Rules "violations" highlight need for changes

I just read an interesting piece on Golf Channel’s website about the oddities of rules violations on the PGA tour this year. See http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/poulters-blunder-latest-year-bizarre-rulings-40539/

Since my main career as a District Judge and lawyer involve interpretation of laws and rules, I feel compelled to comment.

There have been many times over the years when supposed rules violations have cost players victories or many thousands of dollars. The situation has gotten more and more attention as television covers a greater number of holes in an increasing number of tournaments.

Remember years ago when Raymond Floyd was penalized for “building a stance”? He had placed a towel on the ground to protect his knees and pants from the wet ground when he had to kneel to hit a shot. It was ridiculous. He was trying to keep his pants clean, not build a stance. He got no advantage from the towel.

Last week, Ian Poulter was penalized a shot when he dropped his ball on his ball marker, and it moved. It may have cost him more than $400,000. As reported on the Golf Channel web site, “Jeff Hall of the USGA points out, the marker is the equivalent of the ball. If Poulter’s ball had been on the green and moved ever so slightly, “I suspect most people wouldn’t have the emotional connection to a penalty,” Hall said.

“At the end of the day, our rules are clear,” Hall said. “Our game is unique from all others. It requires us to know the rules.”

Well, I disagree, Mr. Hall. Movement by Poulter’s ball on the green would only have resulted in a penalty if he had addressed it.

I also disagree with the penalty assessed to Dustin Johnson at the PGA, which cost him a chance at a playoff. The issue came down to whether he was in a clearly defined bunker. The officials said he was. I don’t think so.

I really think that the Rules of Golf need to be changed to account for plain violations which result in an advantage to a player and inadvertent ones which do not. I’d also like to see players be assigned a rules advocate. And yes, Mr. and Mrs. USGA, I’d be willing to volunteer.

Tiger now merely superb

I feel like I need to comment on the very unusual occurrence of Tiger Woods losing a final round lead to let a tournament victory slip away. Yesterday, in case you didn’t notice, Tiger scored a 7 on a par 5 on the 13th hole. 2010 U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell, meanwhile had a birdie 4. The 3 shot swing took Tiger from 1 shot ahead to 2 behind. He rallied to tie it up, but McDowell sank a superb putt in the playoff to seal the victory.
A few years ago, this kind of thing was unthinkable. Tiger was the greatest player in the world, and he almost never missed a shot or a putt when it mattered most. Now it appears that Tiger is merely a fantastic player, and not heads and shoulders above all others.
Tiger has been through a world of problems in the last year: A car accident, all sorts of tawdry revelations about his personal life, a divorce, lost endorsements, and who knows what else.
I blame Tiger’s mere excellence on more than just those things. The fact is, is that there are many great players coming up who are playing brilliantly and whose competitive spirit will drive them to try ever harder to beat the best in the world – Tiger. Besides McDowell, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Camillo Villegas, Paul Casey, Justin Rose and many others are poised to compete.
The 2011 tour starts in early January. It should be a very entertaining show. Tune in.

Ryder Cup fast approaching

All fans of big time tournament golf should check their listings and set aside some time for watching the Ryder Cup next weekend.
If you are new to this, here are some things you need to know about the Ryder Cup.
It pits teams from the United States against Europe.
There are 3 kinds of matches: Foursomes, Four ball, and Individual matches. In foursomes, the players hit alternate shots. It is a rarely used format, but it can be quite entertaining. Four ball takes the best score on each hole from each team, and compares it to the best score from the other team. The lowest score wins the hole. Naturally, as all of the players in the tournament are among the best in the world, it’s going to take birdie or better to win a hole. Individual matches, played last, pit individual against individual.
The players take these matches very seriously. They are playing for their country or their team, and there is a great deal of pride and bragging rights involved.
The matches, particularly if the cup is at stake based on the result of a particular match, can be very dramatic.
The Ryder Cup is always one of the most entertaining golf events on the colander, right behind the Masters.
My advice: Forget about football for the weekend, and focus on the Ryder Cup. It should be a blast.

Local favorite Jim Furyk disqualified

Jim Furyk was disqualified from The Barclays, this week’s tour stop, because he missed his tee time for the pro-am. It’s interesting to see all of the pros and cons on The Golf Channel Blog. Surely Jim just flat out screwed up. His cell phone, which he used for an alarm clock, was out of power and did not work. This seems like the kind of mistake that could happen to many of us.
The tour had to pass the rule about missing the pro-am, because it has to be a nightmare for a pro trying to make a living, to have to play golf for 6 hours with dreadful hackers.
On the other hand, the most sensible comments I ever heard from a pro about pro-ams came from Greg Norman. Norman talked about how he appreciated the money the amateurs paid (much of which ends up with a charity). But Greg tried to establish a rapport with the business savvy golfers, and, over the years, established many great business connections in the process. This seems like a real win win for Greg AND the players. How much fun would it be to talk to your local country club friends about your business relationship with Greg Norman?

