The PGA of America passed out copies of the local rules sheet — the same one that the players are given — in the media center after Dustin Johnson was penalized two strokes for grounding his club in one of the 967 bunkers at Whistling Straits, many of which are outside the ropes and stomped on by spectators. It was also posted in the locker room. Here’s what it says…well, I’m only going to retype that part that applies to the case of the bunkers.
SUPPLEMENTARY RULES OF PlAY
Play is governed by the 2010/11 USGA Rules of Golf and its Decisions, the PGA of America Rules of Play Card, the Local Rule for this Championship regarding Pace of Play (available at the starting tees) and the following Supplementary Rules of Play which apply to this golf course.
1: Bunkers: All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers whether or not they have been raked. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes and some inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, have tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game.
Note 1: The sand area in front, left and behind #5 green in the lateral water hazard is NOT a bunker (do not move stones).
Note 2: Where necessary, blue dots define the margin of a bunker.
I certainly didn’t see any blue dots near Dustin’s bunker. With so many bunkers, how can they mark all of them? Especially when order wasn’t maintained properly and people were stomping all over the bunkers..
The bold part below is what makes the bunker rule even more confusing. There were tons of areas on the course that had been trampled and looked similar to the “bunker” where Johnson’s ball rested. I’d sit on patches of dirt on the sides of hills that were perfect seats.
4. Integral Parts of the Course:
a) Railroad tie supports (except where adjacent to cart paths) such as those found on holes #11 and #17
b) Natural sand or dirt pathways
c) Pathways surfaced with mulch/wood chips (individual pieces of mulch/wood are loose impediments).
d) Erosion-control mesh netting when covering or supporting rocks in or around water hazards.
How can you distinguish between what’s “natural sand” and the hundreds of pointless bunkers splattered across the course in the strangest of places, like next to a tee box?
Also, there was some question as to whether Johnson should have received even more penalty strokes because he grounded the club once in his practice swing and again when he addressed he ball. There’s a cell phone video floating around the interwebs of Johnson’s caddie, Bobby Brown, setting Johnson’s golf bag in the hazard.
While I’m still awaiting confirmation, I’m pretty sure you can only be assessed the penalty once on each shot. So if DJ grounded his club once, he might as well have grounded it five more times. As for the bag, there’s no penalty for setting a bag down in a bunker (hazard).
When the PGA Championship was last played at Whistling Straits in ’04, Stuart Appleby, who was in contention in the final round, received a four-stroke penalty for also mistaking a bunker outside the ropes as a waste area. He removed a few twigs (loose impediments) from the bunker to draw a two-stroke penalty. Then he grounded his club for another two-stroke penalty.
After what happened to Appleby, you’d think the PGA would have made adjustments to the rule the first time around. Perhaps with the loud outcry that Johnson’s fiasco has created, when the PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits in 2015, they’ll change the local rule, so that the bunkers outside the ropes are called what they actually are — waste areas.
[Photo by Kyle Auclair/Insidetheropes.com]
Either don’t host an event where such care in ruling is required or read the local rules to players to ensure there is no confusion or lack of interest in the local rule or claim of a misunderstanding. Johnson handled this much better then the media. The issue is covered in the local rules.
The walking officials were asked not to “hover” over the players. The issue of multiple infractions was covered in last nights broadcast and only two strokes were to be added to his score.
This is great because we are finally not reading about how Woods did/did not win.
Leave it to the PGA of America to ruin a great finish. That has to be the dumbest rule I have EVER seen for a major championship. They should set “the ropes” firm and say inside ropes bunker outside ropes NOT. It is a joke that they let people walk in the bunkers…and then Pete Dye came off as the arrogant designer that he is.
This course could be great but as with all things Dye it ends up coming off as contrived and forced. You can’t BUILD a links course…they are made over centuries.
@docsbro: good call. Whistling Straits is a vulgar, made-for-TV interpretation of a classic golf course. A mess.
The local rule lacks logical integrity and can be questioned in a legalistic sense, but DJ’s ultimately got to bear the responsibility himself. I think people should stop trying to fall over themselves to either excuse him or exaggerate the sense of injustice he must be struggling with. The bunker did have a lip and the rule sheet did have a section dedicated to this sort of situation. Earlier in the week, journalists and commentators were pretty enamoured with the quirkiness of Dye’s untended bunkers. It’s a heart-rending outcome for DJ, but a fair one. If Kaymer had been the one disqualified from the play-off, I doubt it would have become THE story.
