I have been asked for my personal comment on the Lexi Thompson penalty, and in this instance, feel obliged to do so for two reasons, first because it was, in many respects very debatable, and second because I feel strongly about the issue of armchair referees.
For reference the Rules of Golf define, in part ; “Referee A “referee” is one who is appointed by the Committee to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules. He must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him.” There are slightly different duties for Match Play.
An “armchair referee” is not a person appointed by the Committee and in my opinion, the Rules of Golf do not contemplate that the “reporting” of a breach would emanate from outside the venue of the competition.
Using a technology — designed to provide enhanced entertainment with fantastic slow-motion HD visuals of ball compression at impact, facial expressions of both the thrill of conquest, the heartbreak of misfortune, or the grains of sand as the ball explodes from a bunker — to override that which we consider sacrosanct i.e. the integrity of the golfer, is inappropriate and violates the very fundamental essence of the game.
Let’s try to protect the Spirit of the Game which relies on integrity of the golfer, to not only show consideration for others but to abide by the Rules. Hence, we have no need for referees or umpires – except in major events to help the competitor interpret the rules — we are those people.
We play golf to satisfy a subconscious urge to evaluate ourselves while in the pleasant company of other likeminded people, in an attractive environment. The rules lend order to this wonderful activity but let’s make sure we apply them appropriately knowing what it is that we are trying to protect.
I encourage you to leave your comments below.
Frank
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3rd April 2017 Post: Lexi Thompson Penalty
Dear Frankly Friends,
Yesterday we witnessed yet another rules drama at a major championship.
We would like to hear what you think about the four-stroke penalty that Lexi Thompson was assessed on the 13th tee of the final round, after a TV viewer emailed the LPGA to alert them to a rules infraction they had seen on TV the previous day.
We are very interested in hearing what you have to say about this issue. Please share your thoughts by replying below.
Governing bodies of golf are destroying the game with their rulings. There are several areas of concerns and recommendations I have to eliminate the farces that have occurred: only rules officials, a player, a fellow player or a caddy in the group should be allowed to be involved in any rules questions; a rules official should also sign scorecard after players certifying the result at which time it is final; prompt implementation of proposed rule changes regarding these areas.
Agree that current enforcement is not a level playing field unless all players are subject to the same scrutiny as the leaders which is virtually impossible.
Rules are to ensure the integrity of the game, not a game of gotcha.
At least Sue Witters was contrite and apologetic unlike the USGA official in the DJ incident last year who was completely full of himself.
It was the proper and “only” ruling. She should know how to mark a ball by now because she’s a professional. Had she re-marked that way on the lip of the cup, her ball would have then fallen in saving her one stroke. Anna Nordquist got screwed even worse last year by a HiDef replay.
Learn the Rules if you’re gonna play the game. More hilarity: https://twitter.com/alisonlee/status/848689615091376129
If an organization is to implement some form of :instant replay” there has to be some parameters on its usage. Do I get to call into NFL headquarters to complain about a pass interference call, missed by the officials on the field. much as I would like to. Just one more ridiculous decision by an inept organization.
It’s nice to know that we are working on the rules to preclude this unfortunate situation from happening in the future. Both penalties do not seem to be in the spirit of our game as well nor make it attractive as well as exacerbating slow play.
Golf Officials continue to make an asses of themselves and hurt the game of golf. Participation in the game is down and the younger generation has to look at something like this and think what a stupid game!!
Penalties should only be able to be assessed on the day of play and should only be assessed by players and officials of that tournament. Also, to penalize her 2 strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard is flat wrong. The card she signed was correct at the time.
Nobody who is not on the golf course should be allowed to report a rules infraction. Only a few players will be showing on TV and they are unfairly exposed to public scrutiny. The field should all have the same opportunity, and TV reportage of infractions violates the principal
A viewer should not be allowed to contact the officials about anything they see on TV. Only the playing partners or officials observing the players should be the only ones to call a penalty on the player.
1. It’s inappropriate for any Tom, Dick or Harry to be allowed to play television referee. How many times, now, has this happened? I can think of all the way back to when Paul Azinger improved his stance in a water hazard. Only the players and rules officials should have any say – not home viewers, not even TV crew members working the telecast. Just those playing in the tournament and officiating it.
2. The two-stroke penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard was totally uncalled for. At the time Lexi signed it, it was correct. The penalty for not properly replacing her ball after marking it wasn’t assessed until the following day.
