Add John Paramor To The Anti-Green Reading Books List

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Legendary European Tour rules official John Paramor, who restored order during the chaos of Jordan Spieth's errant Birkdale tee shot and who has no patience for slow play, talks to Golf World's John Huggan about his four decade career. Among the topics are rulings he's given, rules he'd like tweaked and his input on the upcoming rules revision.

He offered this on green reading books, which have generally been a pace of play nuisance.

Then there are the so-called “green books” you see people using when putting. Paramor has opinions there, too. “I recently asked Phil Mickelson what he thought about them. He feels they are a good thing. They are good for pace of play. They clear up a lot of the questions a player might have. Which is a valid point.

Actually, I don't think it is but go on...

"But I have to say I think they are a de-skilling of the game. Part of this game is making your own judgement about how your ball is going to roll across a green. It’s not for you to find that out on a piece of paper.”

I've seen two instances now of players blaming the books for a putt not breaking as it was supposed to on paper and it's more satisfying to witness than I ever imagined!

So as long they take 45 seconds or less, let them keep staring at the paper I say.

Old Guys Backstop Too! Will Henrik Do This In A Ryder Cup Match?

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There is a much undermining interest in Shanghai's WGC event. The limited field, slow play, mediocre architecture and even $43,000 in purse pay for guys who get DQ'd. The cherry on the Sunday sundae came with some veteran backstopping, that confirmed this PGA Tour "product" was more exhibition than a serious event.

And while I don't want to pick on Stenson for slow play given the overall pace of the rounds, he did take a robust minute and 48 seconds in the ninth fairway Sunday. This happened after waiting on the group in front of himself, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.  (The fast-playing DJ leaned hard on his club the entire time).

The pacing was interesting given Stenson's views earlier in the week suggesting the Shot Clock Masters won't have much impact due to pro golfers playing ready golf.

But it was Stenson's generous move to leave a wedge shot by the hole as a backstop, even though both Johnson and Koepka faced plugged bunker lies (and boy do they sure play fast when given a backstop!).

Even though the two players were two strokes ahead of Stenson on the leaderboard, Stenson did not feel obliged to protect the field or his own welfare, prompting a fun set of comments from Golf Channel's Phil Blackmar about how the game has changed. The backstopping:

 

 

Thought: there is a better than decent chance Johnson and Koepka could play Stenson and eventual HSBC Champions winner Justin Rose in next year's Ryder Cup. I wonder if Stenson would leave his ball down as a backstop then? If so, then the game really has changed!

Video Roundup: Stymies Versus Backstopping

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In this week's Golfweek digital and now posted online, Brentley Romine and I debate the men's pro golf backstopping practice.

On Twitter, I've gotten a very frequent reply that goes like this: you want the stymie back but you are offended when players leave a ball down (in a form of silent, possibly creepy collusion that does not protect the field.)

Yes. I am offended by backstopping and hope we return the stymie to match play.

Because in match play, golf would be faster and far more confrontational if players could clean their ball, then leave it down the rest of the way to the hole. Foursomes, four-balls, individual matches, you name it would all have occasional moments of social-media-friendly drama. Virality, baby!

But backstopping suggests an element of rule-bending and collusion that can only damage perceptions of a clubby sport that is generally very honest, but does strike some as too fraternal at times.

The stymie is only interesting in match play, where we never see backstopping occur. Furthermore, a ball stymied by a match play opponent is an overtly hostile gesture, while backstopping is a mysteriously complacent act of notifying the competition that you are willing to assist them, free of charge.

For those who are not familiar with the stymie's place in the game and not owners of Bobby Jones' Golf Is My Game (1960), I can at least steer you to some video thanks to the wonders of YouTube.

Graphic viewing warning: these clips are all in black and white while involving evidence of people playing the game (well) prior to the year 2000.

First up, check out Sam Snead beating Johnny Palmer in the 1949 PGA at Belmont. At the :28 second mark watch how Snead tries to stymie Palmer, to no avail. The complete opposite of backstopping. 


