Today In The Struggle To Play It As It Lies, Files: R&A Clears Thompson Of Breach

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The ongoing trend of top players fiddling, pushing, mashing, digging and generally meddling immediately behind their ball continued Thursday at Troon.

This time it was Lexi Thompson in the AIG Womens’s Open who appeared to push aside some meddlesome Marram, but was cleared by the R&A of a Rule 8.1 breach because the grass returned to its original location. From Beth Ann Nichols’ report:

Yesterday, as part of its normal TV review procedures, The R&A viewed Lexi Thompson’s actions prior to playing her second shot at the 16th hole in round one of the AIG Women’s Open. 

Following a discussion between Chief Referee David Rickman and the player prior to her signing her scorecard it was determined that, although the player had moved a growing natural object behind her ball, it had returned to its original position. 

Thompson posted rounds of 78-75 and will miss the cut.

Here is the video:

In the last year we’ve had Reed, Kuchar and Rahm incidents, a chance to reset the demise of play it as it lies, and a need for someone to explain to players how bad this looks.

But I have good news! In the era of sports betting, with the PGA Tour now advertising prices on telecasts, the gamblers will eventually warrant a crackdown if the tours want that hard-earned betting money.

Commissioner For A Day: The Email That Should Be Sent To Players, Jon Rahm Penalty Edition

Sunday, Jon Rahm won the Memorial Tournament despite a 71st hole penalty assessed for causing his ball to move.

If I were PGA Tour Commissioner this is the email I’d send to PGA Tour players regarding the increasingly problematic tendency to excessively ground the club behind the ball in any kind of lie.

Dear Greatest Athletes In All Of Sport,

It’s been an incredible run since the Return To Golf (© pending) started and I want to thank you for your continued use of a mask when getting Chipotle take-out. Amazing first step. Don’t hesitate to extend that face covering stuff in hotel lobbies or if you have not taken up the special NetJets offer we’ve highlighted (CODE: FLYINGCOMMERCIALSUCKS).

Meanwhile, our positivity rates are as low as the scores you’ve been shooting. Yes, that’s an unfortunate segue to the point of this email you will not read.

This is about the mashing. The pulping, the grinding, the grating, the smashing, the crushing, the squashing, the scrunching and the general pulverizing of grass behind your ball. As you may know by now, last week’s amazing Memorial Presented By Nationwide champion Jon Rahm (500 more FedExCup points) placed his club behind his ball and it moved ever so slightly. He meant nothing by it. However, under a very strict application of the rules, our staff assessed Jon a two-stroke penalty.

I highlight this because Jon is not alone in this habit of getting in there and really testing out that grass behind the ball. While I certainly understand the desire to get your money’s worth, I’d like to tell you a story. See, way back in 1744, guys not nearly as athletic as you, played a lot of golf at this trench-filled place call Leith Links. It was no TPC. The course was in Edinburgh, which you probably drove by when flying in for the The Open. Anyway, those rulemaking mid-18th century non-jocks came up with the original rules of golf. There was a line about playing the ball “where it lies.” Long, boring story short (for the agents possibly still reading this), that language evolved quickly into kind of this, like, big, big rule of golf that shaped all others. Miraculously, the whole play it as it lies creed was a thing for a solid 250 years, with hiccups along the way.

Anything you can do to not test the ground, press down, shard, grind, levigate, triturate or in general, look like you are improving your lie, would be appreciated. Especially when you’re in a featured group on PGA Tour Live or on one of our network partner broadcasts.

I would also point out that we’ll have a lot of rough at upcoming events, particularly with a PGA Championship and U.S. Open on the schedule. And of course The Playoffs© highlighting the season of championships. So talk to your teams about how to test out the ground and improve your feel for a shot by setting the club down NEXT to your ball instead of behind it where you might be seen improving your lie. Or in Jon’s causing the ball to move. Besides saving you penalty strokes and FedExCup points, this will make my next USGA/R&A rules meeting much more enjoyable.

Yours in the Return To Golf,

The Commissioner

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Cargos Redux

Who knew that a Barack Obama thread would lead to over 50 comments with nary a mention of Rick Warren?

I'm glad we could get this cargo pant debate out in the open, even if the peanut gallery has to chime here and there with cliched rants.

Still, no one has answered for me why those side pockets are so offensive to clubs that for two decades sold flammable polyester shirts adorned by cardboard collars and a breast pocket designed for a cigarette pack?

So I called on Golf Digest Fashion Director Marty Hackel to help out here. Marty replies to my question about the long-standing ban on cargos at most country clubs:

I would venture a guess that the clubs that do not allow "Cargo" shorts see them as too casual for the golf course. I do not know how this got started and it's the same clubs who mandate that ladies shorts be 19".

Cargos are often placed in the "Grange Look" category and as I always say "It's not what you wear but how you wear it." Obama looked ok to me in his "Cargo" shorts that he wore on the course on the 22nd. So lets not get out of control here. 

I'd go a step further and say he wore them very well, which is not easy when you are talking about cargo shorts and anyone over 25. But I'll defer to Sir Hackel.