@Mulligan: they still made us watch every single shot Woods played on Sunday!
I had a friend give the perfect description of the bunkers…She called them Dr. Suess bunkers and after that I never saw them the ame again…
My suggestion is to not hold the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits again. There has now been controversy twice. There are plenty of other challenging courses to hold the event at.
Classic wimp excuse from the PGA, “we posted the rules, see it’s written here…”. On such an important note you’d think they’d have the brains to MAKE the players aware, as Watney said that never look at the rules, the PGA must know this, so they’re either dumb or had their head in the sand and wanted to avoid the problem with a few lines on a piece of trash.
No matter where the blame lies it really was just a sad turn of events. The good thing is that Dustin is proving that he is a player who will be a force to reckon with as he gets more and more experience.
@John: Totally agree that Whistling Straits should be taken off the rota. The course should be played on Tiger Woods 2011, and not with a major tournament attached to it.
In 2012, the PGA at Kiawah (Dye Course, no less) will be quite similar, except most of (if not all) the bunkers on the course are considered waste bunkers (at least for the general public). Let’s hope the PGA rules officials get their act together in case this comes up again.
Quick question: Anyone care to speculate how many instances of players grounding their clubs in so-called bunkers during the tournament that weren’t televised??
I don’t think DJ knew there was a problem before he putted on 18. If he had sunk his six-footer, what kind of emotional mayhem we would have had!
“There’s a cell phone video floating around the interwebs of Johnson’s caddie, Bobby Brown, setting Johnson’s golf bag in the hazard.”
It’s not a problem to place one’s bag, or even clubs alone (like a putter), in a hazard. Rule 13-4 prohibits testing a hazard and Decision 13-4/0.5 gives specific examples of what constitutes testing. And there are lots of other Decisions in 13-4 that deal with the issue.
The course is visually intimidating and some may find it attractive but from a Rules perspective it’s a nightmare.
You are correct: You can’t be assessed multiple penalties for grounding your club before one shot. So DJ could have set the club down multiple times before hitting that shot.
Great job on identifying the other part in the local rules about the sand paths vs. bunkers. I haven’t seen or heard anyone else report that. I’m sure we won’t hear it from the PGA! What a disgrace
Well, I certainly don’t want to sound like a wet rag. But the rules were there for players and caddies to see. Just an unfortunate series of events that got caught in the moment. Its safe to say that now “everyone” knows this rule at Whistling Straits going forward for future events.
I think the problem does come with the path exception. If you look at where his ball was you can see what to ME looks like a worn walking path going to the left of where his ball was. His caddy said they where BOTH aware of the rule but neither one of them felt they where in a bunker. Simple answer is: Inside the ropes bunker….OUTSIDE the ropes NOT bunker. Then there are no questions.
[...] think it was a bunker because of all the fans standing in it. He also forgot to read the local rules given to all players/caddies stating all sand areas were bunkers. So as much as you might not like [...]
Come on Steph – sand is sand. If your ball is laying in sand…and you know the rule…ASSUME YOU’RE IN A BUNKER ! Why is that so difficult ?
Matt is correct in mentioning the 2012 PGA at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. For the general public, ALL the traps there are waste bunkers and you can ground your club in them. Should not be an issue there in two years.
At the Straits, where DJ’s ball was, it just doesn’t LOOK like a bunker. What if someone in that area had filled in a divot with sand – would that constitute a “bunker?”
It’s sad but Johnson should have known the rules, or at least known to ask an official before deciding whether to ground his club. Watching it live, I yelled at my TV “He grounded his club in a bunker” right when he did it, as I’m sure lots of other golf geeks did. Tiger once called DJ “Stupid long,” but maybe there’s some punctuation missing there.
Blog post title suggestion: “Stupid. Long.”
Sad turn of events, but no excuse for DJ or his caddy. “Forgot” to read the local rules ? As Ron Burgandy would say, “That is DUMB.”
When I played Whistling Straits last year, the local caddies all mentioned the local rule and were all very aware of it.
His caddie could have helped, the PGA rules official could have helped – but in the end, Johnson was too lazy to read the obvious rule sheet and too impatient in hitting his approach shot.
