Tag: Rules of Golf

USGA, R&A announce changes to Rules of Golf for 2023

Set to take effect Jan. 1, 2023, the USGA and the R&A want to make the rules more inclusive and sustainable.

Every four years, the USGA and the R&A, the two organizations that maintain the Rules of Golf, make updates and modifications to the code that establishes how the game is officially played. Sometimes the rule changes are significant and at other times, they are clarifications. On Monday, with the announcement of rule changes that will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2023, the USGA and the R&A’s biggest focus is on sustainability and inclusion.

After the 2019 updates to the Rules of Golf were announced, the USGA and the R&A printed two million copies of the rule book. No more. The USGA and the R&A have announced that they will not be making printed copies of the Rules of Golf, forgoing the use of a half billion pieces of paper and saving the organizations significant costs. It also eliminates the costs associated with shipping and distributing the books. Going forward, they hope golfers will utilize the free Official Rules of Golf mobile app on their smartphones.

“We feel really good about the digital means that we have created to access the rules,” said Craig Winter, the USGA’s senior director of rules and amateur status. “Going forward, we’re not going to be relying on the rules book being in every bag. Everybody has a smartphone, and they can download the free app. We’re continuing to move forward and modernize, as we did in 2019, and it connects us to the golfer better. The mobile app is real-time, digital and we can keep them updated.”

2022 U.S. Adaptive Open
Cindy Lawrence hits her tee shot on the 12th during the first round of the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. (Photo: Jeff Haynes/USGA)

A year after the first U.S. Adaptive Open was held at Pinehurst, the USGA and R&A are moving the Modified Rules for Players With Disabilities into the Rules of Golf. Developed by the USGA and the R&A with input from adaptive organizations developed in 1996, the Modified Rules for Players With Disabilities were a set of standardized accommodations that provided courses and tournament committees with guidelines when they hosted events for players with special needs, but as Model Local Rules, they had to be adopted to go into effect. Starting Jan. 1, the modifications will automatically be in place for everyone who needs them.

“Right now, that set of rules sits in the back of the official guide,” Winter said. “We know there are millions of golfers, millions of individuals out there that could be benefitting from this and by moving them into Rule 25 it raises the level of awareness, just like the U.S. Adaptive Open will continue to do. There are rules for individuals that do need to be modified, and the modifications are very practical. The committees don’t need to do anything to make this happen. This really makes the game more welcoming.”

Four other rule changes were also announced on Monday:

Wesley Bryan had two 7 irons in his bag at Sanderson Farms Championship Monday qualifying, hit with four-stroke penalty

Wesley Bryan handled it well and was able to laugh at himself after the discovery.

Wesley Bryan, competing for one of four spots in the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship via Monday qualifying, got hit with a four-shot penalty after it was discovered he had 15 clubs in his golf bag.

Specifically, he had two 7-irons, according to a video posted on Twitter by the PGA Tour.

Bryan handled it amazingly well. He laughed and said: “You can go ahead and add four to my score, boys.”

The video then shows him teeing off and, after not being terribly pleased with the result, saying “Maybe I should have teed off with the other 7-iron.”

Bryan was not among the five golfers who shot a 5-under 67 to advance to a 5-for-4 playoff. He was listed under the “did not finish” part of the leaderboard.

Bryan hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship seven weeks ago. He made his last cut the week before that at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where he tied for 57th but had had missed five straight cuts before that.

In March at the Valspar Championship, Bryan made the final of 21 starts on a medical extension after undergoing surgery on his left wrist in 2021. He finished T-62 in a week he needed to finish sixth or better to regain his exempt Tour status for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

Adam Schupak contributed to this article.

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Local caddie saves the day at Kroger Queen City Championship after spotting 15 clubs in Jillian Hollis’ bag before she teed off

The grandson and son of former Cincinnati Reds broadcasters comes up with a save at LPGA event.

MADEIRA, Ohio — Thanks to her eagle-eyed caddie, former LPGA Rookie of the Year and Epson Tour winner Jillian Hollis avoided a two-stroke penalty Thursday at the Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club.

Hollis’ caddy, Luke Brennaman, grandson of retired Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman and son of former Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman, noticed his player had 15 clubs in her bag – one more than the rules of golf allow – just before she hit her opening tee shot, according to Kenwood’s caddie manager, Dominic Parisi.

“She told him he saved her round,’’ Parisi said, referring to Hollis, an Ohio native.