Tiger in the news again.

Well there are 2 big news stories about the world of golf floating around cyberspace.
The first is about Elin Nordegrin, Tiger Woods’ now ex-wife, who gave an interview to the esteemed “People” magazine. I’m not really interested in Tiger’s private life, and I doubt if many golf fans are. I am kind of interested in the divorce from a divorce lawyer point of view. None of my cases involve a husband who is one of the most famous people in the world, and who has made a billion dollars in his 33 year life. It is interesting to see that no matter how charmed one’s life is, as Tiger’s appeared to be, he is not immune from the mistakes, heartache, trouble, and stress that ordinary Joes out there suffer.
I’m still rooting for Tiger to return to top form next year, win a Major or two, and gain a little ground on the greatest golfer in history, Jack Nicklaus.

Dustin Johnson was robbed by erroneous decision.

I have been away in Cape May on vacation, and away from the keyboard, so I haven’t had a chance to blog on the PGA. But I’m home now, and I just had to weigh in on the developments in the PGA. After all, I’m probably the only golf writer in the country who is also an experienced lawyer and a sitting judge. I do interpret rules and laws for a living, so maybe I’m the right guy to speak on this.
In my opinion, Dustin Johnson was robbed. He was robbed by an incorrect decision by the PGA rules officials, who incorrectly assessed him a 2 stroke penalty on the 72nd hole of the tournament. The penalty raised his score, which meant that he was no longer ties for the lead, and therefore was not in the playoff.
Before I explain why I think they erred, I’d like to point out a couple of things. First, Johnson hit a terrible tee shot, way off line, for one of the most critical shots of his young career. If he had hit the ball in the fairway, none of this would have happened.
Secondly, the rules official who was widely interviewed about the decision explained his decision well and competently. He appears to be a well informed, well spoken gentleman who no doubt would have preferred the whole mess had never happened.
There was no question that Dustin grounded his club before he hit his second shot. That meant that the only question was whether he was in a bunker when he grounded the club. The official based his decision that the ball indeed was in a bunker on the rules sheet which was handed out to players, and posted in the locker room read, in pertinent part:
Notice to Competitors - Bunkers

1. All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked.
Johnson knew, as does every golfer with a decent amount of experience, that you cannot ground your club in a hazard. If he had known it was a hazard, he would not have grounded his club. My question is: How was he supposed to know he was in a sand bunker? It did not look like a bunker. It was not marked like a bunker. It did not appear to be designed and built as a sand bunker. There were thousands of fans standing and walking around in the area.
There was no reason whatsoever to think that this was a bunker. I see no reason whatsoever to conclude that the area where his ball lay was “designed and built” as a bunker, which is the key language here.
This fantastic young player was unfairly deprived of a chance to win in the playoff by an incorrect ruling. It is a damn shame.

Oosthuizen has a great day, wins British Open

Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa for his dominating victory at the British Open! Oosthuizen beat one of the best fields of the year by 7 shots, which is a huge margin of victory in one of the greatest golf events in the world all year.

Oosthuizen rises from a merely great player to one of the superstars of the game with this major victory. For those who don’t follow pro golf, there are 4 Majors each year. They are the Masters, U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA. A victory in one of these events is the kind of achievement that elevates a player to elite status.

Oosthuizen is not the first relative unknown to make it big by winning the British Open. Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, and Paul Lawrie also came to prominence by winning this great event.

Oosthuizen’s life will change forever as a result of this great victory. Congratulations.

British Open a great show

Every year, I look forward to watching the British Open on TV. The 5 hour time difference between the UK and our time zone makes for some convenient viewing. The tourney is on when I get up, and lasts until late, especially when including replays.

It seems like every year, there is a player who is not so well known holding the lead after the first or second round of play. This year, it’s Louis Oosthuizen, a great young player from South Aftica. He benefitted hugely from the timing of his first two rounds, when the conditions were not as severe as for many of the other players.

As always, we’ll have to see how it plays out, but it should be a great show no matter what.

Suggestions for speeding play

Our golf league, the Montgomery Golf Association, has taken steps this year to try to speed play. At the league’s annual meeting earlier this year, league President Dave Keightly (the undersigned), Vice President Kevin O’Connor, and Treasurer Joe Ochotny decided we could improve the enjoyment of the members if we could find ways to speed up play. Under the direction of league administrator Eric Holmquist, we have tracked the time spent to play various matches, and are evaluating the data as it comes in.

