Golf Rules

What is heroism? Is it akin to love? Jesuit John P. Delaney, my late teacher, said very simply that love is measured by what one is willing to give up. A man would thus put his wife and kids ahead of his barkada (carousing buddies), and cleave to his family, forsaking all others. Thus the biblical "Greater love than this no man has, that he give up his life for another."

And who is a hero? Very simply, in my opinion, a hero is someone who does what ought to be done which I myself am unwilling to do.

Hence, one of my heroes is Ramon Farolan, the man who gave me this column when he was The STAR's chief editor -- no, silly, not because he allowed me to inflict my odd ideas on my fellow golfers but because he took on the thankless job of customs commissioner, when he had nothing to gain and everything to lose by accepting it.

Everyone would have understood -- even Prez Erap, who appointed him -- if Mon Farolan had begged off. After all, he had lived a full life: beginning his military career as a plebe at the Philippine Military Academy, and closing it as the Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force. Being a man of many parts, he had also served as manager of our Export Processing Zone, ambassador to Indonesia, and had already been Customs Commissioner (with an unsoiled reputation, I might add). Mon last worked as this paper's editor-in-chief until triple heart bypass surgery finally pushed him into retirement.

In a way, his cardiac problem was a blessing in disguise for it gave him the leisure to visit his first grandchild in the US and to play all the golf he wanted with his buddies. Indeed, I would say that he truly appreciated the free time that had finally come; after all, having had such a variegated career, there was nothing left to prove, either to himself or to others.

Nevertheless, when Erap's phone call caught him on the golf course -- aborting what would have been a pleasant day playing with friends -- Mon could not say no. Perhaps an old soldier could never shirk a patriotic duty. But now his old ticker is acting up again, unable to stand the strain of battling the relentless smugglers and their cohorts in his own bureau.

I want to say this to Ramon Farolan: thanks for loving your country so much, but you must quit now. We, your fellow Filipinos, are not worth dying for, despite what everybody's hero, Ninoy, might have said. Live for your family. You've done enough for us worthless Flips!

By the time you read these words, I trust the NGAP (National Golf Association of the Philippines) shall have finally placed in your hands the new, long-awaited, Rules of Golf governing play worldwide: a code of laws for every golf hole on the planet. An achievement, without equal in all of sport! I'm referring to the Rule Book, friends, not to the NGAP.

Consider this handy, handsomely printed gem. Aside from taking effect on the most talked-about date in our lifetime -- Jan. 1, 2000 -- imagine how much know-how and sheer brainwork, not to mention goodwill from normally disputatious humans, went into its making. Consider also that the English version (it's printed in 24 other languages) is distributed free of charge (except in the US and Canada) by the British insurance company now known as the Royal & SunAlliance, which has been its sponsor since 1908 -- that's right, 1908!

The R&A (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews) and the USGA (United States Golf Association) review the Rules and implement changes every 4 years -- changes based on thousands of queries coming from over a hundred golfing bodies around the world.

The new code, speaking as a forty-year-long student of the Rules, is the best yet. Every effort has been made -- in wording, phrasing, punctuation, numbering and design -- to render the laws easier to apply. I salute the authors of this magnificent piece of work.

There are no sweeping changes -- just some two-dozen modifications to the Rules. However, there are nearly 150 revisions and additions in the Decisions Book (a separate volume of case studies all golf clubs and tournament committees should never be without).

One change pertains to Rule 14-2, about which I was asked by Arsenic Laurel (more on Arsenic and his golfing dad, the late car-racing champion Dodjie Laurel, next week).

Q. (from Arsenic Laurel, Manila Golf Club) Some players asked me whether it's true that a caddie may no longer assist a golfer in aiming his shot.

A. Previously, a player's caddie, partner or partner's caddie was only prohibited from assisting him by standing on or close to an extension of the line of putt while the player was putting. The prohibition is now extended to include all strokes. But the caddie may still help the player aim every shot, on or off the green, provided he moves away before the stroke.

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