We
are all aware that Rule 4-4a deals with the requirement that a player may not
start a stipulated round with more than fourteen clubs in his/her bag.
This
appears quite clear but does raise the interesting question on when a player
actually starts the round.
In the 2010-2011
Decisions Book, Decision 4-4a/6 read:
Excess Club Put in Player's Golf Bag After Player Has Counted
His Clubs at 1st Tee; Error Discovered After Player Has Started Round
Q. A arrives at the 1st
tee, counts his clubs and confirms that he is carrying 14. He then removes his
driver from his golf bag, leaves the bag beside the tee and checks in with the
starter. At this point, X, a player in another match or group, by mistake puts
his putter in A's golf bag, which was identical to X's bag. A then drives from
the 1st tee. During play of the 1st hole, A discovers that X's club has been
put in his (A's) golf bag. Does A incur a penalty for starting the round with
more than 14 clubs?
A. Yes.
Thus the distinction between reporting to the starter ready to begin the round and actually playing the first shot was made quite clear: the round did not begin until the first shot was played.
In the circumstances
this was a ludicrous distinction, and, thereby, Decision. It meant that a
player who was on the tee awaiting his/her turn to play after the starting time of
the group could be penalised for a club placed in his/her bag without his/her
knowledge subsequent to his/her entering on to the tee.
In the 2012-2013
Decisions Book, this Decisions states:
4-4a/6
Excess Club Put in Player's Golf Bag
Excess Club Put in Player's Golf Bag
Q. A arrives at the 1st
tee. After the match or group’s starting time while A
is preparing to play his tee shot, B, his opponent or fellow-competitor, by
mistake places his driver in A’s bag, which results in A having 15 clubs. A then
drives from the 1st tee. During play of the 1st hole, A discovers that B’s club
has been put in his (A’s) golf bag. Does A incur a penalty for starting the round
with more than 14 clubs?
A. No. Although A
started the round with more than 14 clubs, A is not considered
to have selected B’s club for play for the following reasons:
•
the additional club was added to his bag by B on the 1st tee,
•
the club was added after the match or group’s time of starting, and
•
the club had already been selected for play by B.
Therefore
A incurs no penalty, provided he does not make a stroke with B’s club.
The club may be returned to B and used by him.
The
decision would be different, and A would be penalised under Rule 4-4a,
if:
•
the additional club had belonged to a player in another match or group,
•
the club had been added before A’s match or group arrived on the tee, or
•
the club had been added before A’s match or group’s time of starting.
So, to the credit of
The Castle, common sense prevailed and the ridiculous situation arising from
the 2010-2011 Decision was modified to provide that a player who had counted
his/her clubs and had reported to the starter (or was actually on the tee waiting
to play in turn) would not be held accountable for actions of others which
occurred after that point.
But in revising the
2010-2011 Decision it seems that the CDs could not help themselves; instead of simply
saying ‘no penalty’ they just had to complicate matters.
The final paragraph
of the Decisions states that if the club which had been added did not belong to
a member of the player’s group, ‘the decision would be different’ and the
player ‘would be penalised’!
This would apply
whether the person adding the club to the player’s bag was a caddie, a
spectator, an official, or some other extraneous person.
Is there anyone who
can proffer an explanation for this incredible proviso?
In my view this is not just a dodgy decision: it is quite bizarre.
No comments:
Post a Comment