By Martin Dempster

How disappointing to hear that the Council of National Golf Unions is not permitting one of the key changes in the New Rules of Golf coming into effect on 1 January in counting competitions.

The whole point of introducing a Local Rule to stop a player having to return to the tee after either losing a ball or discovering it has gone out of bounds was to help speed  up play.

There is probably not a golf club in Scotland where the pace of play in a medal isn’t adversely affected by people having to trudge dejectedly back to a tee.

Yet, it is stated on the CONGU  website and, consequently, is being relayed at various rules seminars taking place in preparation for 1 January, that the new Local Rule is not being encouraged in club  competitions.

No, the “stroke-and-distance relief” is only “appropriate for general play where golfers are playing casual rounds or playing their own competitions”.

What utter nonsense. Yes, of course, this isn’t a rule that should ever be implemented in professional or elite level amateur  competitions.

However, the sooner CONGU gets its head out of the sand over this one the better. Attempts to speed up the game simply have to  be embraced.