For you golfers to discuss.

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hallamblue said:
Having seen the footage it's hard to see the infraction. The pitch mark/spike mark thing is a red herring. Pro golfers are allowed to repair pitch marks and spike marks on their lines. It looked to me like she was lining up the maker's name, which is common. There is no way you could have gained an advantage there.
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tadao said:
Don't think you can repair spike marks mate.
We lost a Ryder cup once because Bernhard Langer had to put over one and it knocked the ball off course.
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This was put out there after an incident with Sergio Garcia awhile ago.


Explainer: Here's what you can and can't do on the green, and why those rules exist in the first place

Sergio Garcia did not tap down spike marks on his putting line on Thursday at the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi. But what if he had? And what's the big deal with tapping down spike marks, anyway? To answer the first question: It's a violation of Rule 16-1a and comes with a two-shot penalty in stroke play (loss of hole in match play).

Related: The 9 Most Notable Rule Changes

The tournament committee could have also disqualified Garcia if they felt he had gained a significant advantage by tapping down the spike marks. That would be considered a serious breach of the rules. The European Tour's Simon Dyson was disqualified at the BMW Masters in October after tapping down spike marks.

To answer the second question: It's a big deal because you're essentially improving your line of play (a violation of Rule 13-1) and making it easier for you to hole out. To quote Richard Tufts from his 1960 book The Principles Behind the Rules of Golf, "this simply means that the player must accept the conditions he encounters during play and may not alter them to suit his convenience." It would be like pressing down a channel from your ball's position to the hole so it can roll into the cup like a gutterball in bowling. Rules makers generally frown upon improving course conditions so you can score better. Remember that.

And on a more practical note, imagine how slow rounds would become if golfers were allowed to repair all the little marks and indentations on each green. OK, so what CAN you do on a putting green on your line of putt? Here are six:

  1. You can remove loose impediments. Things such as sand, soil, stones, twigs, insects, and goose droppings. You can remove these things any way you want, provided you don't press anything down into the turf or test the surface.
  2. You can repair those little craters created when a ball hits the green.
  3. You can repair old hole plugs created when the superintendent's staff move the cup from location to another.
  4. You can place your putter down in front of your ball when you address it (remember, don't press down).
  5. You can touch the line in the process of measuring, lifting or replacing your ball or to remove a moveable obstruction such as a coin left on the green by the group in front of you.
  6. Once you putt out, provided you aren't aiding a fellow competitor with his or her putt, you can tap down spike marks, fix a damaged hole (sometimes a part of the circumference caves in) or push the hole liner back down (they sometimes get pulled up when the flagstick is removed.
And here's what you can't do:

  1. Repair any damage other than hole plugs or ball marks. This includes any indentations created by the 275-pound guy playing in the group in front of you.
  2. Touch your line of putt for any other reason than the ones listed above.
  3. Test the surface by rolling a ball, scraping or roughening the grass.
  4. Sweep away casual water, dew or frost.
 
Elong said:
Who's to say the person emailing in didn't have a massive wedge on the other player, or was working for a betting syndicate?

All a bit dodgy.
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Mmmm never thought of that! Still a fkin grass though.
 

LouReedwalkonthewildside said:
The penalty was given after a viewer watching it on telly spotted it and emailed in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/39476590

I reckon she knows what she's doing when she places the ball marker to the side of the ball instead of behind it (she reckon she never realised she had did it) she then picks up the ball and places it back down in front of the marker, I know the arguement will be how can she be gaining an advantage from something as little as half an inch, but if there is a pitch mark or spike mark in front of her ball then she gains an advantage by moving it sideways. It's only a 2 foot putt and at first she's not going to mark it, then for some reason she does.



ANA Inspiration: Lexi Thompson loses play-off following four-stroke penalty

American Lexi Thompson was left in tears after being handed a four-stroke penalty while leading the final round of the first major of the season - and then losing a play-off to So Yeon Ryu.

She incorrectly replaced a marked ball in Saturday's third round - a TV viewer spotted the offence and told officials.

Thompson was leading the ANA Inspiration by two shots when told of the penalty after her 12th hole.

She birdied the 18th to force a play-off which Ryu won at the first hole.

Thompson, 22, had missed a 20-foot eagle putt on the last that would have given her a sensational victory at Mission Hills in California.

Thompson appeared to put a marker at the side of her ball on the 17th green before lifting it and replacing in front of the marker prior to a putt of less than two feet.

The LPGA said she "breached Rule 20-7c (Playing From Wrong Place), and received a two-stroke penalty. She incurred an additional two-stroke penalty under Rule 6-6d for returning an incorrect scorecard in round three."

Her five-under-par third-round 67 was changed to a 71.

"Is this a joke?" Thompson said after being informed by a rules official, before making birdies on three of the last six holes to force the play-off.

"It is unfortunate with what happened, I did not mean that at all, I had no idea that I did it," Thompson later told the Golf Channel.

"I had to regroup myself, my caddie helped me out tremendously, we have a great relationship. I tried to gather myself and I made a great putt at 13.

"But it's all to the fans, they helped me get through the rest of the round and I thank them a lot.

"I learned a lot about myself and how much I have in me. I wasn't expecting what happened today to happen and I will learn from it."

South Korean Ryu was the beneficiary as she claimed a second major title after making a four in the play-off, but admitted her win did not feel right.

"I cannot believe the situation. I didn't even check the leaderboard, Lexi was playing so well. I didn't expect it," she said.

"It hurts me as well, it is a weird feeling but at the same time I am proud of myself."
The LPGA said in a statement: "On Sunday afternoon, the LPGA received an email from a television viewer that Lexi Thompson did not properly replace her ball prior to putting out on the 17th hole during Saturday's third round of the ANA Inspiration.

"She was immediately notified of the breach by LPGA Rules Committee in between holes 12 and 13 of the final round."

And LPGA Tour rules official Sue Witters, who had to break the news to a stunned Thompson, said she understood the outrage of fans but insisted no other option was available.

"What's my choice?" she said. "A violation in the rules and then it would be the opposite story: Oh, they knew, why didn't they do anything about it.

"I can't go to bed tonight knowing that I let a rule slide. You know, it's a hard thing to do, and it made me sick to be honest with you."


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thems the rules, then theme the rules. Football should enforce their rules as strictly
 
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