There is a category of PGA Tour players who have been verbally abusing the United States Golf Association (USGA) ad nauseam for decades. Hostility has been festering since the 1970s when strong-minded leaders in the USGA such as, Sandy Tatum, PJ Boatwright and Frank Hannigan, stood up to PGA Tour pros when the whining began.
Frustration on the players’ part boiled over at the 1974 US Open at Winged Foot, otherwise known as, “The Massacre at Winged Foot.” I personally became smitten with the US Open Championship after watching Hale Irwin shoot 287 (+7)—yes, you read that correctly—to win by 2-shots over my late friend, Forrest Fezler.
Can you imagine how indignant some PGA Tour pros would be if the USGA made the US Open difficult to a point where the champion shot 7-over par today?
The average score in the first round of the 1974 US Open was close to 78 with no players breaking par. The players were furious. Media questions directed at USGA Executive Sandy Tatum after the first round, insinuated the golf course’s extreme difficulty was vengeance against Johnny Miller’s final round 63 in the previous year’s US Open at Oakmont.
Course setup for the US Open was Tatum’s duty in 1974. In a post round interview Tatum squared off into the camera, and without hesitation asserted: “We’re not trying to humiliate the best players in the world, we’re simply trying to identify who they are.”
Hale Irwin’s masterful assembly of both mental fortitude and execution of remarkable shots, under such strenuous circumstances, was exactly what the USGA was looking for in their US Open champion. Sandy Tatum proclaimed: “I never had any doubt whether we had set up the golf course properly.”
Decades of animosity have been building toward the USGA and R&A and the governing bodies began to acquiesce to this pressure. The USGA and R&A began a campaign to make the Rules of Golf simpler. But, we are now experiencing problems in the net-net results with some of these new rule changes. The game is now experiencing unintended consequences of what was thought to be common sense rule changes.
The moment the USGA changed the rule to not penalize the player who ground their club on the putting green in close proximity to their ball, and the ball inadvertently moved, is now precedent for other situations. The most fundamental rule in the game is to not touch your golf ball when the ball is in play. If you play competition golf it is your duty to be careful around your ball. The Jack Nicklaus era Tour player figured out the solution: never ground your club in these extreme situations. Thus, eliminating the possibility of incurring a penalty should the ball move.
Now, on the other hand, Webb Simpson was outraged when he was penalized at the Players Championship when his putter got caught up in his shirt and he carelessly moved his ball. Webb’s ball was off the green. Rules changed such that if you inadvertently move your ball on the putting surface there’s no penalty. But if you inadvertently move your ball that is off the putting surface, you incur a penalty.
After the round Webb indignantly stated: “I am going to be loud and clear, we have to get intent into the rules, we have to, because it’s killing our game when it comes to these kinds of things.”
Now we have Webb Simpson doubling down on “intent” in the rules. When and where is this sense of entitlement going to stop? Under this type of thinking golfers should not be penalized for shots that end up Out of Bounds. Tell me a golfer who intends to hit it OB?
“This is nonsense. Intent is not what we need in the game,” Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch said on Golf Channel.
“If I’m caught speeding, I’m not going to plead intent to the cop who pulls me over that I didn’t mean to do it. We seem to have this disease right now, where every pro who breaks the rule, thinks the rules need to be changed. Suck it up, read the rulebook and just live by the rules.”
This entitlement attitude is fueling a crybaby culture. The appalling actions of Chella Choi, Lexi Thompson and Jon Rahm, are examples of lack of accountability when they claim it wasn’t their “intent” to not put their ball back in the proper spot after marking their ball on the green to avoid being penalized.
Then there are these ‘backstopping’ incidents recurring over recent years. Backstopping happens when player “A” leaves their ball unmarked, in close proximity to the hole, that could help player “B’s” next shot. Rule 15.3a is clear: if player “A” and player “B” agree to leave this ball in place, both players will incur a 2-stroke penalty. But players dodge this rule infraction by not verbalizing their agreement. So, it’s okay if ‘silent collusion’ happens?
Backstopping blew up at the 2019 Honda LPGA Thailand with Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Olson. On the 18th green in the final round both players faced chip shots from just off the green. Jutanugarn chipped first. Her ball came to rest a couple feet from the hole. Ariya immediately proceeded to mark her ball. Amy Olson motioned Ariya to back away from marking her ball. Ariya complied with Olson’s gesture. Amy Olson hit a poor chip and her ball crashed into Jutanugarn’s ball leaving Olson’s ball close to the hole that otherwise would have gone some 20-feet past the hole. The two ladies joyfully fist-bumped each other in celebration of this incident. Both players were oblivious to their duty to protect the field. The LPGA Tour Rules Officials spoke to both ladies then declared there was no agreement, therefore no breach of Rule 15.3a. But there was no denying the silent collusion in this backstopping incident. If no words are spoken, there’s no breach of the Rules! C’mon!
Last year, former PGA Champion, Jimmy Walker got called out on Twitter for his lack of understanding the rules for backstopping when he stated: “If you like the guy you might leave it to help on a shot.” This type of thinking with some pros on the PGA Tour is bad for the game.
The player’s job is simple: play by the Rules of Golf without any whining, please.