The younger Brennaman was one 10 caddies at the country club handpicked by Parisi to work this week for tournament players who didn’t bring their own caddies.

Hollis and Brennaman met for the first time during a practice round Wednesday. She got a lot more out of their newfound friendship than she expected.

“I just wanted somebody to kind of walk with me and keep me company,’’ she said before the start of her practice round.

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Two holes-in-one, a DQ and a guy so frustrated he checked out of his hotel early (then shot a 62) highlight DP World Tour’s Made in Himmerland

Makes you wonder what the weekend has in store.

One golfer made an ace and then got DQ’d.

Another made a hole-in-one on his first swing of the day.

And then there’s the golfer who was so discouraged after his first-round 71 that he made travel plans home, only to go out in the second round and post a bogey-free 9-under 62.

Let’s start with him. That’d be England’s James Morrison, who has two DP World Tour wins in 16 years as a pro.

“I played absolutely dreadful yesterday,” Morrison said Friday in reference of his first round. He admitted he booked a flight and even checked out of his hotel, leaving him no place to stay Friday night.

Then he went out and shot a 62, tying for low round of the week so far.

“Golf is absolutely a stupid game,” he quipped.

As for the aces, Aaron Cockerill had one Thursday on the par-3 16th hole, easily the highlight of his day in which he ended up shooting a 4-over 75. His back nine included three bogeys, a double bogey and quad on the par-4 17th hole, which came one hole after his hole-in-one.

2022 Made in HimmerLand
Aaron Cockerill’s second-round back nine scorecard at the DP World Tour’s Made in Himmerland tournament in Denmark.

Cockerill then failed to sign his scorecard, leading to his disqualification.

On Friday, David Drysdale started his second round on the par-3 10th hole and it took just one swing to find the cup. Drysdale has a pair 68s so far but he’s nine shots back of leader Ross McGowan, who opened his week 62-65 and leads by one. He had nine birdies Friday but also carded three bogeys.

Makes you wonder what the weekend has in store.

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Jon Rahm stepped in to defend Hideki Matsuyama to a rules official at 2022 BMW Championship

A rules official asked if the ball had moved due to Matsuyama’s swing.

Jon Rahm has struggled through the opening stages of the BMW Championship, posting a 73 during Thursday’s first round and then starting Friday’s second round with bogeys on two of his first seven holes.

But that didn’t stop the world’s fifth-ranked player from stepping in when a PGA Tour rules official appeared ready to penalize Hideki Matsuyama after the 2021 Masters champ took a practice swing from the rough alongside a bunker on No. 7 only to see the ball roll then back in the bunker.

Matsuyama’s swing wasn’t near the ball, and he instantly looked up at his caddie in horror when he realized it had dropped in the sand. Since the ball was resting in an awkward spot just outside the bunker, the Japanese standout would have needed to swing while standing inside the bunker to have any shot at getting the ball near the flag.

A rules official came over and asked if the ball had moved due to Matsuyama’s swing, and Rahm stepped in to insist that was not the case.

The official also asked about the timeline of the ball’s movement — if it came directly after Matsuyama’s practice swing.

“It could have fallen at any time,” Rahm said. “He did not make it move.”

After a discussion, the rules official allowed Matsuyama to play the ball from the bunker, a much easier shot than the one he previously faced.

Matsuyama, who opened with birdies on four of the previous six holes, hit his sand wedge to inside 11 feet and made the par putt to stay 5 under for the tournament.

According to the Rules of Golf:

Rule 9: Ball Played as It Lies; Ball at Rest Lifted or Moved
Purpose of Rule: Rule 9 covers a central principle of the game: “play the ball as it lies.”

If the player’s ball comes to rest and is then moved by natural forces such as wind or water, the player normally must play it from its new spot.

If a ball at rest is lifted or moved by anyone or any outside influence before the stroke is made, the ball must be replaced on its original spot.

Players should take care when near any ball at rest, and a player who causes his or her own ball or an opponent’s ball to move will normally get a penalty (except on the putting green).

Since the swing and the ball movement happened concurrently, rules officials could still look at the video and change any ruling.

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Cam Smith penalized two shots a day after improper placement and Golf Twitter lost its mind

What an interesting sequence of events.

Cameron Smith had an interesting interaction Sunday morning.

The winner of the 2022 Players Championship and the 150th Open Championship, Smith woke up believing he was two strokes off the lead heading into the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

Not quite.