Next, check out Charles Coe vs Nick Chapman at the :20 mark for a fantastic stymie and one that would freak out today's backstoppers in the 1951 British Amateur final, one of the last played with stymies in effect:

Also in 1951, the USA retained the Walker Cup in spite of a delicious stymie situation viewable at the 1:22 mark. The sun has continued to rise in the east since. 

At the :15 second mark of this 1948 PGA Championship highlight reel--when the event was still contested at match play--Ben Hogan is stymied and you can just feel Hogan’s enthusiasm as he pulls out wedge on a green. But what great entertainment and competitive edge this brought to the proceedings!

And at the 1933 Ryder Cup highlights, go to the 1:28 mark for a delicious reminder that the stymie was once part of the Ryder Cup, and dream of the possibilities today before remembering that we live in a golf culture where the players seek to help their friends, not clash competitive with them.

Southgate Speaks: "I take full responsibility"

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James Corrigan of The Telegraph talks to Matthew Southgate about the heartbreaking penalty incurred during the Web.com Tour Playoffs that cost him a PGA Tour card.

From Corrigan's story:

“It was poor from me to not know the rules of a game I’ve played since I was two. I take full responsibility. ­People say it’s bad luck but it’s not bad luck because I should have replayed the shot and could have made four. But I didn’t and it became nine, and that ­became me missing my card. I’ve only got myself to blame. I’m not annoyed with anyone else.”

The best wishes of his peers have not assisted much either; and neither has their collective ignorance. I asked 10 different pros at the Dunhill Links if they were aware of that particular rule and all admitted they were not.

Rules Of Golf Input Window Closed, "Common Themes" Emerge

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You can read the full USGA/R&A press release online at some point, but it sounds like many golfers shared strong opinions on the boldest proposed Rules of Golf changes.

What those opinions were, we are still not sure but this is our hint until the two governing bodies play a lot of golf take many meetings mulling the possibilities.

•    Golfers provided the most feedback on the proposed Rules changes focused on the putting green (such as putting with the flagstick left in the hole, repairing spike marks and eliminating the penalty for accidentally moving a ball); the creation of “penalty areas” (extending water hazard type relief and eliminating penalties for moving loose impediments and grounding a club); and the new dropping procedures (including the size of “relief areas”). 

Anything To Play Faster Files: Even Higher-Profile Backstopping

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Here's the fun thing about this bizarro trend of men's professional golfers leaving their chip shots around the hole, all in the name of slow play: they are getting more brazen. Even better, this is going to help us bring back the stymie!

The backstopping/sideboarding practice of leaving your ball down--in the name of speeding up play of course--used to be something that only happened in lower profile situations. Increasingly though big name players in big name pairings have been so eager to speed up play, they are willing to not protect the field by leaving their ball in a place that might help their fellow PGA Tour brother competitor. Of course to do so knowingly results in disqualification under the Rules.

And for those who say it doesn't happen, may I refresh your memories here.

This was Saturday with the Spieth-DJ pairing at the 2017 Dell Technologies (link here if the embed doesn't work):

The practice, which only seems to be happening in men's pro golf, is also continuing in Europe. This was Saturday and an all timer given the proximity of the playing partners who just couldn't take that extra 7 seconds to mark their ball.

Here's the bad news: as this strange, buddy-buddy, backscratching practice picks up steam, someone will stand fifteen feet from his ball, watch his ball get hit by another player who then makes par instead of bogey. That player will ends up winning a tournament by a shot or costing someone his card and will be publicly shamed. His reputation might even be ruined. And all for just doing what everyone does every day on the tour because that's how they play the game out there.

And play will still be slow. This practice might be cutting 20-30 seconds a round.

Yet guys will still mark 18 inchers to not step in a through line, but they'll leave their ball down 18 inches from the hole to help out a buddy who might help them later in the round.

