• The Clubhouse

  • Oh good lord - The USGA President, the gift that keeps on giving

I agree, so if a player is not in contention they don't have the camera scrutiny a contender has, very biased.

I agree, Ack. I just wish they'd unhook the phones at these host clubs Thursday morning and plug 'em back in Monday morning. It isn't equitable imo. If it takes a high-def zoomed lens that's magnified 1000x to detect an infraction, then stop zooming in on the ball and let the players determine if something inequitable took place with the naked eye.

Otherwise set up these cameras on every hole so they can monitor every player, and have rules officials in the rules trailer tasked to watch every swing.

The USGA has never looked more incompetent and irrelevant imo.

Same as in DJ's incident, the call to the USGA, about a possible infraction, came from the Fox commentators!! A cameraman spied it and reported to them. Good going again, Paul!!!

I was more bothered by the USGA again inserting themselves into a championship by issuing a time warning to the last group. They were out of position because of Lydia's lost ball situation. Once put on the clock, all three were two over for the next three holes and were running between shots. There was no one behind them and they were not out of position because of a delay that was within the Rules. They continually stick there bow ties into where they do not belong.

Diana Murphy obviously has issues with public speaking... and if she plans on staying on there for any length of time, she needs to fix that. Or else have someone else do the ceremonial presentation afterward, which is a much better idea than having her make the USGA look even more incompetent than they already are.

And although I think the women play much too slowly, I also agree with Dr. Bill. The USGA didn't need to get involved with that in that particular situation, especially as it pertains to being the last group in the final round of a major. They just seem to demand being the center of attention.

Release Beware some of those might like you so much will follow you here.
With a different hat.

I wear the same hat.

      azgreg I wear the same hat.

      Me too, but occasionally I like to be called Zupps, for old times sake
      😉

        I agree that it should apply to everyone...even though the camera just being on the ones in contention. BUT, I can honestly say that every time I have been in the trap I could either 'feel' the sand or see the sand move...EVERY TIME! If a Tour Pro that especially depends on 'feel' and cannot feel the sand or see the sand move...I say B.S.!

          Bangoman

          I understand what you're getting at. In this particular instance, I'm not sure there was enough sand being contacted by the club (the replay showed maybe 1-2 grains of fluffed-up sand being contacted) that would've been detected by the player. I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt when she says she didn't know.

          That said, as an amateur who actively competes in tournaments throughout the course of a season, I'm personally aware of that type of situation. I take extra precaution when I'm in a hazard of any sort by giving myself an additional 3-4 inches of leeway, just to make sure I'm nowhere near grounding my club. When I'm practicing my putting stroke aside of the ball - I make sure I'm far enough away to not inadvertently make contact with it. When I'm grounding my putter behind the ball and taking my stance - I make sure to give myself 3-4 inches of room between the ball and the putter face, just so I better ensure that I don't inadvertently touch the ball or cause it to move.

          I'm not competing for majors and millions of dollars. I'm competing for pride and a chance to win maybe a hundred bucks of pro-shop credit. Yet I still exercise a little awareness in those situations.

          Nordqvist was just careless in that situation, and although the penalty seems extremely harsh for something that seemed so trivial - she understood the rules and agreed to play by them. And kudos to her for accepting responsibility and taking it on the chin. There've been a few instances in the past when this has happened (Wie) and it wasn't accepted nearly as well, if memory serves anyway.

            mcavoy

            Bethany Lang! Good grief. Her senseless diatribe at the men's event was just as bad. I now wonder if she is a token placed in the job after the last president called Ian Poulter a girl (even tho he dresses like one).

              USGA needs to right the ship quickly. They are looking like a bunch of hacks.

              They're too busy worrying about the new executive suites being refurbished in Far Hills, NJ to be bothered with what the public thinks. Maybe that'll change when the dues revenues dry up, but not until then.

              But based on the overwhelmingly negative commentary that I'm reading on golf websites, not to mention what I'm hearing firsthand from many of my fellow members at my club, that might be sooner rather than later. I stopped my membership 5 years ago, when it became obvious that they're more concerned about how the top 1% of the most skilled golfers on the planet are making the game look rather than considering the other 99% who actually keep the industry afloat.

              They could resolve that problem by instituting a new regulated equipment standard for touring professionals and keeping amateur equipment standards for non-USGA sanctioned events as-is, but then that would mean they'd have to concede that they didn't have the foresight to plan ahead for how the game would evolve over the past decade for the most elite players.

              Don't even get me started on the asinine idea that guys who can't play but one round per week and play as a single during the non-peak times can no longer (per the rules) technically maintain a handicap, since they're no longer permitted to post scores without those rounds having been played with another player.

              Talk about out of touch...

                I'm not sure using zoomed in HD TV to call an infraction is the way to go. Although it didn't apply in this case the golfers on TV more often are at a disadvantage.

                The recent USGA events highlight the problem of too many rules where there is no intention and the infraction would not have changed the outcome.