A Changing of the Rules

Filed in archive Golf News on November 4, 2007

Courtesy: Pbase/nina

The Royal and Ancient released a number of rules changes this past week. I don't think they did it intentionally but their announcement fell on Hallowe'en.

The changes are significant, particularly to the rule regarding "accidental deflection of the ball by the player".

Prior to the rule change, it was a two stroke penalty - now it is a one stroke penalty. In match play, it was loss of the hole. That harsh judgment is now gone.

I recall watching the final round of the 1985 U.S. Open. Taiwan's T.C. Chen was leading.

Chen was forced to pitch from greenside rough on the fifth hole when he accidentally made contact with the ball twice, the second time while it was in the air during his follow-through. The ball settled about 180 degrees to his left and he suffered a two stroke penalty for the double hit or "accidental deflection of the ball". Chen took an 8 on the par 4 hole. Andy North won the title.

In all, the R and A approved 28 changes to 34 rules, all of which have been endorsed by the USGA, by the way, meaning they are in effect for next season's PGA action as of January 1st, 2008.

Alas, even though there have been modifications to Rule 18 covering how and when a ball in play moves, there is no change to the rule that impacted Ernie Els at the Singapore Open on Friday.

Els was addressing his ball on the green during round two's rough weather. The wind blew his ball and it moved. Els incurred a one stroke penalty under rule 23.1 and went on to miss the cut by a good margin.

That is one rule I would like to see changed. Rule 23.1 states that if a ball moves when a "loose impediment" is removed, the ball is replaced without penalty. Yet the movement is deemed to have been caused by the golfer removing the impediment. The ball is in play, clearly.

However, if the wind moves the ball while the golfer addresses it, that is a penalty. Why? Addressing the ball is not "touching the ball and causing it to move with the club head" (my quotation marks). And a gust of wind is undoubtedly "an outside agency" as stated in Rule 18.1.

Can't figure that one.

At any rate, there are no changes to the rule that slapped Laura Davies in the face during the Mizuno Classic in Japan on Saturday. Davies had marked her ball, then moved the ball marker out of her playing partner's putting line. Davies forgot to replace her ball marker before setting the ball down on the green and incurred a two stroke penalty.

I think we've all done that at least once in our playing lives. But how many of us have taken the two stroke penalty?!