I know shining a light on suspect behavior is upsetting for many in a sport where the players are generally the most honest and upstanding in all of sports. But as a clubby sport by nature that values protecting those who have joined the gang, suggests image of those who stick together over good, old-fashioned competition. As a sport, if fans sense the players are just playing week to week hoping for their shot and helping their buddies out at other times, pro golf will ultimately lose a certain edge and purity if a practice like this continues.

Oh, and there is also the "what other rules are they bending" question that is so dangerous to a sport's reputation.

Brandel Chamblee engaged with readers on the topic Saturday after the above incident. The original questioner deleted his question, but it's a nice mix of those who see this for what it is (some bizarre tacit agreement that has festered) and those who believe the guys just are trying to speed things up.

Deadlines! Tour TV Opt Out, Proposed Rules Of Golf Changes

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Just a reminder to the folks down in Ponte Vedra, you have until September 1 to get out of your current network deal and imagine a new television future! Oh, right, you know this.

Of more interest to the majority of golfers is this week's deadline, also September 1, to submit suggestions for the upcoming Rules of Golf re-thinking.

I'm still not a fan of dropping the ball one inch from the ground or tapping spike marks, and we'll see if the governing bodies heard from many on those topics.

The SI/Golf.com gang had a good (and perhaps motivational exchange) on this and many other topics in golf:

Ritter: We're getting there, USGA! I like the proposed changes, but we still need to do more to address the one true scourge of golf: slow play. How about a shot clock on Tour—just for a trial period to see how it goes?

Sens: Hate to sound like Ritter's pet parrot, but I'll agree with him again here. I just played a weekend round that took five hours and 50 minutes. Inexcusable. And clearly the result of too many people emulating Tour pros in all the wrong ways. Put the pros on a tighter shot clock and enforce it. Playing quicker just becomes a necessary skill to be successful, like a QB who gets his passes off before the rush hits. In the meantime, that pesky stroke-and-distance matter could still use some addressing.

Shipnuck: Yeah, ditching O.B. and making all of it red stakes would be a great start. While we're at it, how about a free drop from sand-filled divot holes in the fairway, too?

Bamberger: The rule changes are so minor they will make no impact on the game as we play it and only a slight impact on the elite game. Getting out some red paint would have been a real change and I think an improvement.

Watch Rickie Leave His Ball Down As A Backstop

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It's great to hear from readers who reported Jim Nantz joining those critical of backstopping chip shots by not marking a ball before a playing partner plays. His "inexplicable" comment has been preceded on past telecasts by CBS colleagues Peter Kostis, Ian Baker-Finch and Dottie Pepper criticizing the fundamentally strange choice by pro golfers to leave their ball down to slow down a wayward competitor's shot.

As we have learned from defenders of this behavior, players are merely wanting to play as fast as possible. The practice does not take place on weekends of majors or in match play, and rarely in the televised weekend windows. But as it has become more accepted on the PGA Tour, the act has become so normalized that it seeped into weekends and now majors. (Some players do not partake and behind the scenes are branded bad apples because they don't play "the game the right way" or other similar coded nonsense.)

Thanks to Michael Power for this particularly bold example from Rickie Fowler during round three at the 2017 PGA. Since Saturday was a dreadful 5.5 hour round where speed of play was not going to be appreciably improved by taking another 10 seconds to mark a ball before the next shot was played toward the hole, it's tough to write this off as a pace effort. 

No, today's players simply like to help their buddies in hopes of receiving similar support for their own wayward chip shots. Mercifully, the Golf Gods are always watching and taking notes.

Still, this one is fascinating to watch because you can see the shot stop rolling and watch Fowler as he determines it's of the helping-not-hurting variety, and turns to watch his playing partner knowing it's a backstopping situation.

Here's the link should the embedded video does not play:

Another Bunker Liner Ruling: Hoffman Gets Out Of Plugged Lie

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Here's the situation: final round, 2017 RBC Canadian Open, Charley Hoffman hits into a greenside bunker at the 12th and has a badly buried lie:


Credit Hoffman and caddie for recognizing the renovated Glen Abbey bunkers for having newly installed bunker floor lining that prevented him from digging enough to take a stance on his bunker shot. (You can see a demo at the 1:30 mark of how it is sprayed in). And even cred it them for asking to get a ruling even after Hoffman can be heard saying multiple times he did not believe there was any kind of artificial lining causing an issue (his caddie wasn't so sure and convinced him to get a second opinion). CBS's Peter Kostis said exactly the opposite: Hoffman was calling for a ruling because he could feel the liner. Maybe he had a producer yelling in his ear during the conversation, but it was still misleading.