This ongoing process has given me the impetus to write down some suggestions for players on how to speed up the play. These ideas have been compiled from memories of some 35 years of caddying, playing, and watching golf. I hope other folks will chime in with other ideas.

First, hit the ball in play. If everybody hits their ball in the fairway, on the green, or somewhere else where it is easy to see and find, the single greatest time waster, looking for wild shots, is eliminated. Don’t go accusing me of hypocrisy here: I know I can hit some of the most ridiculously errant golf shots ever seen. But still, if everyone knows where their ball is, things move more quickly.

Second, if you do hit your ball somewhere ugly, don’t spend a lot of time looking for it. If you stink at this game, like me, you don’t need to play with expensive golf balls. Throw down another ball, and get on with it.

If your ball is somewhere where the cart can’t be taken, for whatever reason (cart path only, another fairway, too wet), and you are not sure what club you need, take a few clubs with you and use the one you decide on. Don’t walk back and forth to the cart a few times.

Once you are done with the hole, get the heck off the green, and away from it, so the next group can play. There will be plenty of time to write the scores on the card at the next tee.

You don’t need to re-arrange your golf bag after every shot, especially not during the middle of the hole. Just put your club back in the bag, get back in the cart, and move on. Your cart mate probably wants to get to his ball and hit, not wait for you to fiddle with your clubs.

Put your clubs or bag down in the direction you will be going after the shot is finished. If you have a wedge that you used, and now you are putting, put the wedge in the direct path you will be walking to the next tee. Not only will this save time, but it will help to prevent losing clubs.

Get a Sharpie. Put your initial or some other mark on every ball you use. This helps in several ways. First, there will be no doubt whose ball it is. I write a K on every ball. Others use dots. One friend even writes his full name, which really eliminates any doubt. Marking your ball will also hopefully eliminate the dunces on the other hole who come across your ball from picking it up. A plain Titleist Pro V 1 x is easy to confuse. The same ball with “Dave” written on it is not. Marking your ball may also prevent an ugly incident like I just heard of, where a player forfeited a hole because he hit the wrong ball. It wouldn’t have happened if he had marked his ball.

Listen, I know I am not the fastest player out there, so don’t get all over me about that. But I do know some ways to speed things up. It is not meant to insult you. It’s meant to help you and the others on the course.

League leaders, fellow golfers, readers, and friends, I’m asking you, please: Send in your suggestions for speeding up play. We will pass them along. Thanks.

A few suggestions for next year

As much as I love this tournament, I do have a few suggestions I’d like to make it even better.
First of all, the published parking options were not good. The free parking was in Oaks, with shuttle busses going back and forth. Oaks is 15 miles from the course. I can only imagine how long that took through crowded roads, especially at rush hour. I’d like to see lots much closer to the course next year. I figure that organizers did look into that, but maybe they can try again now that they have experience in the area and a year to prepare.
I’d also like to see the tour assign volunteers to rake the traps after a player hits a ball in and out of there. Of course, the caddies do this job now, but sometimes, they must lag behind their player to get this done. Most of the volunteers are enthusiastic golfers anyway, and any additional training needed could be done easily.
There should be water fountains out on the course. It wasn’t overly hot our there this week, but it was brilliantly sunny, and water should have been available to the fans to refill their water bottles. There was water available at the concession stands, but it still should have been provided. It’s going to be really hot today, and I’d hate to see or hear of a fan getting sick because of a lack of water.

AT&T National a great logistical success

I can’t say enough good things about the AT&T National, played at Aronimink in Delaware County this week, to really get the point across about how great an event this was. But maybe a few observations will give the readers some idea.
First of all, the presence of Tiger Woods meant this event would be a success. Tiger draws fans and viewers like no other player I have ever seen, including the greatest player ever, Jack Nicklaus.
The logistics that go into this are vast and complicated. Somebody had to arrange the parking, shuttle busses, traffic control, courtesy cars, police presence, and other security.
Someone had to arrange for all of the concession stands, including proper locations on and off the course, bringing the products in, arranging for workers or volunteers to man the stores, trash disposal, and accounting.
A new development in fan comfort, and doubtlessly income generation, were the grandstands around some holes, which had ordinary seating down below, and luxury boxes up above. These structures looked so good they appeared to be permanent, but, of course, they are not. They will be taken down, transported, and erected at some tour stop later on the calendar.
All of the marshals had to be recruited, signed up, outfitted, instructed, and scheduled. Near the main entrance to the tournament, there is a huge banner, probably 40 feet high by 10 feet wide, which acknowledges the many volunteers by name.
All of the cables for TV had to be planned, laid out, and connected. The broadcast towers had to be erected, and the TV equipment had to be brought in, set up, and tested. The MetLife blimp had to be scheduled, manned, and brought here.
I’m sure this only scratches the surface of the many details that go into a national event like this, but maybe it give you some idea of how complicated it is.
Props to PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and his staff for doing such a good job running the show.

