"Stupid Rule" means Rory finishes 2nd
 

Imagine how Rory McIlroy feels:
On Saturday he was docked a two stroke penalty for not taking full relief after his ball was in ground under repair. Sunday he finished 2nd at HSBC Championship, 1 stroke behind winner Pablo Larrazabal.

Video of McIlroy calling Rule 25-1 kind of stupid
Rory Reacts to 2-Stroke Penalty Abu Dhabi HSBC 2014 | Golf Channel

Rules are rules no matter how stupid they are.

Z

Lots of "stupid" rules in golf that IMHO should be changed.

Such as:
-Ball in footprint in trap cannot be moved,
-Ball in unfilled divot on course cannot be moved,(even Jack Nicklaus thinks this should be changed)
-Man made spike marks on green cannot be fixed, but ball marks can.

Essentially and man made problem for which there is no relief!

Pros do not usually have to deal with these issues as they have people fixing them up or rules for relief from them.

Can't feel "bad" for a Pro Goler who does not know the rules of golf. Maybe Rory learn something----when there is "doubt" call over a rules official.

I tend to agree with some, but I think the spike mark rule is probably a good one. The pros would be smoothing the path to the hole endlessly.

I don't understand the rule. It seems to me that he took relief properly with his ball, but his stance was still partially in a ground under repair area. I didn't see anything in 25-1 that had anything to do with a golfers stance.

Sorry
 

We don't have to agree with rules to be affected by them or abide by them whether in golf or traffic (speed comes to mind). That's why they are called rules. Penalties are how lessons are learned whether it be strokes in golf or tickets for traffic infractions.

Now you've quit preaching and gone to meddling.

Look for "complete relief"...
 

in the rule book. It means no part of stance may be in the hazard. Many of the finer points aren't in the little $1 book or rules by the USGA. They are in the many volumed decisions of the rules.

Even I know about "complete relief" ...
 

from a ground under repair area and I've never made gazillions as does Rory. Everyone has lapses and his result in greater loss because he stands to make greater gains....no...I don't feel bad for Rory and neither should anyone else...he has it all...

Thanks for the explanation. I figured that had to be why he was penalized, but as you said, my little rules book didn't list anything about the golfers stance.

Rules are rules and that' the way it is unless of course your the guy that is getting penalized then well then you want someone to take a second look. Oh the other exception unless your tiger woods

Nothing stupid or obscure about that rule. It's happened to several players in the tour over the years. What's stupid is a player who is aware of the basic rules that the game is played under.

The rules of golf are what makes the game. They didn't pick on him. Rules come into play to keep things fair.

Exactly. In this case, the player had the option of taking relief or not. He could have chosen not to take relief and played the ball where it lay. Once he decided to take relief, he must take relief from the condition. To do otherwise amounts to taking a preferred lie.