Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 10
RULES PRIMER
Open Question
A ruling at the U.S. Open created a firestorm for the USGA-but
should it have?
T
he 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country
Club offered a Rules scenario involving
tournament winner Dustin
Johnson, but some wondered if a recent Rule
change was helpful.
On the fi fth green, Johnson's ball moved before
he addressed it, and he told a Rules offi cial,
who deemed Johnson did not cause the ball to
move. Upon further review by lead USGA offi
cials, Johnson was told on hole No. 12 that he
" might " be assessed a penalty-and after the
round, he was. Fortunately, it had no effect on
the outcome of the tournament, as Johnson
won by three shots.
In a rush to
judgement,
many
felt the USGA mishandled
the situation-fi
rst telling
Johnson he was
free and clear, then
clouding the issue
in the middle
of the fi nal round.
Several PGA Tour
players announced
their displeasure
on Twitter, which
was reported during
the broadcast
and infl amed viewer
response.
But in actuality, the USGA got the ruling
right and handled it as best they could, given
recent Rule changes that may have muddied the
situation. In 2012, the USGA and R&A tweaked
Rule 18-2b. Ball at Rest Moved (a Rule that
some offi cials considered clear and simple, and
not in need of clarifi cation). Following an incident
involving Pádraig Harrington's ball at rest
moving on the green, an exception was added to
say that " if it is known or virtually certain that
the player did not cause his ball to move, Rule
8
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2016
18-2b does not apply. "
But work on the Rule was not done. Effective
in January 2016, the ruling bodies added a decision
(Decision 18-2/0.5. Weight of Evidence
Standard for Determining Whether Player
Caused His Ball to Move) and withdrew Rule
18-2b language altogether.
The changes for 2016 were made to clarify
2016 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION
Rule 18-2 Ball at Rest Moved, but after watching
what unfolded at Oakmont, the change
may have added more gray area to the ruling.
MGA rules tournament director Doug Hoffmann
doesn't agree: " I don't think it has caused
more 'gray area.' When the golf community
read and studied
the change from
2012, the overriding
concept was
that if the player
did not cause the
ball to move, then
there was no penalty.
So, Rules offi -
cials take it at face
value, and that is
what the referee
in Johnson's group
used when making
his ruling.
" Moving forDUSTIN
JOHNSON,
ward to this year, "
Hoffmann continues,
" the requirement of 'addressing' is removed,
but the application still remains the same. Decision
18-2/0.5 seems to indicate the question is
not whether the player caused the ball to move,
but did anything else cause the ball to move? If
not, then the player is penalized. "
Yet, upon video tape review, offi cials overruled
the referee's call. (Justin Thomas endured
a similar fate in the Tour Championship.) So,
are the rules makers now fi nished with Rule 182?
We'll see in 2020.
RULES QUIZ
6M >CG9D< C69F@9
MGA MEMBER
BARRY BERGQUIST OF
CLOQUET CC ASKS:
If your tee shot goes into
a hazard and you choose to
hit again from the teeing
area, can you tee up your
second ball, or do you have
to hit from the grass?
Find the answer on
page 26.
"
NOTED
AND
QUOTED
From the Twitter handle:
@GolfAssnProblem
" Stop giving
me divot repair
tools. I already
own a thousand
of them. They're
called tees. "
www.mngolf.org
+
"
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016
Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 5
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 6
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 7
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 8
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 9
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 10
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 11
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 12
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 13
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 14
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 15
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 16
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 17
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 18
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 19
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 20
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 21
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 22
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 23
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 24
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 25
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 26
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 27
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 28
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 29
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 30
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 31
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 32
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 33
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 34
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 35
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 36
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 37
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 38
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 39
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 40
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 41
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 42
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - Cover3
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/travel2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2009
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com