Rules of Golf – Revised by the R&A

The  rules of golf have been making headlines this year thanks to a number of high profile incidents where professional players have been called up for rule infringements that have, in some cases, lead to disqualification and or penalty shots being added to the overall score. These incidences sparked debate across the golfing world about the rationality behind some of the rules that were laid down decades ago. Read more

R&A, USGA revise incorrect scorecard disqualification ruling

Golf’s governing bodies – the USGA and R&A – have approved a change in the interpretation of the rules of golf, meaning that players will no longer be automatically be disqualified because of rule violations discovered by television viewers.

The move comes after high profile social media and mainstream media furore over the disqualifications of Padraig Harrington in the Abu Dhabi Championship and Camilo Vilegas in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii back in January this year.

The decision means that players who are unaware of a rules breach before signing their score card won’t now be automatically disqualified. However, players will still receive the statutory penalty for the rules breach.

The change covers the Rules of Golf ruling 33-7/4.5 – Competitor Unaware of Penalty Returns Wrong Score – and addresses the situation where a player is unawares that he has breached a rule because of facts that he did not know and could not have discovered prior to returning his scorecard. The amendment comes into immediate effect.

“For some time we have been concerned that, in certain limited circumstances, disproportionate disqualification penalties have been required by the Rules,” said R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson.
“This carefully considered decision reflects our desire to ensure that the Rules of Golf remain fair and relevant in the changing environment in which the game is played today.”

McDowell blasts TV rules ‘anoraks’

US Open champion Graeme McDowell has become the latest high profile player to get embroiled in Harrington-gate – after almost falling foul of TV evidence himself.

According to the Scottish Daily Record, McDowell was left raging after Padraig Harrington had been disqualified from the Abu Dhabi Championship for unknowingly signing for an incorrect score. Harrington had inadvertently brushed his golf ball with his hand when picking up his marker at the seventh hole during his first round.

At the time no-one had spotted the incident, and it wasn’t until later that a TV viewer had emailed into European Tour officials that the incident came to light, and Harrington was subsequently disqualified.

But McDowell has rounded on those people who he claims are making a mockery of the game and labelled them as ‘anoraks’.

The Northern Irishman said: “Anoraks! Too much time on their hands. It makes a mockery of the game when we are penalising players for something as crazy as that.

“TV viewers are important to us. High-definition, 3D and slow-mo add to the experience of watching golf on TV. But some of the fiddly, pernickety, stupid little rules need to be looked at.”

McDowell revealed in a Guardian article that a viewer had also emailed in to complain about the US Open champion’s own brush with the laws. The viewer had complained McDowell had moved the ball with his club on the 18th hole of his final round, but after investigation by Tour officials, the claim was thrown out.

However, the incident casts further shadow on the use of TV evidence to disqualify players based on the judgement of armchair fans.

Perhaps Vincent Hogan in the Irish Independant sums it up best in his article published Monday about the whole rules debacle, which you can read here.

Harrington-gate: The Social Media Backlash and Why the Rules Should be Changed

Since Padraig Harrington’s disqualification from the Abu Dhabu Championship was announced, the world wide web has been awash with argument as to the rights-and-wrongs of the decision. Harrington’s dismissal from the tournament is the third high-profile sanction in just four weeks of the new 2011 season, after Eliot Saltman’s warning off for three months, and Camilo Vilegas’ disqualification from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions – also brought about by a TV viewer.

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Harrington disqualified from Abu Dhabi Championship

Padraig Harrington has become the latest high profile golfer to fall victim to TV evidence after being disqualified from the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Harrington had made a good start to his challenge for the event, opening with a seven-under par round of 65 to lie just one shot off the first round leader, Charl Schwartzel.

Harrington’s indiscretion came on the seventh green, where his hand brushed the back of his ball as he replaced it in front of his marker.

The ball moved forward slightly, and although Harrington believed at the time that the ball had returned to its original position, TV evidence later showed that it did not go all the way back.

The matter was referred to the European Tour by a viewer watching the event on TV, who in turn had no option but to disqualify Harrington for signing an incorrect score card. The penalty would have been two strokes had the mistake been addressed prior to his signing his card.

After being disqualified, Harrington said:

“I was aware I hit the ball picking up my coin. I looked down at the time and was pretty sure it had just oscillated and had not moved, so I continued on. In slow motion it’s pretty clear the ball has moved three dimples forward and it’s come back maybe a dimple and a half.

“At the end of the day that’s good enough, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently yesterday – there was nothing I could do about it at that moment in time.

“If I’d called a referee over it would have been pointless because if he’d asked me where my ball was I’d have said it was there. As far as I was concerned it didn’t move.”

Senior European Tour referee, Andy McFee delivered the bad news to Harrington on Friday morning.

“I got an email from the Tour feedback site just before six o’clock last night. I managed to get a look and knew immediately we had an issue. I got all members of the rules committee to look at the tape.

“Because everything was closing down I decided to sleep on it and speak to Padraig first thing this morning. It’s a minute movement, but it’s a movement and he never replaced it, so he should have included a two-stroke penalty.

“The fact that he is unaware he moved the ball unfortunately does not help him. Because he signed for a score lower than actually taken the penalty is disqualification.”

It is the second time in Harrington’s career that he has been disqualified while holding a chance to win a tournament. Eleven years previously, Harrington was disqualified from the Benson & Hedges International at The Belfry despite leading by five shots with one round to play, after it was discovered he hadn’t signed his first round scorecard.

Harrington’s ruling comes three weeks after Columbian Camilo Vilegas was disqualified from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, after a TV viewer claimed he had improved his lie by knocking some loose turf from the path of his ball.

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