This day in golf history .....

On December 22nd 1894, the Amateur Golf Association of the United States was formed. It had five charter members - Shinnecock Hills, St Andrews GC, the Country Club (Brookline), Newport GC and Chicago GC - but was later changed to the US Golf Association because it dealt with the game both at amateur and professional levels.Its first key function was to develop and co-ordinate the Rules of Golf with the Royal and Ancient. Theodore Havemeyer, a wealthy sugar merchant from the Newport club, was its first president.Teaser: On the teeing ground, a player broke off a branch of a tree which was interfering with his swing. The player maintained that such action was not a breach of Rule 13-2 because his ball was not yet in play. Was the player correct? Answer: No. The player was in breach of Rule 13-2 for improving the area of his intended swing. Although Rule 13-2 allows a player to eliminate irregularities of surface on the teeing ground, it does not allow him to break a branch interfering with his swing.The penalty would apply even if the player, before playing his next stroke, re-teed elsewhere on the teeing ground.