A ball moving after it has been addressed would not necessarily result in penalty
The United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient, the governing body for golf in Europe, are considering a change to the rule that cost Webb Simpson the Zurich Classic title on Sunday.
Simpson’s infraction came on the 15th green when he grounded his club as he prepared to tap-in a par. The ball moved, though not as a result of his grounding the club, according to Simpson and playing partner Bubba Watson. After Simpson lost in a playoff to Watson, Simpson called the rule “dumb.”
Monday at Congressional Country Club, USGA executive committee member Tom O’Toole said that a change to rule 18-2B is under consideration. He said the proposal has been in the works a while and is not a result of the controversy with Simpson.
The change would allow players to determine if the ball moved because of natural forces – gravity or wind. If so, the player can replace his ball in its original spot without penalty. The current rule calls for a one-stroke penalty.
With the faster greens used in modern golf, balls are more apt to move, creating more circumstances where players are penalized. The new rule would make the player responsible for making judgment call, and perhaps spark more controversy.
“There are a lot of areas of the rules that have those judgments – intent,” O’Toole said. “So I think this is a better place to be than penalizing players unfairly.”
The USGA and R&A will decide whether to adopt the new rule at the Walker Cup in September. It would go into effect no sooner than next year.
Listening to O’Toole, it sounded as though it was a done deal.
“This is better change,” O’Toole said. “All this video, we’ve got this information available to us. We have to react to it.”
