Taking Liberties

You're not that good. I don't care if you tell me you're a 3 or a 23, I really don't believe you. If you wonder why that is, go look at the title of this blog post. Have you ever been 30 feet away and hit a nice putt up to 4 feet, then walked up and just tapped the ball into the cup in a non chalant manner? We all have. But whether you made that putt or not, you gave it to yourself; and that my friends is taking a liberty.

Why do we take these liberties? Is it because we're afraid of shooting a 94 versus 93? Let's face it, aside from a select few of us, no one is regularly threatening the 70s, so why do it? Here's another liberty. You hit a drive into the rough, get there and the rough sucks, so you give yourself a decent lie. You still have a slim chance at hitting the green, so why do it? Would you have felt better at the end of the round knowing you played all balls where they lied (even those across your nose)? I don't know.

That's the real beauty of taking a liberty; it's not cheating. We're not pros. We're not competing at any level other than who can drink the most beers. So there is no level of moral ground to worry about. That is...until you flash your handicap to someone. "Hey, I'm an 8 handicap".

Then you go to the course and see more liberties being taken than the Taliban takes from its women. So what do you do? The guy is one of your friends' co-workers and is generally a good guy. Do you call him out on that 3 foot putt that may have cost you a 50 cent skin? Do you make him return to the tee instead of hitting 3 from 75 yards further than where his drive went OB? Do you enforce the lateral hazard rule? Who knows what the lateral hazard rule is? What other hazard rule is there? When having crab cakes, is 2 enough? Is 3 too many?

The answer to these questions is no. No one wants to play with "The Enforcer". No want wants to be told that rule 8.1a states that a man whose tee shot does not pass the ladies tee must play the entire hole pantless...that is of course, unless that rule has been specified before the round.

There is no one among us who does not take liberties. From the tap in (6 inches to 5 feet) to the "winter rules" movement of a lie in the rough, to a favorable drop on the right side of the pond, or a "one in, two out" where you just take the distance. No one among us is casting any stones. We all live in glass houses. None of us are with out sin...

So, if you're ever in question about anything golf related, just remember the immortal words of my brother and know:
"Golf is a game of etiquette and integrity...ASSHOLE"