The rules of golf: Remove shrapnel from the course, take cover during bombing runs and take a free drop if your ball is destroyed by enemy action

Perhaps I just enjoy golfing more, and perhaps I do not require as much sleep as most, but I have a great number of friends who enjoy golfing (and play much better than me) who are unwilling to join me at 6:00 AM on the back nine of our local golf course for a round of early morning golf.

And it's quite a deal.  If you're willing to get up early enough, you can lineup at the tenth tee box with the other early risers and play nine holes of golf on a first-come-first-served basis.  The first foursome tees off at 6:30 AM, and if you play fast enough, you can be walking off the course well before 9:00 AM with the rest of the day ahead of you.   

For guys with little kids at home, this is the perfect way to squeeze in a couple rounds of golf every weekend.  Wake up around 5:00 on Saturday and Sunday, grab a quick breakfast, and lineup at 6:00 for a 6:30 start. 

Even the most demanding of spouses would have a hard time complaining about the convenience of a round of golf finishing up before 9:00. 

And yet I only have a small handful of friends willing to do so on a regular basis. 

It baffles me. 

This past weekend, I actually managed to acquire a 7:45 tee time so I could play with some friends who were spending the weekend at my house, and still I heard complaints about the early hour.   

One of those friends sent me this yesterday, perhaps as an admission that his level of dedication to the sport was less-than-satisfactory. 

But even I think that this is taking dedication to the sport a bit too far.   

Please note the last rule:

"A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place.  Penalty one stroke."

A PENALTY?  A bomb explodes in the middle of your backswing and you still incur a penalty?  These Brits take their golf very seriously. 

___________________________________________________

This notice posted in war-torn Britain in 1940 for golfers with stiff upper lips.

German aircraft from Norway would fly on missions to northern England; because of the icy weather conditions, the barrels of their guns had a small dab of wax to protect them. As they crossed the coast, they would clear their guns by firing a few rounds at the golf courses. Golfers were urged to take cover.