IN MY OPINION: GEOFF OGILVY
Back-stopping. If you’ve been watching any professional golf over the past few months, you’ll have seen and heard about this increasingly controversial practice.
You know, when a player leaves a pitch or chip shot close to the flag and doesn’t mark the ball before the next player hits. Some people see this as harmless; others view it as a rather insidious practice designed to give the second player an advantage should the two balls collide.
Here’s the thing though. As long as I have played golf – and I’m sure a long time before that – this sort of thing was seen simply as a way of speeding up play. Especially when playing in a three-ball, the player who has, say, chipped close might need as long as 30 seconds to make sure he doesn’t stand on anyone’s line before eventually marking his ball. That’s why – and you see this all the time – the player who has hit first always calls out to the next guy, “is that alright there?” Or words to that effect.
So, in my mind, this practice started out as a ‘pace of play’ thing. It had nothing to do with players helping each other out, or not ‘protecting’ the rest of the field through presenting an individual with a slight advantage. That was the spirit involved any time I have been one of those players. And I’ve been one of them often enough.
‘Through lines’ – an extension of the line between ball and cup that extends beyond the hole – are the same but different. They actually only exist in professional golf. And if you were to ask just about any player what he thinks of them he is more than likely to say they are nonsense. But we all still do it. Because that’s what we do. And if you don’t, you are going to appear to be a bit of a dickhead.
Not marking your ball when it has the potential to be a ‘back stop’ has become a little bit like that. Everyone is a little bit afraid to say, “don’t be stupid, mark your ball and let’s play golf.”
Sadly, however, all of that original intent behind has often morphed into something else. Over time, ‘back-stopping’ does seem to have become a ‘looking after your friends’ type thing. Or that’s what many people believe at least. I’m not so sure though. To me, it is a ‘conscience’ thing. Players want to be seen as good guys, so they don’t mind not marking when the next player’s ball might just hit the one he has just hit close.
Then again, I know there are people out there who just don’t get that aspect of this whole scenario. And I get that. In a serious competition, why would anyone do anything to help a fellow competitor shoot a lower score?
Part of the explanation is that there does seem to be more friendliness on Tour than there used to be. There is more of a spirit of camaraderie amongst the younger guys. Yes, the desire to be the best golfer in the world still drives those guys. But within that, there does seem to be more a ‘team spirit’ about the whole thing. Just about every week I see guys gathered round the final green on Sunday afternoon when one of their buddies is about to win a tournament.
Back in the day, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Gary Player were great friends, but I never saw any of them hanging around to pat one of the others on the back for winning. But that happens a lot more now.
Which actually makes sense. There is a spirit inside the locker room. We are a travelling circus in which maybe 80 percent of the population is frustrated with their games at any one time. Playing golf for a living is difficult. So even in an individual sport it is easy to feel a togetherness. We all appreciate how hard and rough the game can be. I’ve seen a lot of heads down on Friday nights. Which makes us empathetic. The Tour is more about beating golf than it is about beating people.
That sort of spirit emanates onto the course too. At least for a while. Just about every week in professional golf sees us playing a four-round stroke-play event. Thursday and Friday we typically play in three-balls at a
time when the energy and competitiveness are relatively benign and friendly. There is usually plenty of chat. But the closer we get to Sunday afternoon that naturally decreases. Everything, including the level of rivalry, gets ramped up. Players often walk together on the fairways Thursday and Friday. But by Sunday, they are on opposite sides.
So attitudes and the atmosphere inside the group change over time. So does any feeling of camaraderie. But that custom known as ‘back-stopping’ does sometimes slip through the cracks. And that is perhaps where the inherent inconsistencies in all of this become more obvious. Sometimes ‘backstopping’ happens, sometimes it doesn’t.
An example. If a player is over the back of the 1st green at Augusta National and his playing partner’s ball is adjacent to the flag, the only way his shot is going to stop close is if he hits the stick or that ball. In that situation, the first player is always going to mark his ball.
The possible advantage is just too great and too obvious.
The same is true if someone is playing a really short, tight little bunker shot where a ball sitting near the hole would really be pretty handy. In such a situation, that ball is going to be marked. Every time. In fact, 99 times out of a 100, the player in the bunker would ask for the ball to be marked. Not to do so would just feel too weird.
Where ‘back-stopping’ is more likely to happen is when a player has a flat, basic chip. In that case, he is way less likely to need any help. So the first ball is often left where it is. And it is the owner of that ball who will generally ask the question, ‘is that ok?’
Having said all that, as this practice has become more prominent in the media, players have definitely become more conscious of it – and the potential implications. So, at least in my experience, it is happening way less than it used to. Players are more understanding of how their actions can be perceived. Or misconstrued.
Look, I get the counter-argument. I get that this can be seen as someone trying to protect the interests of one player, rather than looking after every other member of the field. That makes sense. And most players would, I’m sure, agree that it is not the best way to portray the competitive side of the sport. So, again, I can see it happening less and less over time.
Still, none of the above alters my original contention that this whole thing started as simply a way of quickening play, or at least not slowing it down any more than is necessary. Besides, what is the solution? I agree that we should play every stroke-play round as if it is a head-to-head single in the Presidents Cup – no one is ‘back-stopping’ in that event, I can assure you – and that the practice should be outlawed.
But how do you write that rule? If any ball on the green has to be marked – even one 40 feet away – the game is going to slow down markedly. So all we can do is encourage guys to stop doing it. It’s just a habit, one we could all kick if we really wanted to.
THIS WHOLE THING STARTED AS SIMPLY A WAY OF QUICKENING PLAY ...