Bamberger To Players On Rules Callers: Welcome The Scrutiny

A bold take from Michael Bamberger of SI on rules calls from the couch, a huge ongoing issue in the game.

Some players and golf observers take the view that the extra scrutiny that comes with playing golf on TV makes this whole call-in system unfair to the more prominent players. Right after Thompson got her four-shot penalty, Woods tweeted that viewers should not be officials “wearing stripes.”

But that view does not show a keen understanding of the intent of the rules. A player should want the scrutiny that comes with playing on TV because the player is not trying to get away with anything. The player should want to turn in the most accurate scorecard he or she can, with help from anybody who's watching.

I'm not sure how much of the issue comes down to the people calling these things in versus how the potential violations are interpreted by the committees.

While it's easy to pick on those phoning in tips, haven't many of our brouhahas developed because of how HD and the Decisions are used to assume the player is guilty until proven innocent (and without the opportunity to explain their intent)?