Now, if Tiger Woods has committed this offense …
At the 2005 Masters, Woods straddled the line on a tap-in putt during the first round. After showing a single replay, CBS never showed it again. Amazingly, they lost the loop. Woods went on to win that Masters – instead of being known as the Masters where Tiger was penalized, it is known as the Masters with the amazing chip-in on 16 and then the playoff victory agains DiMarco.
lazy? it’s not about DJ’s laziness.
there were people standing in the “bunker” so why would anyone assume it’s a real bunker and not a waste bunker/path?
because of that, even if he’d read the rules, he still probably wouldn’t have realized what it was.
Play Golf America? For the casual fans watching yesterday they don’t understand. This is why lots of people don’t play Golf. The Game is hard enough and then you take out common sense. Patrons standing in the Bunker..it’s a joke.
Nothing like this would happen at the Master..The Masters is only enhanced by the US Open Setup, the Crap @ Saint Andrews and the stupidity at the PGA.. horrible year for majors less the Masters!
@SFGolfdude…you are right on about casual observers, heck even some who have been playing tournaments for years(ME)can’t really make sense of it. I just don’t understand why you allow patrons to trample through bunkers and physically change the integrity of said bunkers.
Go PGA of America, you have once again proven yourselves to be incompetent buffoons.
Sometimes, karma tends to even out in golf. Take Dustin’s win at the AT&T Pro Am, where “lift, clean & place” was the norm. Or pros being able to hit their balls over the green and into grandstands, but getting rewarded with an easy free drop by the green. And don’t forget the “line-of-sight” relief that Ernie Els once got from a (moveable) TV camera rig which played a small role in his first US Open victory.
Was this local rule ego-driven by Dye and Kohler? Yes. But what if those behind-the-ropes bunkers had been filled with fescue instead of sand?
Makes you wonder?
Watching the Golf Channel is hella confusing these days. I got Frank Nobilo and Brandel Chamblee as swing coaches, psychologist and judge and jury for all things Tiger Woods. The also double as cheerleader for Rory McIlroy. You Bro’s get a room with the guy and add Phil Mickelson.
I can’t believe Nobilo and Chamblee have the gravitas that they don’t deserve after mediocre playing carers. Nobilio especially bugs me becuase he’s so chummy with the Lake Nonas Euro and Internationals. All Broadcast have become a little to ‘buddy buddy’ for the casual fan
Interestingly, CBS knew it was a bunker before DJ even played his shot. In the animation showing how his ball got to where it was the graphic clearly identified the spot as a bunker, and Nantz even said Johnson’s ball ended up in one of the many bunkers. That said there’s no way one would expect an area where the gallery is standing (and one lady was even sitting) to be a “bunker”. Another thing, if that’s Tiger or Phil, there’s no way the rules guy lets the crowd stand as close and crowd in on the player they way it happened. But then again, I think both Tiger and Phil would have erred on the side of caution, as would their caddies, and given it careful thought before even addressing the ball.
“After what happened to Appleby, you’d think the PGA would have made adjustments to the rule the first time around.”
No, after what happened to Appleby, you would think the players would read the local rules.
SF_Golfdude – I concur with you re Chamblee and Nobilio regarding Tiger Woods. I dont understand the hating. Chamblee has been doing this even before tiger Woods crisis. As a matter of fact, Haney had told Chamblee that Tiger believed that Chamblee hated him. Chamblee laughed when Haney told him(Chamblee mentioned this on a broadcast)
DJ needs to read the local rules that are handed out at the start of the tournament. Both he and Watney admitted they don’t. The PGA has already said that they won’t change the rules because, as it is, it is unambiguous. Otherwise, what is the definition of what is a bunker and not a bunker? The gallery ropes? That would cause more problems than not. There were 100′s of bunkers that were both inside and outside the ropes. The course creates a problem in that regard and I believe that the PGA came up with the correct solution. If it’s sand, it’s a bunker. DJ was way too inattentive to the first rule written on the local rules sheet.
http://golfism.org/2010/08/16/holding-your-hand-in-the-fire/
In some parallel universe of his choosing, Dustin Johnson would be a two time major winner. Instead, by his sin of ommission, he will be burdened with the mark of Cain for the remainder of his career. Dustin Johnson tried to get away with grounding his club in a bunker on national television. That is the only conclusion I can come to after seeing the video yesterday. The players received notification prior to starting the tournament (and it was posted in the lockers) that all of the bunkers, even the ones trampled by spectators, would remain bunkers. On addressing his approach after slicing his drive to the far right, he grounded his club but then stepped away as if he noticed he made a serious mistake. He can be seen considering the situation, and he hit his shot without grounding the cub a second time.
