Harrington

[Kiwi]

Based on your wish, I have changed two words in the existing rule for you.

"Testimony of those who are not part of the competition, including spectators, must NOT be accepted and evaluated. It is also INAPPROPRIATE to use television footage and the like to assist in resolving doubt." In other words, unless a player's rules infraction is seen by a another player, his caddie or a rules official, (those that are part of the competition) NO penalty is incurred.

Where can I find this (unedited text) in the Rules?

[BC MIST]

Where can I find this (unedited text) in the Rules?

Decision 34-3/9. Pages 503-4 of the 2010-2011 Decisions book.

[BC MIST]

Hmm... I thought the procedure was to simply replace the ball. If you mark it after it moved, you're penalized, no?

We've also discussed earlier that if he imagined his ball having moved, or the ball truly came back to the original spot on its own, he would've been penalized if he replaced it.

So, if the points above are correct, it looks like his only option would've been to call the official, not to ask for advice, but to officially bless his decision. I don't know... sounds like pure bureaucracy to me...

If you move a ball while in the act of marking, lifting or replacing, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced (Harrington's downfall) If Padrig was or was not sure of the exact location of the ball, he should mark, lift and place "as near as possible" to where the ball originally lay, even if it's the same spot. No penalty.

There is no penalty for marking a ball, unless the rules do not allow it. (Lifting a ball to see if it's unfit for play WITHOUT informing your FC, or, lifting a ball that is off the green that you think may be interfering with an FC's next stroke, if he does NOT request you to do so, are examples)

[Kiwi]

Decision 34-3/9. Pages 503-4 of the 2010-2011 Decisions book.

What I would like to do is see the history behind this. I assume the decision relates to a specific rule. I'd like to see when this decision, re use of TV to make rulings, was first included in the rules/decisions and how it has evolved. I went to the link you provided re:rules history but it only allows research on the rule, not the decision related to the rule... or did I miss something?

[Chambokl]

What happen if PH calls a penalty on himself (2 srokes) because he thinks the ball moved... Then some guy calls the PGA after the round and says that after review the ball actually went back in the original spot so there should have been no penalty... will the PGA reimburse him his 2 strokes?

[fundonny]

Bottom line, they need TV revenue. TV revenue means attracting more TV viewers thus increasing the ratings. This type of situation turns off the average viewer, thus decreasing TV viewers, thus decreasing TV revenues. Change things up, two birds with one stone. You improve the rules and you improve the health of the tour. And yes, IMPROVE the rules.

[spackler]

What happen if PH calls a penalty on himself (2 srokes) because he thinks the ball moved... Then some guy calls the PGA after the round and says that after review the ball actually went back in the original spot so there should have been no penalty... will the PGA reimburse him his 2 strokes?

No, it's not against the rules to have an incorrect scorecard if you sign for a higher score than you made, but you're stuck with the higher score.

[BC MIST]

Bottom line, they need TV revenue. TV revenue means attracting more TV viewers thus increasing the ratings. This type of situation turns off the average viewer, thus decreasing TV viewers, thus decreasing TV revenues. Change things up, two birds with one stone. You improve the rules and you improve the health of the tour. And yes, IMPROVE the rules.

You are right that the Tour, the equipment manufacturers, and televised Tour events ARE all about the money. However, if there are 1000 Tour type players, there are millions of golfing smucks like us and it is mainly for us that the Rules exist as they do.

Understanding that golf has more dissimilarities than similarities to team sports, with one important feature being that the player is responsible for knowing the rules. It may not be a popular view in this "It's not my/his fault," world, but if the pros at the centre of these issue knew the basic rules, none of the situations to which you refer would have happened.

While probably not as many as you, I would like to see a few rules change to make them more fair, but overall, the rules are very good. In Padrig's case, there was a rule that allowed him to avoid penalty completely, (mark, lift and place again) but he did not do this.

[nokids]

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-...cle2910063.ece

Even harsher b/c it happened on the fairway!!!

[nokids]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d69ZAwDiLc

Seems to me the ball moved a little while Peter was was looking at the flag. In that case... gimme a break