According to those who pretend to know, Greg Norman shot 81 the first time he played Riverside, a golf course he crafted out of the forest. He is an advocate for attacking golf, but the Shark may have been bitten by his own course. It has its own version of “Amen Corner”, three holes which test the nerve of every club golfer. However, it also has many holes which are able to be attacked, with plenty of opportunities for pars.

Riverside is one of the best facilities in Indonesia and we get to play here at least six times this year, linked up to the Jakarta Inter League competition. Tee Set launches its assault on the Inter League championship this week, with Sam and Ric leading us into battle. We also have players in other teams, including JAWS and DOGS who are in it for the first time this year. Good luck to all!!!!

The normal Tee Set competition will run in parallel, and will include both Inter League players who wish to join and Tee Setters not competing in Inter League. To keep the Tee Set competition consistent with Inter League, men will play off the white tees and we will follow the Inter League ruling on the day as to whether preferred lies (lift, clean and place) will apply. Please check when you arrive.

If you have not signed up already, please register here.

Quick Update: Rules of Golf

We have written about pace of play before – max 40 seconds to take a shot, play ready golf and all that 🙂 …and…. as we move into matchplay competitions, it’s a good time to refresh ourselves on the rules of golf. Knowing the rules will help minimise confusion or conflict in matches. Going right to the source, the R&A has fantastic resources online, including an online rules academy, where you can complete courses free and get a certificate (more here).

One of the most misunderstood rules relates to relief from red stake penalty areas, and there are plenty of these at Riverside this week!!!! This video from USGA explains the rules well.

With red stakes, you can play the ball as it lies inside the penalty area or take relief with one penalty stroke, from the point that your ball crossed into the penalty area, NOT where your ball eventually lands or rests.

You have three standard options for relief with one penalty stroke: lateral relief (drop within two club lengths from the point your ball crossed into the penalty area); on the line relief (drop within one club length anywhere on a line extended back from the hole through where your ball crossed into the penalty area – note this is often not available because that line takes you further into the penalty area), and stroke and distance relief (drop within one club length of where you played your last shot). If you choose stroke and distance relief, please make this decision quickly, so as not to slow down play. The most common relief taken is lateral relief. All drops must of course me no nearer the hole.

If your ball clearly crosses into a red penalty area from your tee shot, there is no reason to play a provisional ball, but you can choose to hit another tee shot with a penalty as part of taking the stroke and distance relief option. Again, most often, players will go to where their ball crossed into the penalty area and take the lateral relief option. In addition to standard relief options from penalty areas, there are also designated drop zones, intended to help with pace of play, so you may take relief there on penalty of one stroke.