Official Gary Young arrived and seemed very reluctant to give Hoffman relief, but the player soon could smell an opening, ultimately convincing Young that he could not take his stance because of the concrete lining.

"That's so generous!" barked out playing partner Kevin Chappell, somewhat sarcastically. Young replied that it was consistent with other rulings related to the new age bunker liners designed to keep sand on faces and from being contaminated. Chappell then lightly pointed out Hoffman's smile upon getting relief:

 

 

One other comment from Chappell, again with a light touch, prompted a one-word response and smile from Hoffman as he went about his business: "Rules."

Given the behind-the-scenes grumbling still taking place over Branden Grace's BMW PGA relief from a buried lie while citing bunker lining as a stance preventative, it's hard to see how Hoffman's will be any better received by his peers (note the sampling of fan outrage below).

However, it should be noted that Hoffman was initially skeptical about even suggesting he deserved a drop from the lie. He went on to lose the Canadian Open in a playoff to Jhonattan Vegas.

The situation seems worse than it might appear given that the PGA Tour, which has signaled a desire to be in the news delivery business via the web and television, scrubbed videos of the drop after briefly posting them to official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Here is the PGA Tour Facebook post of the ruling, deleted (thanks reader Jeremy S).

And the Tweet captured by reader MS:

The reaction below sums up the social media reaction, which offers another reminder that it's very hard to bend the rules and not go unnoticed in the age of social media:

What do we learn from this?

A) Bunker liners are going to be an ongoing problem. A product meant to keep sand from becoming contaminated and to keep sand on bunker faces is now being used to subvert the game's original rule: play it as it lies.

B) Players are increasingly unafraid to stretch the boundaries of the rules to gain an advantage.

C) Instead of embracing this as a learning situation, the PGA Tour scrubbed their accounts of the evidence, which will only make Hoffman's peers and their caddies wonder what needed hiding. Even though Hoffman was initially skeptical that the situation warranted a ruling, much less a drop, the lack of transparency will raise suspicions about what went down.

No Vagaries Of Match Play Here: U.S. Junior Girls Controversy

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It's not how you'd like to see a U.S. Junior semifinal decided but if you've seen the video and know a thing about golf, Erica Shepherd didn't do a thing wrong. That hasn't stopped some from absurdly criticizing her (thanks reader Brian) and even the Rules of Golf.

Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols sums up the scene at Boone Valley, where the final between Shepherd and friend Jennifer Chang is underway.

Here is the video from Fox with Shepherd's highlights before you eventually can see the unfortunate moment at the 2 minute mark (not embedded due to autoplay).

It's pretty clear that Moon just made a mistake in wanting to practice the putt she just missed, and that Shepherd didn't have an opportunity to concede the par putt.

Nichols writes:

The difference here, of course, is that Shepherd told rules officials she would have given Moon the putt had there been more time. Even tried to reverse it. But Moon incurred a penalty under Rule 18-2.

“I mean, we both tried to get it to where that putt was given to her but it just – it’s the Rules of Golf,” said Shepherd. “You can’t.”

Nicoson, Shepherd’s longtime instructor, called the whole situation sad.

“Erica went in the locker room to find (Moon) and give her a hug and (Moon) said, ‘I can’t believe I did it out of reaction, it’s not your fault,’ ” Nicoson wrote in a text, “but Erica feels terrible.”

The episode is a good reminder that players who don't normally play match play need to remember some of the fundamentals, such as assuming no putt is good until conceded.

Hopefully, however, Shepherd and match play are not unfairly targeted for a simple innocent mistake.

