February 24, 2006

Dear Members:

On the eve of another huge event, I wanted to share this story with
everyone.

In the 1925 U.S. Open the great Bobby Jones entered the final round in the tournament lead.  Following an errant tee shot, he found himself deep in the woods, out of sight of all spectators and officials.  After hitting out of the woods, Jones emerged from the trees and immediately informed officials that he had called a penalty on himself when his club accidently brushed against his ball during a practice swing--something no one could have possibly seen.

Jones went on to lose the Open by a single stroke.  Afterwards, Jones was widely praised for his honesty and integrity.  To which Jones replied: "You might as well praise me for not breaking into banks. There is only one way to play this game."

Not all of us can have the golf game of a Bobby Jones. But we can all achieve the same level of honesty and integrity.  We don't expect everyone to be an absolute expert on every single rule of golf.  We do expect that all members will:  1) do their best to learn the rules and continually improve their knowledge of the rules;  2) ask another member if they have any doubt about a particular rule during a tournament; and 3) never, ever, knowingly violate any rule during a competition.

This is absolutely essential to maintaining the integrity of our handicap system and our tournaments.

As always, if you have any questions regarding the rules of golf, our Rules Chairman Darin Miller is happy to answer them.

Your truly,

Houndy