Why can a TV viewer be a Ref? Do we allow someone from home to call into the Super Bowl or World Series to make a ruling?
This is stupid, & it’s the 3rd time golf has allowed this garbage since '87. Enough already. Let the Refs, Ref, not the fans.
What you’re talking about is one of the reasons that golf is so cool, a rule is a rule and if you violate it and get caught by ANYBODY you’re done, unlike baseball, etc., where you can get away with it if one of the refs doesn’t see you. Are some of the rules stupid? Sure they are, but everyone has to follow them and the increased risk of getting caught is a huge deterrent to cheaters. These people aren’t Sunday afternoon hackers, they are professionals who should be held to the standards of the sport. If you have a problem then it should be with the rule, not with the fact that somebody got caught breaking it.
I think golf needs to adopt a policy to allow it to be over at some point. Sometimes the player does not know that they violated a rule, so how would they know to call it on themselves. If the rules officials and/or their playing competitors in their grouping did not see them violate the rule to call it on them, then after the round is complete that should be the end of it. Baseball does not go back and review outs or balls and strikes, football does not review bad penalty calls or penalties that were not called that should have been, and basketball does not go back and call fouls after the game is over. There has to be a point where golf says that the round is deemed “complete” and nothing is going to be changed. Whether that’s at the end of the round or the end of a tournament, that’s what needs to be decided.
If the Ref didn’t see it, you weren’t caught.
Plus some players are on TV more. Does that mean the non-TV player can do what they want?
I have two issues with this.
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It is the player (and their caddie’s) duty to know and understand the Rules of Golf and to carry a rule book with them at all times. They are professionals, this is how they make their coin, so they need to know what they can and cannot do.
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Often, the Rules have many interpretations and/or unprecedented situations arise. Since golf is self-policing, if there is even a hint of doubt as to a ruling or procedure, it is the player’s duty to ask an official for a ruling or to play two balls (1 being a provisional, after they make their group aware of what they are doing) and then ask for a ruling after the round (usually not the case since the PGA and LPGA tours have a Rules Official assigned to every group.)
In Juli’s case, she’s a hall of famer so she should know that you cannot use training aids (explicitly stated in the Rules) and before she did so, if she didn’t know for sure, she should have said to the official “I’m tightening up, is there a way I can loosen up before my next shot?”
[quote=“stonecoldken, post:4, topic:23782”]If the Ref didn’t see it, you weren’t caught.
Plus some players are on TV more. Does that mean the non-TV player can do what they want?[/quote]
I agree with this, if the tour official that is walking with the group doesn’t see it or doesn’t say anything than you shouldn’t be penalized. The players in contention and big names are always top priority on the telecasts which gives them a higher probability of getting caught.
I have two issues with this.
-
It is the player (and their caddie’s) duty to know and understand the Rules of Golf and to carry a rule book with them at all times. They are professionals, this is how they make their coin, so they need to know what they can and cannot do.
-
Often, the Rules have many interpretations and/or unprecedented situations arise. Since golf is self-policing, if there is even a hint of doubt as to a ruling or procedure, it is the player’s duty to ask an official for a ruling or to play two balls (1 being a provisional, after they make their group aware of what they are doing) and then ask for a ruling after the round (usually not the case since the PGA and LPGA tours have a Rules Official assigned to every group.)
In Juli’s case, she’s a hall of famer so she should know that you cannot use training aids (explicitly stated in the Rules) and before she did so, if she didn’t know for sure, she should have said to the official “I’m tightening up, is there a way I can loosen up before my next shot?”[/quote]
Players in other sports know the rules of their sport also, and sometimes violate them intentionally even though they may not get caught by the officials. The outcome is not changed by the league when the fans see a player do this and phone that particular league office (NFL, MLB, or NBA). Golf is different in that the players call fouls on themselves in most instances, but if they miss it, their playing partners miss it, and the rules official misses it, then that should be the end of it once the scorecard is turned in. The game should be over at that point like it is in all other sports.
I think the LPGA is missing the big issue, what the hell is going on with pace of play that would allow for a 30 minute wait at a tee box.
The 30 minute thing sucks to s9er.
If your name is on the bag, you should know the rules.
That being said, Golf needs to get over itself. The Stadler ruling years ago was stupid, as was the Wie and Inster rulings. As for Johnson at Whistling straits, if you’re not going to treat the bunkers like part of the course, then no way they should be a considered bunkers, but he still should have known the rule.
It is a root casue deal to me. Had pace of play not died there would have been no training aid issue.
As for calling in.
- It makes you a douche if you call in a rules violation.
- You are an even bigger douche (who should punch yourself in the face) for watching the LPGA on TV
It is a root casue deal to me. Had pace of play not died there would have been no training aid issue.
As for calling in.
- It makes you a douche if you call in a rules violation.
- You are an even bigger douche (who should punch yourself in the face) for watching the LPGA on TV[/quote]
Agree with #1
As for #2, some of the chicks out there now are smokin’ hot, makes it a little more palatable.
I’d watch Lpga if they played in Victoria’s Secret outfits. :))
Paula Creamer, /thread