After his round, he was brought upstairs to review the tape in a scene familiar to shoplifters and mall cops. I have no doubt that Mr. Johnson is very talented, but his narcissism was revealed for the scrutiny of the voyeurs. His profession is to compete and uphold the rules of golf. Ultimately, the golf must come from a pure place. The PGA saved itself a lot of controversy by taking care of the issue before any playoff ensued. By signing his card, Mr. Johnson signed his confession. This burden will be his albatross and may end up consuming his swing thoughts, but I doubt it. If he is to compete again at this level, he will have to continue in his selfish, thoughtless way, with total focus on dominating and winning. Champion golfers are different from you or me, and I think Mr. Johnson will redeem himself in this world. Until then, we should shun him.
Everyone is talking about the “bunker” issue but what about Dustin asking the crowd to move and block a sliver of sunlight that was shining on his ball? As far as I understand the rules he can ask the crowd to stop shuffling around but he can’t ask them to stand in a specific spot and help with his sight.
I was rooting for Dustin to win it in regulation due to the quiet/persistent manner in which he grabbed the late lead (and I love his swing).
My first thought after he gained the lead was that he should hit 3-wood off the 18th tee to get it in the fairway and then hit 5/6-iron or whatever he needed to get it close and up & down. It didn’t seem like that was considered or even discussed by TV commentators.
Did anyone else think that would have been a worthy option? I know the hole was playing long, he’s young and seems like he loves to grip/rip regardless of the circumstances, but doesn’t the need to get a tee shot in the fairway just simply take priority when you have a lead and can close it out w/ par?
Eric
Rule #1 Bunkers- If I were the PGA I wouldn’t hang my hat on the language in rule #1.For example, as the rule reads if a bunker was “designed and built as a sand bunker it will be played as a bunker…”. OK, what’s the ruling in the world of Golf Rule minituae if the bunker is later removed. The rule reads that it plays as a sand bunker forever …whether it’s raked or growing grass in the middle of the fairway.
The PGA clearly anticipated a problem with the bunkers so rather than mark 1,000+ bunkers with blue dots or whatever…they posted 1,000+ rules sheets…it’s cheaper. In the real world, none of us are absolved from liability/responsibility if we simply post notices/warnings and make no effort to fix a problem. For example, “my staircase broke one year ago,watch your step”.
What should have happened is that the course marshall who was with the last two players, should have simply ordered everyone out of the bunker and at least given DJ a chance to observe a blue dot or the lip of the bunker hidden 10 spectators deep.
What did happen was idiotic and unforgivable ?
Another thought regarding Bunkergate:
How did Dustin Johnson get the yardage for his approach shot?
Answer: From the friggin’ yardage book! (The one he had in the scoring area after his round was clearly visible on network TV)
You would think his line of thinking would be: “Okay, looking at my yardage book, from this BUNKER I am in, it is 210 to carry the front edge. Therefore, I will hit a 4-iron.”
How did Johnson calculate his yardage?!?!? It seems that everyone is assuming he just took a casual visual “guess.”
Unless Johnson is a complete moron, he would have consulted his yardage book and would have distinguished which bunker he was in relatively to the other half dozen nearby. What other reference point was there? He didn’t walk down to the fairway and pace it off from a sprinkler head.
Well, I managed to get a copy of the official yardage book for this year’s PGA Championship – and the bunker in question is in there on a diagram of the 18th hole along with all the other bunkers along the right hand side where the gallery was! When Johnson consulted his yardage book, he would have seen this.
Rather than letting the tournament officials hang out to dry, Johnson should fess up on this one and take full responsibility. He wasn’t robbed, nothing was stolen. With the yardage guide, he would have known about the bunker. Likely forgot a few seconds later in the heat of the moment and accidently grounded his club.
@Marky Mark — can you take a photo of the diagram of the 18th hole and send it to me, please? I’d like to post it…thanks so much.
