"While We're Young!", Blue Hills CC, MO
SECOND CHANCES
A Mulligan in golf or a Gimmie putt is never allowed under
the rules, but has become somewhat commonplace for the friendly, social game
and recreational golfers that play less for trophies or money and more for the
enjoyment of the golfing experience.
Both of these practices can also speed up the game and allow the group
waiting behind you to keep playing at a reasonable pace. Or as Arnold would say, “While we’re young!” However, if either of these concepts involve
an official competition or a “money shot” such as playing skins, then they’re
not allowed.
A Gimmie putt is generally agreed upon and given by other
players in the group if it is inside the leather of a standard putter grip and
the hole. A Mulligan is simply a second
chance or “do-over” and the first errant shot is forgotten and now out of
play. So, if your Mulligan turns out to
be in even worse trouble, tough luck! If
you go ahead and putt a Gimmie that has been conceded and you miss, you must
also count the missed putt. You do not
have to pick up a Gimmie, but the whole point is to move along off the green.
Most Mulligans are given off the first tee, especially when
golfers have rushed to make an early tee time or have not played for some
time. If the shot is winged into the
woods or a lake, a second shot in play can keep the game moving, as long as the
golfer doesn’t spend extra time searching for the first ball. However, in more recent times, golfers
running a charity tournament have quickly found that they can easily raise
extra money by selling limited mulligans to team members to be used for any
errant shot during play. That practice
seems to have given rise to some groups allowing Mulligans off the front and
back nines for tee and fairway shots, but not putts. Purists
say “golf isn’t a matter of life or death. It’s much more than that.”
They lose sight of the reality that it’s a just game. Games are
played with an agreed upon set of rules.
Nobody is quite sure when and where the term Mulligan
originated, but it must have preceded 1949 when it made its way into P.
Cummings’ Dictionary of Sports. Most
agree it may have started with an Irish golfer named Mulligan or even a
bartender taking a freebie shot. Somehow
the term just meandered into the sport, quite probably because the practice is such
an equal opportunity for everyone in the group.
If you don’t use a Mulligan in a round, you’ve probably had a very good
day! Besides, golf is a career to the
professionals who play a very difficult game at another level. But it’s a game and needs to be somewhat fun
to the poor slob that is attempting to escape from the everyday world and
simply enjoy life for a few hours. And
the universal second chance for just about everyone will always lift your
spirits and give you renewed hope for redemption on the next shot!
