We Are With You Lexi: TV And The Rules Of Golf

     I wasn't going to post today, but it happened again. The golf world was rocked by what seemed to be a violation of the rules of golf in a televised golf tournament. The rule was not picked up by the rules committee but was sent in from a viewer on TV.  In my opinion, this should not be.  Let the players play and the rules committee be the ones that pick up any rules violations at the time the violation was committed--on site and in a timely manner.  Rules decisions should not come from or be suggested by those would be rules experts sitting at home on a couch wanting to gain fame by bragging they were the ones that caught a certain rule violation in a given tournament that cost a player a win.
      A lot comes into play here.  Those of us that play the great game of golf know that it is not a game of total accuracy.  There is a lot of guesswork and estimation.  I don't have a rangefinder for example and estimated distances.  There is no way that I can mark my ball on a green and return it to the exact spot that I marked it at.  There is a tolerance of a few millimeters, but at least the mark is close. I didn't see Lexi Thompson and where she had marked the ball, but where she replaced the ball had to be close. What's next? Do we start using GPS to determine the exact location of where a ball came to rest and where we are marking it? You talk about slow play.  Here it is.  You have to rely on the player's sound judgement and most players at that level are not going to cheat especially on something as small as marking your ball on the green.  Lexi is a person of high reputation and wouldn't do that.
     There is another point that can be made here.  The rules of golf and official rules book are kind of like the IRS tax code.  There are a lot of them and some actually contradict themselves. Is it going to get to the point that a player is breaking the rules of golf by simply stepping onto the golf course or by putting the tee in the ground?  Is that what it is coming to and is TV going to be the medium by which this absurdity is ushered into tournament golf?  How important is it that some person sitting at home with a rule book in their hand can have that much power.  It just shouldn't be, especially when that rule book is so complex.
     We all know that golf is a unique game. The way golf plays their competitive game is unique itself.  Golf tournaments are four day events.  This is different from other sports such as baseball, basketball and football.  When the game is over, the game is over.  These games have rule instant replays, but when the game is stopped and the decision on the rule is made, that's it.  The game goes on. When the buzzer sounds, the gun goes off ending the game or the last out is made in the ninth inning the game is over.  Can you imagine a controversial game winning home run being called back because of a decision made the day after the game?
     Lexi's supposed rule violation was on Saturday, but was assessed on Sunday.  Not only was she penalized for the wrong spot two strokes, but was penalized another two strokes for signing an inaccurate scorecard, which she was not aware of being inaccurate.  Had she been informed by the rules committee that she indeed was being assessed a two stroke penalty for not placing her ball at the right spot on the green before she signed her card on Saturday, I would be good to go on that. However, the penalty was assessed on Sunday on both the spot and the scorecard.  It was also sent in by a viewer on TV.  Why have a rules committee?
     I totally understand that the rules are an important part of the game of golf. They should be enforced.  But let's be reasonable about this.  We are human and do make mistakes.  However, shouldn't those mistakes have an expiration clause.  When a round of golf is completed, its finished and move on to the next day.  Behaviors have time limits and when a player holes out on the eighteenth hole, times up and on to the next day.  If it hasn't been observed or assessed by those involved, its too late.  Golfers are pretty good at assessing penalties on themselves and policing their games. There should be no third parties in golf.
     One last thing that has to be mentioned.  Lexi is to be applauded by how she handled this.  Yes, golf is about emotion and she certainly showed disappointment but she accepted what had happened with grace.  There was no blaming the other guy.  You showed a lot of class Lexi.  That's what golf is all about.

Ah yes, tournament golf. No TV cameras at this event.