Rules and Rants

It’s been almost a week since Dustin Johnson’s much talked about rules violation at the PGA Championship where he grounded his club in a bunker resulting in a two stroke penalty that took him out of a playoff at the season’s final major.

Now another interesting ruling plays out on the LPGA Tour this weekend at the Safeway Classic in Oregon, where Juli Inskter was disqualified for using a weighted training aid during her round. At the time of the infraction, Inskter was three strokes off the lead in her third round and the training aid was a weighted ‘doughnut’ on her 9-iron that she was using to loosen up after a long delay on the 10th tee.

A viewer watching the television broadcast called in to tournament officials to report what he/she felt was a breach. Tournament officials determined that she had indeed used the devise and subsequently imposed the disqualification penalty following the completion of her round.

The full story outlining the infraction and subsequent disqualification is here.

Once again, while unfortunate to see a player disqualified at any time let alone when they are in contention, the ruling is clear – a player may not use a training aid during a stipulated round. The rule is fully explained under Rule 14-3 of the Rules of Golf.

Important to note as well that Rule 6-1 stipulates that it is the player’s responsibility to know the rules. As with all major golf championships, rules officials are on course to assist the players in proceeding and or clarifying the rules as required.

The Rules of Golf are interpreted through the Decisions on the Rules of Golf book and this actual situation is covered under Decision 14-3/10. The Decision on the use of a training aid during a stipulated round can be found here.

The definition of a golf referee is unlike any other sport in that he/she must act not only on breaches that he/she observes, but also any incidents that are reported, which includes spectators or viewers watching the television broadcast. You may remember a few years back where a viewer called in reporting that Michelle Wie had dropped her ball closer to the hole, and the end result was the same - qualification.

Now, can you imagine viewers calling in to Hockey Night in Canada to report a holding call or pass interference in the NFL that was not seen by the official and subsequently have the officials make or alter their call based on viewer input?

Truly one of the unique aspects of golf officiating is the ability for fans to interact with the game.

To find out more about the Rules of Golf click here or if you have a specific rules question, you can Ask an Expert.

______________________________________________________________

Brent Mclaughlin is the Director of RCGA Rules, Amateur Status & Competitions