Bubba Watson commiserates with Simpson at the conclusion of their play-off
We probably should have brought the news to you sooner, but it looks like the USGA is exploring the possibility of changing rule 18-2b. The rule, which contributed to denying Webb Simpson his first PGA Tour victory, refers to the unintentional movement of a player’s ball at address:
“If a player’s ball in play moves after he has addressed it (other than as a result of a stroke), the player is deemed to have moved the ball and incurs a penalty of one stroke. The ball must be replaced, unless the movement of the ball occurs after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement of the club for the stroke and the stroke is made.”
USGA Vice President Thomas O’Toole announced the news at Monday’s US Open Media Day, but claimed that the initiative wasn’t prompted by Sunday’s high-profile ruling. Under the proposed new rule, if it could be either demonstrated or adequately deduced that some outside agency– wind, gravity, etc.– had caused the ball to move, a player would not be penalised.
The difficulty with this, as trusty Geoff Shackelford points out, is that the rules of golf specifically state that wind is not an outside agency, thus raising the spectre of a needlessly convoluted exception to a clearly defined rule.
In addition, I find it hard to see how rulings made under the new amendment would be capable of accurately differentiating between the various factors influencing a ball’s movement. The rule as it currently stands makes the specific nature of the movement essentially irrelevent: if it moved after address, it’s a penalty. The new proposal seems to allow for two completely different rulings to be separated by little more than a hair’s breadth of philosophical distinction. Did a player cause the ball to move in a given situation, or was it the wind? It’s often impossible to tell and, given the conditions under which most of these judgements will be made, it very nearly ceases to matter.
We can only wait and see how the USGA and R&A decide to parse the re-vamped 18-2b, but I can’t say I’m hugely enthusiastic about their decision to meddle with it. As silly as it may occasionally seem– witness last Sunday’s PR debacle– 18-2b is both simple and philosophically unambigous. Tampering with it seems to court only confusion and the increased likelihood of inaccuracy.
Conor
Conor, I agree wholeheartedly that the rule, as it is, is simple and philosophically unambiguous. I don’t agree with any implication that it is fair, or contributes to “protecting the integrity of the game” or is necessary for determining the best player.
A hypothetical rule of golf that required a player to periodically spin a wheel and add a stroke for landing on a whammy would be simple to administer and philosophically unambiguous, but we’d all agree that it was unfair and pointless. Having to add strokes because a *wind gust* moved your ball, (and gave you no advantage), is pretty absurd.
A solution may be inelegant, but no less so than the underlying problem.
Just don’t ground your putter when it’s windy. I did that today, in a match, aware of the rule–it was gusty on an exposed green. Rushing my putt and without the balance of the usual set-up, I knocked it five feet by.
I don’t see what’s so hard about leaving the rule as-is except when on the putting surface. Honestly, I can’t think of anything besides wind and maybe an earthquake that would cause a ball to move after a player soles his putter in his/her normal and reasonable manner. I mean, sure, you can bang your putter into the ground to try get the ball to move without touching it, but that’s neither normal nor reasonable.
Just add “except when on the putting surface” to the beginning of rule 18-2b.
Can the determination be accurately and fairly assessed each and every time with no chance of error?
Would a golfer who claimed it was the wind…even if it was the wind…be protected from accusation of improperly applying the rule?
Bubba & Webb both need a haircut!
I thought Rickie’s hair was bad, look at these hippies.