Golf's Most Basic Tenet Is Now A Grey Area: Why That's Not A Good Way To Go

Social media continues to bicker over Lexi Thompson’s clearance for what would have been an clear breach under the old Rules of Golf, but as Alistair Tait notes here, things seem to be murkier now with the R&A not penalizing Thompson.

The key issue: the R&A was ok with Thompson moving something behind her ball because it appeared to move back to its original position. The rule as 13-2 would not allow such a grey area, as Tait writes:

Whether the lie returned exactly to its original conditions is clearly a moot point. What isn’t moot is that Thompson made no effort to restore the original lie. The inference here is that Mother Nature decided to interfere by restoring the original condition, therefore there was no breach.

I can’t find the clause in either of my rule books that says if you improve your lie but the ball returns naturally to its original condition then you’re off the hook. You might struggle to find it, too.

Thompson, who was penalised four shots after replacing her ball incorrectly at the 17th hole during the third round of the 2017 ANA inspiration, is extremely lucky not to have been penalised on this occasion. She would have been penalised under the old Rules of Golf. There was no grey area surrounding old Rule 13-2, which dealt with this situation.

There are plenty of grey areas surrounding our rules now. Maybe too many.

Let’s forget the obvious issues with playing it as it lies and spell it out for commissioners and governing bodies of the world intoxicated by playing prowess over rules sanctity these days. A common reaction to Thompson’s actions went something like this: if she did that in my group, at my club or in the Yucatan National Thursday night league play, she’d be penalized.

The idea that the golfing public has higher standards these days should be troubling for Commissioners and governing bodies who want to coddle players instead of dishing out penalties. And for the corporations overpaying to sponsor events because the competitors are seen as more righteous than other athletes, when will this perception of pro golfers living above the rules cause them consternation?

Not enforcing the rules, including the biggest and most important of them all, could end up becoming very costly for the pro game.