The game of golf has 34 rules, but unlike other sports where officials enforce the rules, in golf it is the players who govern themselves, according to a press release from the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association. So, in addition to
The game of golf has 34 rules, but unlike other sports where officials enforce the rules, in golf it is the players who govern themselves, according to a press release from the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association.
So, in addition to learning the mechanics of the game, the island’s young golfers also must learn the rules of the game, attending three mandatory rules sessions, the final one for the current season being this weekend at Puakea Golf Course in Lihu‘e.
“After 25 years playing professional golf on the LPGA Tour and now serving on both the USGA and PGA Rules Committees, I am still learning the rules, so I certainly cannot expect them to know them all,” said Mary Bea Porter-King, a Wailua Homesteads resident and president of both KJGA and the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association.
“The rules I know the best are the ones I have broken and been penalized (for),” she added.
“The rules provide the basis for the spirit of the game. Learning the rules also promotes honesty and integrity among golfers on and off the golf course,” said Porter-King, who is also on the Board of Directors of the PGA of America.
From the teeing ground, through the fairways and on the greens, the game of golf has its rules. But unlike other sports with officials constantly observing play nearby, golfers govern themselves.
The rules can be clear, but they can get complicated, too. Knowing your options in sticky situations, as the rules allow, make the sport even more fun and enjoyable, she continued.
There are 34 Rules of Golf, and they can change every four years. The Rules of Golf is compiled in an 181-page book that juniors always keep handy in their golf bags, she added.
Porter-King continually emphasizes the point of knowing, learning and observing the rules of golf, she said.
While KJGA and HSJGA set high standards for junior golfers, all of the Rules of Golf obviously can’t be learned and memorized overnight, especially by juniors who enter the program as early at age 7.
Experience on the golf course is generally the best learning tool, but classroom and course instruction in the rules basics is now a mandatory part of the island’s junior-golf program, she continued.
With the KJGA season in full swing, novice golfers are now entering skills-testing sessions, followed by on-course practice rounds to qualify for future 18-hole practice rounds and tournament play.
In addition to learning the Rules of Golf, juniors are taken through a structured program with the assistance of several volunteers and all the Kaua‘i PGA professionals that teaches basic fundamentals, knowledge of golf terminology, scoring, etiquette and good behavior.
In the end, it promotes safety and enjoyment of the sport among fellow members and other golfers on the course, with the end result being responsible lifetime golfers, she stressed.
Tournament play for all KJGA members is just around the corner.
The annual Divots-in-the-Dark Tournament will be held Friday, April 24 at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course, and the Parent-Junior Golf Tournament is at Wailua Golf Course on May 2.
New members and returning junior golfers are eligible to enter both tournaments that promote fun and camaraderie among junior golfers, parents and family.
As schools break soon for summer vacation, June marks the peak of the season, offering eligible juniors opportunities to broaden tournament experience in statewide and national junior qualifier events.
This year, the national Callaway Junior World Qualifier returns to Kaua‘i, at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Mokihana-Kiele Golf Course on June 11 and 12.
Attracting juniors statewide, qualifiers of the two-day, stroke-play tournament advance to final competition at the Torrey Pines Golf Course and other neighboring golf courses in San Diego in July.
