USGA Official Experiences R&A Referee School


March 24, 2008

By David Hayes, USGA

Those of us in the USGA Rules and Competitions department are frequently asked, 'What do you do in the offseason?'  The question is undoubtedly guaranteed to bring a smile to our faces. Our reply is usually, 'What offseason?'  Members of the Rules staff whose primary responsibility is to run one or more of our championships remain busy with site visits and other championship-related matters throughout the year. Others are busy preparing for and teaching our Rules of Golf Workshops or getting ready for Rules of Golf Committee meetings. This year, between teaching two PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshops, I had the pleasure of attending the R&A's Referee School.   

In addition to conducting several Rules Schools throughout the world, the R&A runs one three-day Referee School at St. Andrews, Scotland.  For this school, the R&A invites the national golf associations - including the USGA - and professional associations. They are allowed to send up to two representatives. The 2008 school included 89 delegates representing 46 national or regional associations and five professional associations. The focus of the school, as the name suggests, is on officiating. Throughout the three days of classroom work the delegates were split into smaller groups to improve their skills in this area.

Shona McRae, R&A Rules Assistant, demonstrates how the Rules are applied with respect to bunkers. (David Hayes/USGA)

The first day of instruction started with the review of televised rulings during which an R&A staff member or Rules Committee associate would guide the delegates through the ruling or ask them how they would have handled the situation and, of course, converse about the Rules that applied to the situation. The discussion of these situations provided the students with insight into the thought processes of the more experienced officials.

On the afternoon of the first day the students enjoyed practical demonstrations of how the Rules apply throughout the course.  February in St. Andrews is not the time of year when one wants to spend several hours outside discussing the Rules of Golf.  Fortunately for the delegates, the R&A constructs its own 'demonstration course' within the conference rooms of the hotel.  The groups of delegates rotated through five different stations in which the Rules relating to bunkers, to water hazards, to putting greens, to teeing grounds, and to common relief situations were demonstrated.

On the morning of the second day, the R&A exam is given. The R&A's exam, similar to the PGA/USGA exam, is comprised of closed- and open-book sections. The primary difference between the R&A's exam and ours is that the R&A exam asks for the Rule or Decision number as part of the answer (awarding partial credit if that reference number is incorrect). Even though I spend quite a bit of my time with my nose in the book, I still felt the need to cram a bit when it came to the sub-rule numbers (especially as we did some re-numbering within Rule 31 in 2008).

After two-and-a-half hours of exam, the delegates all needed a break; the schedule allowed for it. Many of us went into "the auld grey toon" of St. Andrews to visit the British Golf Museum and wander around a bit. We saw a few very brave souls starting or finishing a round on the Old Course. I can't say that I wanted to join them, though, as the temperature was in the low 40s and the wind was howling. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon where John Paramor, chief referee of the European PGA Tour, conducted a session using videos of rulings that have occurred on that tour. Paramor's session provided some terrific practical examples and also showed how important it is for a referee to keep his cool when making a ruling.

On the third day, we again returned to the mock golf course where we rotated through the stations taking turns as a role-playing rules official. The R&A Committee member or staff member acts as the player and seeks the guidance of the delegate/referee. This session gave everyone a chance to work on their skills in dealing with players as well as a chance to show what they know about the Rules. This was, therefore, the highlight of the school. It was clear that the R&A Committee and staff members enjoyed this session as well.

Also on the third day we had a chance to work on our knowledge of the equipment Rules. Claire Bates of the R&A's Equipment Department brought in several clubs and balls; delegates were tasked with determining whether the item conformed. In addition, Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, who handles many of the 'outside the ropes' aspects of the R&A's championships, spoke about course setup, pace of play and other administrative aspects of tournament administration.

The school ended that night with a cocktail reception and dinner in the R&A clubhouse. This was a great opportunity for everyone to see one of golf's most recognizable icons and to say goodbye to new friends.

Having the chance to see how my R&A counterparts conduct their school for delegates with vastly different levels of experience and who, oftentimes, are not native English speakers, was a great experience that will undoubtedly help me in my own teaching of the Rules. I want to thank Alan Holmes, R&A Rules Committee Chairman; J.R. Jones, R&A Rules Committee Member; and David Rickman, Grant Moir, Kevin Barker, and Shona McRae of the R&A Rules staff, as well as those named above, for the great job that they did.

David Hayes is a Manager, Rules of Golf for the USGA. For questions or comments e-mail him at dhayes@usga.org.