On another note, lefties will want to watch Shepherd's swing. Impressive and powerful!

Rahm Wins Irish Open, Lexi Rule Surfaces Too

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After a temperamental U.S. Open, Jon Rahm once again showed he can put rough weeks behind him by dominating the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

This quote from Alistair Tait's Golfweek account suggests someone is very confident heading into The Open, and his updated odds reflect similar confidence from punters.

“That makes two for two, shooting 65 in the final round,” Rahm said. “Obviously, it’s a very different tournament here for me. I’ve been saying I haven’t played my best golf, and today, for 15 holes, I played the best golf I can ever play on the golf course with the weather that we had. Obviously, the bonus of holing out on four was great, but man, this is a nice feeling.”

The round was highlighted by a hole-out at the fourth.

As for the ball mark issue and changes in the rules, here is Tait's account with this from rules official Andy McFee on why the rules are more forgiving:

“One of the points in the new decision is that the outcome depends a lot on what the player says and his explanation of the events,” McFee said. “Jon said: ‘I knew I marked it to the side and then I was trying to make an effort to put it back to the side.’ He’s definitely made the effort.

“We’re talking about the difference between the ball being lifted at 10 o’clock on the ball marker and put back at 11 o’clock which is not a problem.

“The new decision the R&A and USGA crafted, with the full knowledge from the PGA Tour and ourselves, is all about trying to eliminate these fine margins and get to a position where if a player has made a reasonable judgement then the game will accept it if it’s slightly wrong.

This screen grab shows his ball was closer to the hole and not in the same location:

In other news, the Irish Open will again play at a links next year, heading to the newer of two courses at Ballyliffin. Liam Kelly reports.

Poll: Should The Governing Bodies Drop The Anchoring Ban?

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Bernhard Langer's recent brush with anchoring at the U.S. Senior Open prompted a pre-round visit with rules officials from the USGA. There was also overwhelming outrage on social media and coverage from Fox Sports addressing concerns of a possible rules violation. The issue summed up here by Brandel Chamblee, who coverage this week may have prompted the latest response:


At the very least, Langer is taking things right up to the edge of the anchoring ban. At the worst, he's openly resisting the rule knowing that the genteel world of golf would never actually prosecute a player of his caliber.

This all prompted an unusual Friday news dump with statements from Langer, fellow Champions Tour long putter user Scott McCarron and the USGA. Here is what was said:

The "integrity" language here from the USGA would suggest that actually enforcing the rule is now almost impossible given the introduction of intent.  With this in mind and knowing there are seniors whose golfing lives were made miserable by not being able to anchor, perhaps it's time to drop a rule that will not be enforced?

The SI/Golf.com gang contemplated massaging or changing the rule in this week's discussion that included caddie John Wood.

Given the potential rules changes for 2019, should the governing bodies consider abandoning a rule that started in 2016 after much debate?

The poll and your votes please:

As part of the rules revisions, should the governing bodies drop the anchoring ban?
 
pollcode.com free polls

U.S. Open: Return To Walking Officials With All Groups

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After seeing the USGA's revision to its U.S. Open rules setup at Erin Hills, I write for Golfweek that bringing back walking officials would be the prudent thing to do.

While there were no major rules situations, I know of one player whose playing partners were not paying attention to his ball as it entered the tall stuff at hole No. 1. But since there was a bit of a grey area there and no walking referee was there as you might find at The Open, NCAA's and many other events, the player had to play as if he lost his ball.

As I note in the piece, this is also a perk for those who put in long hours working less-glamorous events. It was embarrasing seeing them sitting in the rough or in those parade-viewing chairs and in awful red hats.

But mostly the change this year seemed like an odd reaction to 2016's events and without a referee in each group, will some day prove costly for a player.

Hank Haney Asks If Bernhard Langer Is In Violation Of The Anchoring Ban

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Hank Haney thinks so and based on the definition of Rule 14-1b (PDF link) that says an “anchor point” "exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club."

Bernhard Langer would appear to be in violation in this clip:

What say you?