@MarkyMark — Johnson did take responsibility. He never said he was robbed. He admitted he should have read the local rules. But he didn’t realize it. I think it’s one of those “rules” that’s a little sketchy because if a player can’t tell it’s a bunker right away, that’s a course design / set up issue. He actually grounded the club two different times…and was very relaxed and jovial.
@Stephanie – you’re right, he did take responsibility. I have just been reading blogs and listening to programs where fans are still saying he was robbed or that that the PGA of America is partly culpable.
I emailed you the relevant pages from the yardage book – he would have seen it in there when he was doing his yardage and then likely just forgot at address because of the enormity of the moment.
The whole thing is just a sad tragedy. No element of scandal.
I read somewhere else…”Good ruling bad rule.”
I posted this same comment on Shackleford’s site (which is where the picture link below is from)
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/display/ShowImage?imageUrl=/storage/2010PGA18bunker2.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1281969229831
Johnson was NOT in the bunker.
The PGA, as well as everyone else for that matter,missed it entirely.
Blue dots were purportedly marking bunkers – there is clearly bluish paint above and to the right of the ball. If fact, unless it is a trick of the light, the sand directly to the right of a ball appears to have a bluish hue.
If you draw a line down from that mark and follow the grass line, he is not in the bunker.
Couple that with -
USGA – 13/1 Sand Spilling Over Margin of Bunker
Q. If sand spills over the margin of a bunker, is the sand part of the bunker?
A. No.
Granted Johnson did not have his wits about him in the aftermath. It would appear that the only mistake DJ made is not demanding that they all go out and look at the area in question in person.
Maybe it would have dawned on one of the officials that he was not in the bunker.
Damn James I was looking for that picture and couldn’t find it…upon further review…BAD ruling…WORSE rule. By that picture I would think he was outside of the bunker as well.
The ruling is only as good as the information that went into making it. The PGA officials, making their ruling based on WATCHING TV FOOTAGE ONLY, if that is what they did, was seriously negligent. Isn’t this supposed to be a major championship?
Granted armchair quarterbacking is quite easy, but we are looking at the same images.
When you look at the footage though (see below), the ball might be on the line of the trap. Camera angles being what they are, the only way to tell would have been a site visit.
If the PGA had gone out to the “bunker” stood on it and said DJ was in it, I would not even comment. But due to the demands of TV timing, it appears they used TV to make a decision. Sloppy at best.
Again kudos to geoff shackleford for assembling vast quantities of information.
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2010/8/15/who-is-this-man-with-dustin-johnsons-group.html
This is all moot of course, as Martin Kaymer is no doubt back home with his trophy. (well earned I might add)
I understand the emotional response to the situation, but the local rule was in complete agreement with the USGA’s Rules of Golf and did nothing more than provide an advisory to the field that the Rules of Golf would apply. Simply look up the definition of a bunker… you’ll find there are no distinctions made between bunkers found inside or outside the ropes, between those maintained and those not, or those where patrons have walked in them and those where they have not. The USGA’s definition of a bunker is very clear and without exception. The ball was clearly in a prepared area where turf or soil had been removed and replaced with sand. It wasn’t an unprepared area with natural sand. That’s a bunker, and thus a hazard, not through the green.
Johnson’s ball was in a bunker, as defined by the Rules of Golf, and we all know the penalty for grounding your club in a hazard. The ruling was correct, and the penalty was earned. Sure, we’d all love to have seen him in the playoff, but his mistake cost him, as it should have.
The rule as printed was very clear–if it was designed and built as a bunker, then it’s a bunker.
The interpretation in this case was also very clear–if you’re on sand, you’re in a bunker.
Only one small problem–those two definitions aren’t the same.
I’d feel much more comfortable with the decision if someone could come on with a course map and say, “He was in THIS bunker.” So far, I’m not aware that anyone has done that. Has anyone seen that?
On the maps of the hole that I have been able to find, there do not appear to be any designed bunkers in the area where his ball appeared to be on TV.
In future events at Whistling Straits, why not just make the rule, “If you are on sand, treat it as a bunker.” That may not be “fair” (and perhaps consideration should be given to an exception for marked gallery paths between the dunes) but at least it’s clear–and it took only 10 words instead of 70-odd.