If you’re looking to brush up your knowledge of the laws of the game, The R&A’s free Rules Academy needs to be on your radar, says Steve Carroll
I’ve learned two things dealing with rules enquiries at golf clubs over the last decade or so. Players have lots of questions and they want quick answers.
They don’t want to hang about waiting for someone on a committee to get back to them when they need to sign a scorecard.
They will gravitate to the nearest person they think can sort out their query and sometimes that will mean knocking on your door. You may be part of the group delegated to ensure the smooth running of a competition under the Rules.
If you’re put on the spot, can you give your members the appropriate support? If you’re a bit short of rules knowledge, there is an easy, free, and time sensitive way you can boost your expertise.
I think everyone involved with competitions at a golf club – be it the club manager, the professional, or members of appropriate committees – should have a Rules of Golf qualification.
While tournaments are not the be all and end all of club life, they are a significant part of any facility’s raison d’etre and they’re a constant source of potential flashpoints.
So when it comes to the Rules, a little knowledge can go a long way.
I’m not suggesting club managers spend months reading through the rule book and training themselves to the point where they could step out in Open Regional Qualifying.
You’ve got busy lives and a busier inbox. But if you’re not up to date with the most commonly occurring Rules situations – the ones your members are most likely to ask you about – there is a way to resolve that in a single evening.
The R&A’s Rules Academy provides a variety of learning materials, combining videos, diagrams, text and revision questions that embed those rules we see most when playing an event.
Dealing with the course, playing the ball, putting greens, when a ball at rest moves, marking, lifting and cleaning balls, loose impediments, and penalty areas, it can be completed in a couple of hours or carried out at your own pace.
At the end, you can take the Rules Academy Final Exam which includes 50 multiple choice questions and takes up to an hour.
A mark of 60% or better is required to pass the Level 1 qualification and those who do receive an official R&A certificate.
For some of you – as was the case for me – this can be the springboard for further learning with Level 2 seminars, covering all rules and relief procedures as well as an introduction to refereeing, run by national federations. England Golf, for example, host a number throughout the year and the latest dates can be found here.
But at the very least, completing the Level 1 should be a given for anyone involved in running competitions at a club and if you don’t have it already on your CV you should give serious consideration to adding it to your professional development portfolio.
To learn more about The R&A Rules Academy, visit the website.
Key takeaways to consider
- If you’re involved in any way in running competitions at your golf club you should consider enrolling in The R&A’s Rules Academy
- Learning the rules need not be time-consuming with a single evening required to gain the necessary knowledge for most situations you might find on the course
- The end-of-Academy exam provides an official R&A Level 1 Rules of Golf qualification for managers looking to enhance their continued professional development
