BuffaloBud Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Rule #1 from bulletin given to all players and posted in locker room - "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. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Rule #1 from bulletin given to all players and posted in locker room - "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. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal." </controversy> Excellent find, Bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Rule #1 from bulletin given to all players and posted in locker room - "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. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal." That's all fine and dandy. Except for the fact that there were thousands of places in the course where it WASN'T considerered a sand trap but had a bare, sandy consistency, often due to spectator traffic. Johnson was able to see about a 5' radius that wasn't completely surrounded by people. David Feherty, who was on the course, has played golf for over four decades and been an on-course commentator for thousands of tournaments, and he said it never even entered his mind that Johnson was in a bunker. The funniest part of showing the replay of the "bunker" was seeing all the golf twits in the crowd wearing their own golf shoes. I guess if you're going to be standing around in bunkers, you might as well wear your spikes. These guys are probably the same nerds who quote golf's quirky rules and try to explain how great they make the game. Golf is enjoyable and all, but some of the rules are without logic. I only wish Johnson would've made that putt, so they would've had to take the trophy away from him. It would've only made a bigger joke of the spectacle, and taken the title from the guy who earned it. What a "sport"!!! Also, I have a beef with enforcing the "grounding the club" rule with a grainy, blown up video in a trailer behind the 18th hole. If the PGA rules official walking with the group called him on it on the spot, that's fine. If it gets enforced after the fact because of something they see on TV, that's b.s. In the end, though, hit it in the fairway Johnson. In the grass, you win. And once you're in the "bunker", to quote the Dude, "This isn't Viet Nam Walter, there are rules." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 That's all fine and dandy. Except for the fact that there were thousands of places in the course where it WASN'T considerered a sand trap but had a bare, sandy consistency, often due to spectator traffic. Johnson was able to see about a 5' radius that wasn't completely surrounded by people. David Feherty, who was on the course, has played golf for over four decades and been an on-course commentator for thousands of tournaments, and he said it never even entered his mind that Johnson was in a bunker. The funniest part of showing the replay of the "bunker" was seeing all the golf twits in the crowd wearing their own golf shoes. I guess if you're going to be standing around in bunkers, you might as well wear your spikes. These guys are probably the same nerds who quote golf's quirky rules and try to explain how great they make the game. Golf is enjoyable and all, but some of the rules are without logic. I only wish Johnson would've made that putt, so they would've had to take the trophy away from him. It would've only made a bigger joke of the spectacle, and taken the title from the guy who earned it. What a "sport"!!! Also, I have a beef with enforcing the "grounding the club" rule with a grainy, blown up video in a trailer behind the 18th hole. If the PGA rules official walking with the group called him on it on the spot, that's fine. If it gets enforced after the fact because of something they see on TV, that's b.s. In the end, though, hit it in the fairway Johnson. In the grass, you win. And once you're in the "bunker", to quote the Dude, "This isn't Viet Nam Walter, there are rules." Golf is pretty much self-enforced, actually. I'm sure Johnson readily admitted that he grounded the club after being told about the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 That's all fine and dandy. Except for the fact that there were thousands of places in the course where it WASN'T considerered a sand trap but had a bare, sandy consistency, often due to spectator traffic. Johnson was able to see about a 5' radius that wasn't completely surrounded by people. David Feherty, who was on the course, has played golf for over four decades and been an on-course commentator for thousands of tournaments, and he said it never even entered his mind that Johnson was in a bunker. Incorrect. That's why the PGA developed the local rule for this tournament only. Because there were so many bunkers on the course they didn't want to get in a pi$$ing contest as to what is a bunker and what is not. So they did the next thing - every sandy hole is a bunker. On point #2, even Feherty did not know the local rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 With all the money and prestige on the line, why wouldn't these golfers take the time to read a one page rules list?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 With all the money and prestige on the line, why wouldn't these golfers take the time to read a one page rules list?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 16, 2010 Author Share Posted August 16, 2010 Incorrect. That's why the PGA developed the local rule for this tournament only. Because there were so many bunkers on the course they didn't want to get in a pi$$ing contest as to what is a bunker and what is not. So they did the next thing - every sandy hole is a bunker. On point #2, even Feherty did not know the local rule. If you look at what you posted earlier it says "All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers". That does not cover every spot of sand on the course. As they were saying on the broadcast yesterday, in order to be a bunker, it needs to have a lip. With where the fans were standing, there was no way he could possibly see a lip. Was it trampled down by the fans during the course of the week? Probably. The big question which I haven't seen answered yet (haven't gone searching for it either) is if there are any waste bunkers anywhere on that course. If not, then Johnson definitely screwed up. But if there are random waste bunker areas scattered throughout that course then there was little to no way of him knowing if that was one or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linksfiend Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 If you look at what you posted earlier it says "All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers". That does not cover every spot of sand on the course. As they were saying on the broadcast yesterday, in order to be a bunker, it needs to have a lip. With where the fans were standing, there was no way he could possibly see a lip. Was it trampled down by the fans during the course of the week? Probably. The big question which I haven't seen answered yet (haven't gone searching for it either) is if there are any waste bunkers anywhere on that course. If not, then Johnson definitely screwed up. But if there are random waste bunker areas scattered throughout that course then there was little to no way of him knowing if that was one or not. Who do you believe? Dye says it was a waste area Dye says it was a bunker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Not every "depression containing sand" is considered a