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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Watching the AT&T National yesterday and was amazed at the blatent exploitation of the rules to get personal advantage which raised a question:
Is what Charlie Wie did to get on to the green a fair use of the rules or do you think he broke the unwritten laws about playing in the spirit of the game???
When you're in the rough off the side of the green should you be allowed to demand relief from a sprinkler head because it 'might' affect your stance and then deliberately go one club length towards another sprinkler head so that you can then get relief from that which lets you drop on the edge of the green.........
Doesn't seem right to me but I might be outdated. Who think if the rules are there it's fair game to use them however you can to get ahead?
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Roger Marsland
Handicap: 36
Hampshire
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 41
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I think that what we all need to bear in mind is that whatever decisions we take on the course we are eventually beholden to the "golfing gods"! They got Mr Wie back by making sure that he bogied the 18th, slipped down the leaderboard and lost a lot of dollars as a result!.
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Laurie Rinker
Handicap: 0
SE
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It may seem he is taking advantage of the rules. When playing tournament golf it is very important to have a great knowledge of the rules. Sometimes the rules can work in your favor and you can still be within the rules. Laurie
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Hi Laurie, I accept what you are saying and he was clearly within the rules so I guess it comes down to whether you would take advantage of the rules like he did.
For me I'd say definitely not in a game with friends (I'd never hear the end of it!), definitely in a grudge match or when finding myself playing with someone I didn't particularly like, so a competition is probably in the middle - would I want to win so much I'd use the rules so blatently to my advantage. I don't know :)
PS. I remember Nick Faldo (now Sir Nick) getting to the 18th in something like the Open and doing a similar thing - his approach shot meant he had to play over a bunker with little green to work with so he claimed the scaffold grandstand was 'interfering with his play' - not his swing, not his stance but it was he claimed in his vision. The commentators said he can't do that, but the regulations official said he could. Result - he was allowed to move the ball far enough around to take the bunker out of play much to the astonishment of everyone. Allowable, yes, right, I don't think so.
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TSG
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