3. The sanctimonious USGA talks about identifying who they call “the best golfer,” The Dustin Johnson calamity aside (while the best golfer, he was targeted because he didn’t fit their profile), the USGA seems to be especially discriminatory against women, starting with Jackie Pung in 1957.
It will be interesting to see what kind of feedback you get from your readers, but I’m more interested in what you two think, especially you, Frank, having been with the USGA for so long.
I’m bummed for Lexi, I’m not thrilled with the armchair official who sent the e-mail, and I support the proposed change in the 2019 rules that would have obviated this situation. But I’m also supporting the LPGA rules officials. They did what they had to do, even though they didn’t like it, because Lexi clearly replaced her ball incorrectly.
If she was focused enough to get the line right on the ball or whatever she did when she lifted it, she should have been focused enough to replace the ball properly. The problem, perhaps, was that she did all that from above the ball rather than behind it.
I don’t think she did anything wrong on purpose, rather it was a lapse of focus. She will not do that again, I’m certain.
In the meantime she comported herself well, as did the eventual and rightful champion, So Yeon Ryu.
TV viewers should not be allowed to call in rule violations period. If the player their caddie or the other players and caddies did not notice the infraction and continue to play it is done. To many time cameramen, viewers, etc. have impacted the game.
Call ins should not be allowed! There are officials on course and golf is an honorable game. There was no intent to gain advantage. There is no other sport where an outside influence is allowed. Call ins have to go!
I agree with you in principle of logic, but unfortunately, not in fact.
Lexi did sign an incorrect card, because she should have noticed the error, and applied the penalty to herself. It is the players responsibility. Hard fact, but true. If she had, it would only be a two shot penalty and she would have won. I absolutely think it was unintentional, but that doesn’t change the fact. Under the circumstances, the officials had no choice. She should have been informed sooner, though.
I do agree that these calls/texts/emails/whatever from viewers should not be allowed.
if she had noticed the error, she would not have committed it. golf is an honorable game. if it does not in fact confer an advantage, and was not intended to confer an advantage, why penalize it? and why that much later?
it’s ludicrous.
what’s worse is that the level of risk for additional scrutiny is not even: better players, and players on the leaderboard are on TV more often, and thus more often subject to armchair referees (the Tiger problem).
last, players know who the cheaters are (that’s who you are really after), and watch them carefully to make sure they aren’t cheating. They should not be afraid to call officials over if there is something amiss.
my two cents.
Make it a rule that you can only mark your ball on the green once, unless your playing partner requests you are in their line. Too many kick-in’s are being marked on the tours, with subsequent 5-6 hour rounds.
franklygolf 
Governing bodies of golf are destroying the game with their rulings. There are several areas of concerns and recommendations I have to eliminate the farces that have occurred: only rules officials, a player, a fellow player or a caddy in the group should be allowed to be involved in any rules questions; a rules official should also sign scorecard after players certifying the result at which time it is final; prompt implementation of proposed rule changes regarding these areas.
Agree that current enforcement is not a level playing field unless all players are subject to the same scrutiny as the leaders which is virtually impossible.
Rules are to ensure the integrity of the game, not a game of gotcha.
At least Sue Witters was contrite and apologetic unlike the USGA official in the DJ incident last year who was completely full of himself.
It was the proper and “only” ruling. She should know how to mark a ball by now because she’s a professional. Had she re-marked that way on the lip of the cup, her ball would have then fallen in saving her one stroke. Anna Nordquist got screwed even worse last year by a HiDef replay.
Learn the Rules if you’re gonna play the game. More hilarity: https://twitter.com/alisonlee/status/848689615091376129
If an organization is to implement some form of :instant replay” there has to be some parameters on its usage. Do I get to call into NFL headquarters to complain about a pass interference call, missed by the officials on the field. much as I would like to. Just one more ridiculous decision by an inept organization.
It’s nice to know that we are working on the rules to preclude this unfortunate situation from happening in the future. Both penalties do not seem to be in the spirit of our game as well nor make it attractive as well as exacerbating slow play.
Golf Officials continue to make an asses of themselves and hurt the game of golf. Participation in the game is down and the younger generation has to look at something like this and think what a stupid game!!
Penalties should only be able to be assessed on the day of play and should only be assessed by players and officials of that tournament. Also, to penalize her 2 strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard is flat wrong. The card she signed was correct at the time.
