Rule 7 - Equipment
You carry fourteen clubs. You trust three. Rule 7 governs the other eleven, the upgrade that fixes nothing, and the precise etiquette of retrieving a club you have just thrown into a tree.
The Rule (reproduced verbatim from the Dad Golf Handbook)
Purpose of Rule: governs the fourteen clubs you carry and the four you use.
7.1 A player may carry fourteen clubs. A player will trust three of them, fear four of them, and carry the rest out of superstition.
7.1a The 3-iron in your bag is decorative. It is load-bearing for your self-image only.
7.2 A brand new driver purchased to fix a slice will produce identical slices at a higher ball speed. This is called an upgrade.
7.3 Any club thrown must be retrieved by the thrower in full view of the Crew, at a walk of shame pace. Distance and style points may be awarded, but never mentioned to the thrower's face until the 19th hole.
7.4 The putter may be spoken to, pleaded with, or threatened. It may not be blamed. It was your read.
7.5 - The Rangefinder Clause. A player who lasers the flag at 152, announces "152," and then hits it 130 has not used the rangefinder. He has worn it.
PENALTY FOR CLUB ABUSE: one beer, plus the club rides in another player's bag for two holes as a protective custody measure.
Official Ruling 7.3/1: Ty helicoptered a wedge a witnessed 31 yards after a chunked chip, a personal best. The Committee applies Rule 7.3 in full, and separately notes the wedge throw was his best ball flight of the day. The Committee is not sorry.
Speak to the putter, plead with it, threaten it if you must, but do not blame it. It was your read.