Great Tournament!

The AT&T National is not the greatest golf tournament I’ve ever been to, but it is very, very good. Of course, the presence of Tiger Woods, the greatest player in the game, has a lot to do with that. Tiger is not the only great player there, though.

Former major champions Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Davis Love, III, Jim Furyk, and Lee Janzen, to name just a few, add to the attractiveness of the tournament.

Once Tiger Woods finished play Friday, his loyal following was free to disburse into other mini-throngs. It was interesting to see where they went and who they watched. Rickie Fowler seemed to attract a crowd, and the Sean O’Hair group was popular. Fowler is a great young player developing a bit of a reputation for his color coordinated outfits. O’Hair is from the area, and looks like he could be a superstar within the next couple of years.

There has been a lot of talk in the media about whether Tiger Woods would be jeered because of his marital problems. I didn’t hear even one incident of rude behavior. There was a lot of talk among the fans about his reported divorce settlement of $775 million. But it was in the context of “Holy smokes, it’s amazing that he can even stand up straight after giving away $775 million”.

Tiger F-bombs after terrible wedge shot

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athletes of our time, and I don’t care one iota about his personal problems. But he did say that he was going to take a nicer approach out to the course with him this year.
I was about 40 feet away from him when, on the 16th hole today, Tiger hit a terrible wedge shot from about 100 yards out. He missed the green, dumping the ball in the bunker. My head was turned toward the hole, away from him watching the ball. I heard a loudly shouted F-bomb, and turned to see him stalking toward the hole with his club on the ground. He had evidently tossed it to the ground.
Frankly, it was a little upsetting to see Tiger hit such a terrible shot, and then react like he had pledged not to. There were some young kids in the area who may have heard the outburst.
On the other hand, it was kind of refreshing to see that the greatest player in the world can hit a shot just as badly as I would have hit it, and then reacted to it like my usual golf buddies.

Tiger's star power is fascinating

The charisma and magnetism of Tiger Woods is a phenomenon. I have never seen a star of any kind draw people to him like this man.

Today at Aronimink, like at most tournaments he plays in, Tiger’s galleries are bigger and more enthusiastic by at least 7 or 8 times more than any other player. It is a practical impossibility to follow him around the course, because a sizable portion of the entire fan base is around him. They move as a pack, and you can see them coming from a distance.

There were a lot of very good players out there today, but nobody came close to drawing the kind of attention he does. And he drew this much attention even though more than half the field scored better than he did.

I encourage every sports fan to go and watch this amazing person and observe the aura around him. But you’d better get there tomorrow, because if he doesn’t play better tomorrow than he did today, you won’t get to see him Saturday or Sunday.

AT&T looks to be a big success

It looks like the AT&T National, which is being played this week at Aronimink near Newtown Square, is going to be a fabulous success. I think it’s pretty obvious that the participation of golf’s biggest star, Tiger Woods, is a key factor in that success.

Aronimink is a wonderful golf course, which seems to be set up at almost U.S. Open conditions. A few guys were 4 under today, but many didn’t break par. The weather was perfect. The fans were abundant, well mannered, enthusiastic, and happy. My impression is that the tourney is as well managed as any I’ve been to.

Tiger and PGA commissioner Tim Finchem have both made statements touting the Philadelphia region as a great place for a tour spot. It has been a shame that there has not been a regular tour event in Philly since the days of the IVB golf classic at Whitemarsh in the early ‘80s. Philly is a great sports town, and a great golf town, so I am hoping that a success this week will convince the powers that be to bring the tour here every year.

Tiger is here, but he's not the only great player in the field!

It’s great to have Tiger Woods in town for the AT+T National. There is no question that his presence has created a lot more buzz for the event then if he wasn’t here.

However, Tiger is by no means the only great player in the field. Really, ever player in the field is great, because merely good players don’t play in tournaments like this.
Here is just a sampling of former major (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA) champs in the field: Davis Love, III, Justin Leonard, Lee Janzen, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Lucas Glover, David Toms, Steve Elkington, and Shaun Micheel.

I plan to watch a little bit of Rocco Mediate and Notah Begay, III. Rocco had his famous duel with Tiger at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, and Begay, the best know native American on the tour, was a teammate of Tiger’s at Stanford, and former President’s Cup player.

