Pins, Grounding And Suspending Play
Lawrence Donegan (here) and Steve Elling (here) sum up the player complaints from Friday's second round. They fall into two categories: hole locations and suspending play.
From what I saw of the course, the holes were fairly reasonable and not cut on high spots as several players have claimed. There were undoubtedly a few very difficult locations, like the 11th, which was almost inaccessible along with the 8th and 10th on high spots. But does every hole location have to be accessible? I think not.
As for the decision to suspend play and restart in conditions that soon were just as bad as they were when play was stopped? That's a trickier proposition.
I'm not buying the "they did it for Tiger" conspiratorial venting of players who were understandably cranky about getting in their playing zone and then having to pull up, only to face the same or worse winds when they went back to the course.
The issue of green speed is certainly on the table in this debate since the greens look faster than they were in practice rounds and it takes so little to put these greens over the edge. But ultimately, this may just be about the quirkiness of the rules of golf, as Bob Harig notes.
The reason for such consternation over a golf ball that rolls is the penalty that can be incurred if you ground your club. A player who rests his putter behind a ball is deemed to have moved the ball if the wind blows it.
"I understand the rule, but it's such an unfair rule because you haven't really done anything wrong and the ball starts to roll and you incur a penalty," said Trevor Immelman, who shot 74. "That was the kind of thing you had to be careful of today."
Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 01:51 AM
Reader Comments (8)
I was on the course when the suspension took place, during the suspension, and until the end of play, so....
When play was resumed, the wind was ONLY marginally less.
The 11th green was the problem (I am sure balls were oscillating on several other greens), as balls were literally being pushed by the wind. BUT.... Upon the resumption of play 65 minutes later, the wind direction had changed about 30 degrees.
So, what is the significance of this of this? Rather then the wind blowing straight down the slope on the 11th green, it was now blowing across the slope, and the balls were no longer being moved by the wind.
TV FAILED to mention this, I was the ONLY one who took notice.
OF course I made that point quite clear on BBC Radio 5Live!!!!
Yes, of course, I know competition requires these very tedious matters. But I seriously disdain anything that diminishes the pure joy of playing.
The problem isn't just after the address, it is when trying to replace the ball if it won't come to rest.
Really? That's what your Grandma thought when the Internet was adopted by the masses back in the mid-ninties. I have NO PROBLEM with posters here, there and everywhere using all caps as a means of emphasis. In other programs, we have the advantage of using underlining, italics and bold print. However, when I see a poster using EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! to for emphasis, I tend to think they're attempting to make UNexciting writing.... MORE exciting.
Now to my question for the board. WHAT CONSTITUTES "GROUNDING" A PUTTER? Say I'm playing in the wind and don't feel comfortable "hovering" my putter above the ground. Can I ground the putter, say FIVE INCHES behind the ball and if it moves no penalty? What about two inches... one inch?
What if I address the ball and ground the putter. The ball starts to oscillate in the wind so I walk away without marking. FIVE MINUTES passes and ONLY THEN does the wind blow the ball a few inches from its original spot. I'm STILL penalized? Crazy.
Oh, by the way, there is a penalty if the ball moves after you've addressed the ball. See 18-2b.
Addressing the Ball
A player has "addressed the ball" when he has taken his stance and has also grounded his club, except that in a hazard a player has addressed the ball when he has taken his stance.