Distance – Measuring devices have become a large segment of the golf industry. There are several manufacturers producing devices to assist players in gauging distances from various points on the golf course. Players like the quickness and accuracy of such devices in helping them to determine club selection. Some devices also give more than just distances to assist the player.
Committees may permit the use of distance – measuring devices in tournament play. A Committee may establish a Local Rule allowing players to use devices that measure or gauge distance only. However, the use of a distance – measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player’s play (e.g., gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc) is not permitted regardless of whether such an additional function is used.
Rule 14 – 3 Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and the Unusual Use of Equipment is very specific in what is considered use of any equipment in an unusual manner. It states: “Except as provided in the Rules, during a stipulated round the player must not use any artificial device or unusual equipment in an unusual manner:
a.) That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play; or
b.) For the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or condition that might affect his play; or
c.) That might assist him in gripping the club, except that: (i) gloves may be worn provided they are plain gloves (ii) resin, powder and drying or moisturizing agents may be used and (iii) a towel or handkerchief may be wrapped around the grip.”
In the absence of a Local Rule, the use of distance – measuring device would be contrary to Rule 14 – 3.
For the second time this season, the Rules of Golf have cost Graeme McDowell some strokes. Earlier this year, at the opening round of the European PGA Championship, his round ended on a sour note with a triple bogey 8 and a score of two over par 74. He incurred a two-shot penalty on the 18th hole at Wentworth because of a rules violation. After an errant tee shot into some bushes, he tried to take a look at his ball and as he approached it, he thought the ball moved. Rather than calling a Rules Official over right away, he went ahead and punched out, and then as he was walking down the fairway, he called over a Rules Official and asked him to take a look at the TV footage because he wasn’t sure if the ball had moved. Even though he could not have necessarily prevented the ball from moving and he didn’t gain an advantageous lie, he should not have waited to approach the Official.
High def, slow-mo camera work showed his ball rotating a few dimples. That was a one shot penalty, and since he didn’t replace the ball, he was slapped with another shot.
This past week, at the opening round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick, he walked off the course feeling pretty good about his eagle-birdie finish. After leaving the scoring tent moments later, his mood had changed considerably. McDowell incurred a two-stroke on his final hole because he grazed a leaf while addressing his ball in a bunker. He had a small branch with a leaf attached to it and in the process of addressing the ball he grazed the top of the leaf. It was deemed he had touched a loose impediment in a hazard which is a two-stroke penalty. Instead of a 66, McDowell signed for a 68.
In either case, McDowell was not happy and ultimately those penalty shots cost him money. He is a seasoned player and one of the more knowledgeable players on the rules, but in both cases he admitted to some doubt as how to proceed. What really baffles me is that he access to a Rules Official and he did not use this resource to assist him. Rules Officials are not just out on the course to administer penalties, they are also there to guide players through situations. I am not sure if he went brain dead in both instances, but I sure hope he learned from his mistakes and in the future will rely the Rules Officials he has available to him before making any more costly blunders.
You see it happen a couple of times each year. A golfer commits a rules violation and doesn’t notice it and neither do his fellow competitors. A viewer watching the tournament on television notices it, makes a few phone calls, and brings the rules violation to the forefront. The player is ten penalized as a result.
Do you feel this is fair? Should a television viewer be able to affect the outcome of a golf tournament? In my opinion, it is ridiculous. Do you see this happening in football if a referee misses a call? That is why rules officials are present at golf tournaments. They should be the ones making the calls. Like most other sports, rules violations should be enforced during play by players and officials. Have you ever seen a baseball score change after the completion of a game?
If people can call in then no player should win a tournament until all pieces of film are reviewed and verified for rules violations. If an infraction is missed by a player, his opponent/fellow-competitor, and the rules officials, then that should be the end of it.. A television viewer should not be able to call in an infraction. Golf, like any other sport, is a game that also includes human error.
These are my thoughts. What are your thoughts? If you have an opinion please respond to Mike Fay Golf.
Most people who read my articles are, most likely, serious golfers who understand that the game is governed by 34 Rules. These same people probably play some tournament golf where Rules Officials are present to assist players in playing by the Rules and interpreting Rules situations. Not all players of the game are serious golfers who abide by the Rules. Many are “recreational” players who tend to play by “winter rules” or “preferred lies” on a year round basis. The term “preferred lies” is one of the most misunderstood concepts in golf.
In areas of the country where winter weather can be brutal and in turn create negative effects on golf courses, some courses will post signs saying “winter rules” or “preferred lies in effect today”. This means that golfers may improve their lies in certain areas of the course that may been effected by the weather conditions. Those areas are usually limited to the fairway. This could mean that if your drive is in the fairway and it comes to rest on patch of bare ground where the grass has died or is dormant, winter rules allow you to move the ball onto grass.
Sometimes, golfers interpret “winter rules” or “preferred lies” to mean an assortment of things, mostly because golf course fail to explain what the term means. Without an explanation, we will see golfers improve lies in sand bunkers, water hazards, and in general, in all areas of the golf course. There is no Rule that covers “winter rules” or “preferred lies” in the Rules of Golf, but there is an explanation in Appendix I, Part A, Local Rules that says: “Adverse conditions, including the poor condition of the course or the existence of mud, are sometimes so general, particularly during winter months, that the Committee may decide to grant relief by temporary Local Rule either to protect the course or to promote fair and pleasant play. The Local Rule should be withdrawn as soon as conditions warrant”.
Even if you are a “recreational” golfer I would still encourage you to play the game in the traditional fashion which is to play the ball as it lies. Here’s hoping that you are “Playing By The Rules”.
Every so often, I will get a question that goes something like this: “I hit my ball into a sand bunker and I don’t know how to hit out of a bunker. Can I declare my ball unplayable and go back to the spot where I last hit to replay the shot”. A player who is terrified of the sand might think that a one stroke penalty is worth it to get out of the sand. Professional golfers would not think that way because they are not willing to take the penalty stroke.
A player can declare any ball unplayable, at any time, for any reason, and anywhere on the course other than in a water hazard. The penalty is one stroke with three options to proceed under. Those options are:
*Return to the spot of the previous stroke and play again
*Drop within two club lengths, not nearer the hole
*Drop behind the spot, going back as far as you would like, keeping the original spot between the hole and the new place where you drop
If you declare a ball unplayable and use the second or third option, you must drop in the bunker. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable. For a more extensive explanation, read over Rule 28 Ball Unplayable.