bunker. On some courses, there may be what is called a waste area. These are not maintained (i.e. raked) and you can ground a club in such. That is why the second part of the explanation is there - "This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal." My wife's boss played there about a year ago. I will ask him what the normal rule of play is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 16, 2010 Author Share Posted August 16, 2010 Not every "depression containing sand" is considered a bunker. On some courses, there may be what is called a waste area. These are not maintained (i.e. raked) and you can ground a club in such. That is why the second part of the explanation is there - "This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal." My wife's boss played there about a year ago. I will ask him what the normal rule of play is. If at some point they said every body of sand on this course is a designed bunker, then I'm completely fine with it. Either way though, they screwed up big time with this one and it's a giant black eye for the game. Had Johnson sunk the putt, this would have been right up there with the blown perfect game call earlier this year in MLB (from a pure "shocking turn of events" point of view). Linksfield, I'd love to see the whole quote because it's obvious that one source decided to run with one half and the other went with the second half. A classic case of how the media can spin comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delete This Account Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 His error was ... ok, this was as far as i got in this thread. and Bud makes a good point. however the one overlooked error in all of this was: when you're in the position to win a major, and walking up to the 18th tee, the one thing you should do is NOT HIT the ball so far off the fairway and into a large crowd that you don't know where in god's green earth you just might be standing. i think the actual golfer requires some blame for mis-hitting (and i use that term politely because in my case, that's regarded as not a bad shot ) his tee shot. jw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 ok, this was as far as i got in this thread. and Bud makes a good point. however the one overlooked error in all of this was: when you're in the position to win a major, and walking up to the 18th tee, the one thing you should do is NOT HIT the ball so far off the fairway and into a large crowd that you don't know where in god's green earth you just might be standing. i think the actual golfer requires some blame for mis-hitting (and i use that term politely because in my case, that's regarded as not a bad shot ) his tee shot. jw And the second shot too. I'm not sure of exactly what his options were, but trying to go at the green from that spot wasn't really the brightest move either. A second unnecessary risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 My impressions from all I've heard today is that he is not a very bright guy. Not somebody who would have prepared himself correctly........I really didn't like him from the night before the final round of the US Open, when he was asked about being nervous and he said "I don't get nervous." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Why was Johnson's play reviewed and not every other shot in the tourney? Why did he come under such scrutiny? Because he was near the lead and/or leading? That doesn't seem equitable. If they are going review his and call him out on it... Review every shot in the tourney... I am sure many strokes would get added on to player's scores. Why does the burden solely fall on the leaders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linksfiend Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Why was Johnson's play reviewed and not every other shot in the tourney? Why did he come under such scrutiny? Because he was near the lead and/or leading? That doesn't seem equitable. If they are going review his and call him out on it... Review every shot in the tourney... I am sure many strokes would get added on to player's scores. Why does the burden solely fall on the leaders? I hear stories of people watching TV calling in rules violations all the time. Dustin is actually lucky that it was relayed to him before he signed his scorecard. Otherwise he would've been DQ'd for signing an incorrect scorecard which would've cost him his $270K in earnings and a shitload of Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup points. So yes, those that get the most TV coverage (the leaders and Tiger) are more scrutinized. While maybe it's not exactly equitable, it certainly is fair that the leaders receive increased scrutiny since they're accepting all that TV money. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/golf/news/story?id=5468051 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Why was Johnson's play reviewed and not every other shot in the tourney? Why did he come under such scrutiny? Because he was near the lead and/or leading? That doesn't seem equitable. If they are going review his and call him out on it... Review every shot in the tourney... I am sure many strokes would get added on to player's scores. Why does the burden solely fall on the leaders? To add to what links said, there is always someone watching these guys on the course that knows the rules. Whether it be the playing partner, other caddie, someone in the crowd, a rules violation generally isn't going to be missed. While there may be more eyes on the leader on Sunday, even the last place guy would probably have been penalized for the same shot. Golf is a gentlemens game, the players call a rules violation on themselves more often then they have one called on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Why was Johnson's play reviewed and not every other shot in the tourney? Why did he come under such scrutiny? Because he was near the lead and/or leading? That doesn't seem equitable. If they are going review his and call him out on it... Review every shot in the tourney... I am sure many strokes would get added on to player's scores. Why does the burden solely fall on the leaders? He was in the last group on the course and had sole possession of the lead, so obviously everyone is watching his every move. What he did was blatantly obvious while watching live, so anyone watching with the rules in mind was going to catch it. The replays were run over and over by the officials so that they could show it to him and put to rest any protest he might have. edit: And with what Linksfield said about signing the card, that is the one rule that needs to go. In these events anyway, that is the biggest dinosaur there is. It's about as useful as the official status that a goal judge used to have in hockey. Luckily the NHL removed their impact on the game years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linksfiend Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Another example of a TV viewer calling in a rules violation - with a few extra examples tossed-in at the bottom http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/TV-viewer-busts-Juli-Inkster-gets-her-DQ-d-from?urn=golf-264211 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Another example of a TV viewer calling in a rules violation - with a few extra examples tossed-in at the bottom http://sports.yahoo....urn=golf-264211 Now THAT is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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