Minutes before his final round tee time, Smith was assessed a two-stroke penalty for “improper placement of the ball” while taking relief on the fourth hole during his third round.

“Prior to the start of the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Cameron Smith was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 14.7 (playing the ball from the wrong place) on Hole No. 4 during the third round where he was operating under Rule 17.1 (when ball was in penalty area),” the PGA Tour said in a statement. “Smith’s score has been adjusted and he will begin the final round at 201 (-9).”

FedEx St. Jude Championship: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Leaderboard

The penalty dropped Smith, the No. 2 player in the world, to four shots off the lead to start the final round. With a win in Memphis, Smith would overtake Scottie Scheffler as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, which will be updated Monday.

Golf Twitter, needless to say, had plenty of reactions to the penalty:

Hideki Matsuyama disqualified from the Memorial for equipment violation

Hideki Matsuyama was informed after he finished the ninth hole that he was disqualified.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the 2022 Memorial Tournament midway through Thursday’s first round.

Matsuyama, who won his first PGA Tour title here in 2014 and won his first major championship at the 2021 Masters, was informed after he finished the ninth hole that he was disqualified. He had changed equipment during the round, which necessitated his disqualification, the first of his PGA Tour career.

Matsuyama made three bogeys in his first nine holes and would have made the turn in 3-over 38.

Earlier in the round, Matsuyama had perhaps the day’s biggest highlight. On the second hole, his approach bounded off a slope guarding the green and inexplicably came to rest on a slim bridge.

Memorial: Thursday tee times | PGA Tour streaming on ESPN+ | Columbus Dispatch live blog

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Player who got DQ’d from U.S. Amateur Four-Ball for split putter grip: ‘It’s a rule. I broke it’

How does an illegal split-grip confer such an advantage that a player can be DQ’d for using one?

Ty Gingerich, a very understanding young man and a very serious golfer at the University of Cincinnati, got bounced from the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship last week for committing the most heinous of rules. Here it is, Part 2, 3c of The USGA Equipment Rules: Continue reading “Player who got DQ’d from U.S. Amateur Four-Ball for split putter grip: ‘It’s a rule. I broke it’”

Putter grips lead to wild disqualification during U.S. Amateur Four-Ball quarterfinals

The Rules of Golf strike again.

The Rules of Golf strike again.

A pair of Cincinnati men’s golf teammates were disqualified during the quarterfinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Wednesday for an obscure equipment violation: non-conforming putter grips.

“Prior to this morning’s resumption of the quarterfinal match between Evan Beck/Dan Walters and Ty Gingerich/Cole Harris, it was brought to our attention that Gingerich had used a non-conforming putter grip in violation of Part 2, 3c of the Equipment Rules,” read a USGA statement. “The violation resulted in a disqualification.”

Play had been suspended due to darkness on Tuesday night, pushing the completion of the quarterfinals to Wednesday morning. Gingerich and Harris, sophomores at Cincinnati, trailed Beck and Walters by one hole at the Country Club of Birmingham with just two holes remaining. Another shot wasn’t hit, as Gingerich was informed of the violation before play resumed Wednesday morning.

Rules state that grips must be at least 1½ inches apart. The two grips on Gingerich’s 39.5-inch putter were less than an inch apart.

The team of Beck and Walters advanced to the semifinals, where they would lose to Drew Kittleson and Drew Stoltz, 2 and 1. The Drews then lost to Chad Wilfong and Davis Womble in the final in 19 holes.

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Alex Cejka disqualified from Regions Tradition, won’t defend at PGA Tour Champions major

Alex Cejka is the second player in two days to get bounced from the PGA Tour Champions major.

A year ago, Alex Cejka won his first major on the PGA Tour Champions in his third start on the circuit at the Regions Tradition. It was the first of two major wins in three weeks in 2021.

Cejka won’t defend his title at the Regions, however, after he was disqualified after the third round for breaches of Model Local Rule G-11, Restricting Use of Green-Reading Materials.

According to the tour, he was found to be using a “yardage book that had not been approved for the competition by the PGA Tour Champions Rules Committee.”

Cejka had just finished shooting a round of 66 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama. He was 7 under, tied for 14th before getting bounced.

In 2019, he was disqualified from the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic for using “greens-reading materials that did not fit the new scale allowed.”

Cejka was the second golfer in two days to get the heave-ho from the Regions. On Friday, John Daly was DQ’d after he failed to sign his scorecard.

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