If you were wondering how to improve your game in 2019 or were thinking about learning a new sport, golf could be the place to start. As of Jan. 1, the United States Golf Association has made some modernized changes to the rules of golf.

Have you ever watched the television and see golfers putt on the putting green with the flagstick out of the hole? Well, the days for walking all the way up to the hole are over because you can now putt with the flag in the hole.

“Majority of people leave the flag in the hole because it is convenient and it saves time,” says Sara Mckevitt, a sophomore player on the UNF Women’s Golf team.

USGA has added some other interesting changes. Did you know that if you accidentally cause your ball to move on the putting green, there’s no penalty for it? If you were practicing your stroke and your ball moves you simply put it back.

Have you ever had a bad game and decided not to finish the hole? Well it is not the end of the world because you will not be disqualified. You simply take the highest score that the committee decides on.

“Socially this is a really good rule,” Mckevitt explains. “That way you are not very aggravated especially for people who are just getting into the game”.

When asked about overall views on all changes in the rules, Mckevitt responded, “I feel like they are definitely trying to speed up play which I respect whether it is tournament play or local amateur play; overall they made it more user friendly and easier. It also prevents unknown cheating.”

Students are not the only people enjoying the new rules. According to Boots Farley, a PGA golf instructor at UNF Golf Complex, the new rules make sense to make the game move faster.

“Anything that does that for the amateur is good for the sport,” Farley said.

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