UPDATE TO RULES SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO GAPING DIVOTS, UNRAKED BUNKERS
Harrumph.
You’ve just hit the drive of your life: 300 yards down the middle of a tight, tree-lined fairway. But then you get to your ball and find it is in a divot — a crater the size of an elephant’s grave.
Relief ? No chance. Not without a one-stroke penalty.
Last month, the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient proposed several changes to the rules of golf, most of them welcome.
Taking effect in 2019, the changes will allow players to repair spike marks on greens as well as repair damage due to animals, rescind penalties for accidentally moving a ball on the green or while searching for a ball, no penalty for moving loose impediments in bunkers or penalty areas and reducing — from five to three minutes — searching for lost balls.
But, according to many Edmonton golf professionals and executives, they didn’t go far enough. At the top of the list is having to play out of those infernal divots.
“It’s just not fair,” said Greg McGarry, head pro at the Glendale. “You should get a free drop. You are penalizing good shots the way it reads now.
“It’s especially infuriating when your playing partner has sliced one 30 yards off-line and has a perfect lie in the rough.”
“Playing the ball from a new divot that was not replaced and that could have been made minutes before bothers me,” echoed Gary Christenson, head pro at Sturgeon Valley. “Golf is about being fair and equitable but the person who played in the group ahead of you who didn’t replace his/her divot, did not have to play from the same conditions as you.”
“It should be considered ground under repair and relief taken,” agreed Kyle Boyd, head pro at the Edmonton Petroleum Club. “The object of the game is to hit fairways and greens. You can fix pitch marks and divots on greens. You shouldn’t be penalized for a good shot hitting a fairway.”
Murray McCourt, general manager of The Ranch, Kevin Easthope, head pro and GM of Sandpiper, and Grant Cammidge, GM of the Petroleum Club were also in agreement.
The lone dissenter was Joshua Davison, head pro at RedTail Landing.
“First and foremost, the difficulty involved in properly determining what constitutes a divot would be extremely overwhelming. Let me ask you these questions:
“How deep does the divot need to be before we are given relief ?
“Do you get relief from a divot filled with sand?
“Should I get relief from a poorly replaced divot?
“Will I get relief if my ball sits on the edge, in front or behind a divot?”
Another rules infraction that Edmonton golf pros and executives don’t like is having to play out of an unraked bunker.
“Sand traps are hard enough to play out of. Why should someone be punished because someone that played before you that day was so disrespectful that they didn’t rake a trap?” said McCourt. “That is silly to me.”
“The current rule is if someone is lazy and does not rake the trap after they hit out of it and you hit into one of their footprints then tough luck,” said Shaun Piercey, head pro at The Ranch. “I would like to see golfers be allowed to remove ball from footprints and drop in trap with no penalty.”
“Lift, clean (rake if needed) and place in a bunker,” agreed Cammidge.
There were no dissenters on what isn’t exactly a rule but what now seems to be a policy: Allowing TV viewers to call or email about supposed rule infractions.
For that, you just have to ask Lexi Thompson, who was recently penalized four shots: Two for improperly marking her ball and then — a full day later — two more for signing an incorrect scorecard in the ANA Inspiration, an LPGA major.
“Viewers at home should not be officials wearing stripes,” Tiger Woods posted on Twitter.
Alberta pros were in 100 per cent agreement — not about the rules infraction, which was clearly a breach of rules — but the way it was handled and just the fact that TV viewers are allowed to call in infractions in the first place.
“I don’t know of any other sport allowing a television viewer to call in an offence or ruling,” said Christenson. “The only person who should be able to make that call is the golfer or an official who is present. The fact they come out the next day during her round to tell her and impose the penalties is also ridiculous.”
“Really? So, will Gary Bettman be taking calls soon about calls missed the night before?” said Glendale GM Craig Rusnak. “I can just imagine him calling (Columbus Blue Jacket head coach John) Tortorella ... and telling him they have to take those two points away from the night before because one of the zebras missed a call!”
“With high definition TVs and cameras able to zoom as close as they want to, every golfer on Tour would get assessed a penalty for not marking their ball exactly in the same spot,” added Jason Hnatiw, head pro at Windermere.
Last week, golf’s ruling bodies limited the use of video evidence.
Now, players can avoid a penalty if the violation can’t be seen with the naked eye or rules officials waive penalties if they believe golfers made a “reasonable judgment” when taking a drop or replacing their golf balls on the greens.
But this doesn’t go far enough, either. “Just don’t answer the phone or take an email about a possible rules violation,” said Dunc Mills, a rules official with Alberta Golf.