The 20 new rules include reducing the time allowed to search for a lost ball from five to three minutes and allowing players to hit when they’re ready regardless of who’s furthest from the green, and were cleared by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the United States Golf Association.

Dubbo professional Craig Mears agrees with the sentiment of speeding up a round of golf, but doesn’t think the changes, which came into affect on January 1, will have any meaningful impact.

It puts him at odds with Duntryleague assistant professional Tom Perfect, who said the moves were “a good change”.

Players are now able to repair nearly any damage to the green, and no longer have to figure out what dints or loose bits of grass are from before cleaning the surface.

Golfers can ground their club in a hazard (provided they don’t use it to improve their position for the stroke), and similarly can also move loose impediments without penalty.

“I don’t think these rules are going to make a huge change … personally I’d prefer them to be looking more at focusing on shorter games of golf,” Mears said.

With the growth of Fast5 Netball and Big Bash cricket in recent years, Mears said the future of golf also depended on creating shorter formats of the game.

He highlighted the “success” of Dubbo Golf Club’s Super 6 Twilight competition, with 64 teams registered in its 11^th year.

“Obviously people are time-poor, so [there’s a] need to focus on more nine-hole structured golf,” Mears said.

“[In Super 6] they play their own individual card and stroke but it’s based around a team, setting up almost like an individual-slash-team event to get people to challenge each other to play.

“You’ve still got your traditionalists that want to play 18 holes but there needs to be more a of a focus on developing quicker forms of the game.”

Mears is also an advocate for more nine-hole courses, but feared few, other than legend Jack Nicklaus, were in support of shorter courses.

“If they’re shorter, with a little bit more bunkering and water, they can be just as challenging – I mean the average handicap in the last 30 years still hasn’t dropped even though courses have gotten longer,” Mears said.

“It’s not about making courses longer and harder – if they make them shorter and harder, they’re going to have fewer hits but they’re still going to have a lot of enjoyment.”

The USGA and the R and A also recommended players be permitted to bring an out-of-bounds back to where it crossed the boundary, but the Dubbo Golf Club will not be adopting that recommendation.

The Dubbo Golf Club’s Super 6 competition resumes on January 19, with the next major tournament the Australia Day Cup – a two-person ambrose – on January 26.