When AJGA Operations staff returns from winter break, their studying for the USGA Rules Exam kicks into “high gear.” Every year, the 20-member Operations Staff, after weeks of studying, attends a PGA/USGA Workshop on the Rules of Golf. At the workshop, the Ops staff participates in a three-day event including sessions lead by USGA Rules Officials and PGA of America representatives, and takes the USGA Rules Exam. AJGA Tournament Directors strive for the 92/100 score required in order to have the highest rules certification.
This year, the PGA/USGA Workshop on the Rules of Golf is coming to Château Élan, home of the American Junior Golf Association’s National Headquarters. This year, as the event is in our backyard, the AJGA will host a reception for attendees, which include personnel from state and local golf associations across the US, to golf course staff and professionals. The Rules Workshop also brings a few AJGA staff members who now work for the USGA back to Braselton including Rob Ockenfuss, USGA Manager of Rules Inquiries and Greg Sanfilippo, Director of the U.S. Junior Amateur and USGA Senior Amateur Championships.
If you haven’t seen it already, in the upcoming weeks, the hashtag #RulesSchool will be used on our Twitter page. If you follow along with #RulesSchool, you’ll get an opportunity to check out some of the things going on here at the AJGA as our Operations staff prepares for the test. In addition to a “behind the scenes” look at our preparations, you will also have the opportunity to reach out to us via social media to ask your own questions about the Rules of Golf.
This week, Tournament Manager Scott Geary took to the Twitter-verse with a photo of what many desks in the Operations department look like during these weeks of studying. Geary tweeted, “A packed #RulesSchool day @AJGAGolf today... 5+ hours, but definitely well worth it!”
In the weeks leading up to the Rules workshop February 6-9, a few guests will contribute to the AJGA Blog. From the USGA, Ockenfuss, will explain preparations for the workshop from the USGA’s point of view. Andrew Greenfield, AJGA Director of Rules and Competitions, will give us an inside look at some of the AJGA staff’s preparations for the exam. Since 2005, Greenfield has been helping with the continued develop of the Rules curriculum that the AJGA staff use to prepare for the exam. Chris White, AJGA Senior Tournament Director, will talk about his experiences of taking the exam as a rookie vs. now as a seasoned pro. Finally, Blair Thompson, AJGA Tournament Coordinator, will give us the perspective of what it’s like to be a brand new staff member studying for the exam with the help of the AJGA “class.”
An inside look on Rules School is just the beginning of the new and exciting changes we have planned for the AJGA Blog for the upcoming year. We’re excited about these changes, and we’d love to hear some of your thoughts. If you have something you’d like to hear about, reach out to your blog editors - @AJGAWitman and @AJGADittmer on Twitter and share your ideas with us. #AJGA2013 is going to be a year to remember as the AJGA runs more than 100 tournaments for the first time, and we can’t wait to experience it with you.
I’ll leave you with this for today,
What’s worse than a three-putt?
Playing a ball from a wrong place – If you’re on the putting green and your ball moves, but you don’t cause the ball to move, then you replace it and play it, your round will take a hit because that would be playing from a wrong place and a two-stroke penalty.
If you didn’t know, now you do. Rule 18
Alexis Witman (@AJGAWitman)
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