What Will Mike Davis Do Next?

The Dustin Johnson episode was regrettable on so many levels that I struggle to pin down the most glaring consequence of the USGA's actions.

But here goes...

The USGA became the story over the players and Oakmont.

The USGA jeopardized their reputation over a strict reading of their rules, instead of taking into account the spirit of the rules or other similar situations from the round, or just simple common sense that said this did not meet the threshold set by Decisions 18-2/0.5.

They risked the reputation of the sport and the United States Open over an obscure "Decision" in a situation brought on by their love of unsustainable green speeds.

A select few people went out on a limb to penalize Johnson, ultimately embarrassing their staff, USGA members and the volunteer referee who agreed with Johnson's view that the player had not caused the ball to move.

The USGA essentially called Johnson a liar by insisting on penalizing the eventual champion.

And they have, for the foreseeable future, guaranteed a poor relationship with the world's top professional golfers based on the unprecedented reactions from golf greats young and old.

Tiger Woods (here in expanded comments) and Arnold Palmer (here) are the latest to chime in with less than positive responses. Many of you have shared with me your letters to the USGA as members or non-members, and those, along with the comments posted in threads here, have been eye-opening in the candor, passion and disgust expressed.

I attribute the unusual passion for USGA-hate to two things:

A) The attitude and leadership of the USGA was not reassuring and even considered smug by many.

B) Dustin Johnson's place in history was very nearly tainted for reasons most do not see as acceptable, or worse, served a bad reminder of times we've faced authority figures looking to make an example of someone.

While the Executive Director Mike Davis was in on the decision to add a penalty stroke to Johnson's score (along with three others who reviewed the tape with DJ post-round according to the USGA's Jeff Hall), Davis was only visible during Sunday's antics escorting DJ from the 18th green to his interrogation before the committee. The USGA president, Diana Murphy, did not referee the final pairing and still botched the awards ceremony, reminding us that the Walter Driver faction of the USGA's hand-picked leader could not be be counted on for any kind of leadership.

So it was on Monday that Davis finally went public and tried to repair the situation Golf Central, but then inexplicably asked for a "mulligan," a violation of the Rules of Golf!

In other words, the rules sticklers were asking for forgiveness in the spirit of the rules, the same lack of forgiving spirit they would not apply to the Johnson situation. This, even as any combination of factors could have been taken into account--green speeds, referee's decision, DJ's on-course track record--and were not.

Alan Bastable in this golf.com chat wondered how Davis, paid lavishly to be the non-profit's frontman because of his credibility and candor, could be so invisible.

Randall Mell at GolfChannel.com also wonders the same thing.

With the USGA’s credibility so under assault right now, with the world’s best players poised to revolt, with some pushing for the PGA Tour to take charge of their own rule making, it’s more important than ever for Davis to be out front. You may not agree with some of his U.S. Open setup philosophies, some of the creative tweaks he has added to an old formula, but Davis is a persuasive figure. He is a true believer. He is committed to his principles, and he knows how to sell his ideas. He can give eloquent, thorough explanations for the most controversial decisions (i.e., anchored strokes). That’s why his voice is needed to soothe all the angst, to reassure the faithful that reasonable complaints are being heard and reasonable solutions are being sought.

Davis is not much for social media and is probably not aware just how much anger has been directed there or in private exchanges between golfers. Without remedying the impression given that Dustin Johnson was dishonest in his Monday Golf Central appearance, I suspect that golfers will continue to view the USGA as frustrated high school administrators who enjoyed doling out punishment merely for the sake of protecting their rules. Davis has to stop the bleeding and do it soon or the damage to the USGA will be profound.

Given the USGA's increasingly apparent aversion to addressing the issues that have led to this point--the distance pursuit, the corresponding green speed push and the inability to keep the genie in the bottle any longer--maybe the bleeding cannot be stopped.