I could go on all day with these tidbits, but I have got to get ready for work!

Tiger, other great stars in town for PGA Event!

The Philadelphia area is one of the great golf regions in the world. More on that later. This week, Tiger Woods and many other great PGA players will be in town for the AT+T National, to be held at Aronimink Golf Club. This is a great opportunity, since the tour does not have a regular stop in the area.

I would love for this event to be well attended, because it would help the region's case for a regular spot. The tournament is here this year and next because its home course near DC is undergoing renovations.

Tournament play starts Thursday, but practice rounds begin today. There are advantages to both. For practice rounds, spectators can interact with the players, who are usually in a more casual mood. Usually, cameras are permitted for practice rounds. However, Mr. Woods himself usually plays his practice rounds very early in the morning, so you probably won't get to see him.

Tournament rounds are carefully scheduled, so you know exactly when your favorite player is teeing off, and can anticipate his appearance at a given hole.

I'll be reporting as the week progresses, but start making your plans.

For ticket and parking information, the official site is found at http://www.attnational.org/home/default.sps

McDowell is a great champion

Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open by a single shot over Frenchman Greg Havret and 2 shots over Ernie Els. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods tied for 4th. Be honest now, how many of you golf fans have heard of McDowell before this week. How about Havret? I follow this sport pretty closely, so I had heard of McDowell, but I don't remember hearing of the Frenchman.

It was tough watching Dustin Johnson implode, losing his 3 shot lead early, and going on to shoot an 82. Dustin has a lot of game, so look for him to bounce back strong in the near future.

Meanwhile, Tiger seemed to be playing like dirt, and he still finished 4th. The man is amazing, and I still think he'll win a major this year.

As usual, the USGA put on a great tournament, and it "identified" the world's best golfer this week.

U.S. Open starts Thursday

The second Major of the year is being held this week. The U.S. Open starts Thursday at Pebble Beach. Naturally, Tiger Woods is a main character in many of the story lines as he is any time he plays, but even more so since the revelations about his extra marital affairs.
Watch for these story lines: Can Tiger repeat here at Pebble, the site of his amazing 15 shot victory a decade ago at the same venue? Can Tiger win his 15th Major Championship, drawing him 1 closer to Jack Nicklaus’ all time record of 18? Can Tiger shake whatever demons haunt him due to his car accident, revelations of marital infidelity, and hiatus from golf? Can Phil Mickelson win his second major of the year, keeping alive the only chance for a player to win a grand slam this year? Which unexpected player will contend this year, perhaps rising from relative obscurity to prominence, at least among golf fans? How many dads will spend Father’s Day watching the Open?

Outing season is in full swing.

Outing season is in full swing.
I recently banned myself from playing golf, for conduct injurious to the game. My play has been maddeningly inconsistent. That’s right, even more inconsistent than always. I know what you are thinking. How the heck do you expect to be any good, if you are not going to practice? (Practice? We talking about practice?) Well, the fact is, I don’t expect to be good. I just don’t expect to be this bad.
I had to lift the ban on myself, because I had been long signed up for 3 outings, and I wasn’t about to leave my teammates one player short. I will be playing in 3 outings in an 8 day span, beginning last Friday. Last Friday was the Bar Association outing at Bellewood near Pottstown. Monday, Flag Day, was the Magisterial District Judges outing at Pinecrest, and this coming Saturday will be the “Pastor’s Masters” at Skippack. If my scramble team is going to be any good, I need to be, at worst, the third or fourth best player. Last Friday, we won, and I indeed was the third or fourth best player. Yesterday, we came in somewhere near the middle of the pack, but our best player was not good enough for us to compete with the many ringers around the field.
It will be fun to play at Skippack, which used to be my favorite course. I haven’t seen it in years, so it will be interesting to see what has changed.
If you would like to mention or promote your outings, please post to this blog! I’m still figuring out the technical side of this, so please bear with me.

Bar Association Outing

I had the good fortune to be part of the winning team at the Montgomery Bar Association outing last Friday. The scramble tournament was held at Bellewood, which is about 10 years old and located near Pottstown. This course is a real beauty, with a good layout, excellent greens, and in very good condition.

Primarily responsible for our winning score of 60, 11 under par, was Bobby Harrington, who plays around a scratch at Merion Golf Club. I think Bob would have shot around even par on his own.

Look for some more about Harrington in later posts. He has a ton of great stories about Merion, including his rounds played with notorious golfers Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake.

The outing benefitted Montgomery County Legal Aid, and was well attended by lawyers and their friends.