chunk shot. I always chalked it up to the golf gods frowning on my.
 
I always "play it as it lies". If a course has a sign saying "Winter Rules Today", I ask them to clarify. They usually respond with lift, clean, replace OK through-the-green. I still only do this if I feel I have a tewrribly unfair lie, (i.e. plugged, half covered in mud, etc...).
 
I once played with a guy who "played it up" before every shot. And then kept telling me that he had an incredible round of 71 two days prior. Obviously wasn't a true 71 in my book.

He shot a "80" that day. Not truly an 80 when you take your half-buried ball out of a bunker (fluffy sand, no water) and place it as a perfect lie sitting up on top of the sand. Then when you hit the ball thin and don't get out of the bunker, picking up and placing it in rough laterally to avoid the bunker altogether!

Never again will I play with someone like that. The rules of golf were written for a particular reason. If you're not following them, you're not playing golf.
 
I'm curious why some of you say you won't take advantage of lift, clean and place when it is allowed. I've never seen a guy on tour, or any tournament, for that matter, refuse to do so.
 
I'm curious why some of you say you won't take advantage of lift, clean and place when it is allowed. I've never seen a guy on tour, or any tournament, for that matter, refuse to do so.

I'd lift, clean, and place if the ball is muddy and has a bunch of crap on it. But if the ball is clean, I don't feel the need to lift and place.

I once played with a guy who "played it up" before every shot. And then kept telling me that he had an incredible round of 71 two days prior. Obviously wasn't a true 71 in my book.

He shot a "80" that day. Not truly an 80 when you take your half-buried ball out of a bunker (fluffy sand, no water) and place it as a perfect lie sitting up on top of the sand. Then when you hit the ball thin and don't get out of the bunker, picking up and placing it in rough laterally to avoid the bunker altogether!

Never again will I play with someone like that. The rules of golf were written for a particular reason. If you're not following them, you're not playing golf.
Very bush league. You can't/shouldn't even do this in a scramble.
 
I'm curious why some of you say you won't take advantage of lift, clean and place when it is allowed. I've never seen a guy on tour, or any tournament, for that matter, refuse to do so.

Only the course can make it a local rule. We simply have a sign at our course at the front door. It says "Play it down" 99.9% of the time, but there are rare times (twice this year) when the sign says "LCP". Pretty simple. Not something you can just decide for yourself.

Like our pro says, it is just like using a tee. It is one of the few free gifts in golf. We use tees because we can, and the same should be said for lift/clean/place. It is for this reason you will see it at my course very rarely. It is done a lot less than many members think it should be done, and we often get some grief when its wet and the pro has decided not to put the rule in place.

It can't be easy all the time. If it is, it stops being golf at some point.
 
I'm curious why some of you say you won't take advantage of lift, clean and place when it is allowed. I've never seen a guy on tour, or any tournament, for that matter, refuse to do so.

I had rather play it down PERIOD and do so during the week with my regular foursome even though they improve their lie and touch the ball during winter when it is really muddy here. I do it for two reasons, one it's the rules and two it makes me a better golfer. I'm not afraid of hitting a ball with mud on it or out of a divot or both. because I do it all the time. Then when there is a tournament or our weekend group declares preferred lies, I feel like I'm at a huge advantage over the other guys because that one "rule" change just made me 5-6 strokes better. The opposite is to my advantage as well, if the rule is play it down, I gain even more strokes because the others are unable to handle bad lies or muddy balls.
 
What are winter rules?

Winter rules are playing preferred lies, generally in your own fairway but I have it extend to the entire golf course depending on the group/conditions
 
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