Unless everyone is scutinized equally by armchair peeps, this should have been thrown out as an option to penalize Lexi. This was wrong.
Absolutely!!!
Nobody who is not on the golf course should be allowed to report a rules infraction. Only a few players will be showing on TV and they are unfairly exposed to public scrutiny. The field should all have the same opportunity, and TV reportage of infractions violates the principal
A viewer should not be allowed to contact the officials about anything they see on TV. Only the playing partners or officials observing the players should be the only ones to call a penalty on the player.
Wholeheartedly agree with all comments regarding unfairness of armchair officials.
The proposed new rules change will handle this.
They will not go into effect until 2019!!
I have three thoughts:
1. It’s inappropriate for any Tom, Dick or Harry to be allowed to play television referee. How many times, now, has this happened? I can think of all the way back to when Paul Azinger improved his stance in a water hazard. Only the players and rules officials should have any say – not home viewers, not even TV crew members working the telecast. Just those playing in the tournament and officiating it.
2. The two-stroke penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard was totally uncalled for. At the time Lexi signed it, it was correct. The penalty for not properly replacing her ball after marking it wasn’t assessed until the following day.
3. The sanctimonious USGA talks about identifying who they call “the best golfer,” The Dustin Johnson calamity aside (while the best golfer, he was targeted because he didn’t fit their profile), the USGA seems to be especially discriminatory against women, starting with Jackie Pung in 1957.
It will be interesting to see what kind of feedback you get from your readers, but I’m more interested in what you two think, especially you, Frank, having been with the USGA for so long.
Bruce Robertson
>
Amen
Absolutely Ludicrous! The tours should reject ANY report from an outside source where the violation can only be discovered by video.
I’m bummed for Lexi, I’m not thrilled with the armchair official who sent the e-mail, and I support the proposed change in the 2019 rules that would have obviated this situation. But I’m also supporting the LPGA rules officials. They did what they had to do, even though they didn’t like it, because Lexi clearly replaced her ball incorrectly.
If she was focused enough to get the line right on the ball or whatever she did when she lifted it, she should have been focused enough to replace the ball properly. The problem, perhaps, was that she did all that from above the ball rather than behind it.
I don’t think she did anything wrong on purpose, rather it was a lapse of focus. She will not do that again, I’m certain.
In the meantime she comported herself well, as did the eventual and rightful champion, So Yeon Ryu.
TV viewers should not be allowed to call in rule violations period. If the player their caddie or the other players and caddies did not notice the infraction and continue to play it is done. To many time cameramen, viewers, etc. have impacted the game.
I see this as two terrible rules issues.
1) Unless all shots from every player in the field are able to be scrutinized by armchair officials then no outside officiating should be allowed.
2) She did not sign an incorrect card as the penalty had not yet been applied. As far as she was aware, the card was correct when signed.
Call ins should not be allowed! There are officials on course and golf is an honorable game. There was no intent to gain advantage. There is no other sport where an outside influence is allowed. Call ins have to go!
Totally agree.
Agreed!
Fully agree with this. The penalty, the timing of the penalty, all do a disservice to the game.
I agree with you in principle of logic, but unfortunately, not in fact.
Lexi did sign an incorrect card, because she should have noticed the error, and applied the penalty to herself. It is the players responsibility. Hard fact, but true. If she had, it would only be a two shot penalty and she would have won. I absolutely think it was unintentional, but that doesn’t change the fact. Under the circumstances, the officials had no choice. She should have been informed sooner, though.
I do agree that these calls/texts/emails/whatever from viewers should not be allowed.
What about spectators following the players?
oh, c’mon, guy.
if she had noticed the error, she would not have committed it. golf is an honorable game. if it does not in fact confer an advantage, and was not intended to confer an advantage, why penalize it? and why that much later?
it’s ludicrous.
what’s worse is that the level of risk for additional scrutiny is not even: better players, and players on the leaderboard are on TV more often, and thus more often subject to armchair referees (the Tiger problem).
last, players know who the cheaters are (that’s who you are really after), and watch them carefully to make sure they aren’t cheating. They should not be afraid to call officials over if there is something amiss.
my two cents.
Make it a rule that you can only mark your ball on the green once, unless your playing partner requests you are in their line. Too many kick-in’s are being marked on the tours, with subsequent 5-6 hour rounds.