Appleby to read the local rules

The importance of reading the local rules for the golf course cannot be understated. Being aware  of local rules concerning ground conditions, hazards and other scenarios can help your score. If you are not aware of them, you can also find yourself breaching the rules where penalties apply, as Stuart Appleby found out last time he played Whistling Straits.

“We were told they were going to be waste bunkers when we played there a month earlier. I could not believe the PGA were dumb enough to have spectators walk in bunkers, and you have to play (the ball) as it lies.

“It’s just not the best designed course for spectators, so the way they had to set the course up was to force people through bunkers. Where I was was littered with foot prints, grass, rubbish, everything.

“It was a mistake on my behalf but I feel like it was a pretty poor set-up. Ultimately the blame falls with me but I still don’t know how you can have half a bunker that’s perfectly normal and the half that has people walking through it.”