PGA considering playing all bunkers as "waste bunkers" at Whistling Straits

[Jimmy Muratt]

Here is an article from the Golf Channel's website regarding what the PGA is considering doing with the bunkers at Whistling Straits.  It's kind of confusing..... it sounds like they're considering basically doing away with rakes and you can ground your club.



by:  Brian Hewitt

FLINT, Mi.--When a raging controversy ensued after Stewart Cink won the MCI Heritage last April, I wrote: "A waste is a terrible thing to mind."

The PGA of America, The Golf Channel has learned, is close to announcing that it agrees.

Quick background: Cink beat Ted Purdy in a playoff at Harbour Town after some creative but legal "gardening" with loose impediments in a waste area to the left of the 16th hole.

Part of the fallout was the realization that Whistling Straits, site of next month's PGA Championship, has hundreds of waste areas. In a waste area, a player is allowed, among other things, to ground his or her club and remove loose impediments.

Late Tuesday Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America's Managing Director of Tournaments, said his organization was leaning toward playing everything "through the green" at Whistling Straits.

"Through the green" means players would be able to ground their clubs in sandy areas, including greenside bunkers, throughout the course. What's imperative, Haigh added, is that players know exactly what constitutes a loose impediment.

In other words, if the PGA of America decides on "through the green," it will strive to eliminate the ambiguities of Harbour Town that led to what many people thought was a preferred lie that helped Cink win the tournament.

The last time the PGA of America played sandy areas as "through the green" was at the 1991 Ryder Cup matches at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Not coincidentally, course architect Pete Dye, designed the Ocean Course and Whistling Straits.

Haigh said the decision on whether to play "through the green" at Whistling Straits could come as late as the Thursday morning of the event. He pointed out that players hitting into sand outside the ropes under "through the green rules" will be at an obvious disadvantage because, in many cases, spectators will have walked in those areas. Sandy areas inside the ropes, he said, will be maintained.

But players won't have to rake bunkers. And they won't have to worry about grounding their clubs.

Earlier this week, defending PGA champion Shaun Micheel, who played Whistling Straits for the first time last June, told me he favored the PGA declaring all waste areas as hazards. But, he conceded, "they'd have to put rakes everywhere. I don't know if there are that many rakes. They might have to go to Home Depot."

Instead there might not be any rakes. Which is the other way to attack the potential problem.

Micheel and several other players praised Haigh and the PGA of America as even-handed in its course set-ups over the years. But at least one Tour player said the conditions at Whistling Straits, which, at 7,597 yards, will play as the longest course in major championship history, could produce scores in the 90s.

Haigh is acutely aware how severe conditions can get along Lake Michigan at Whistling Straits when the prevailing winds blow. Plus, the last thing the PGA of America wants is the kind of notoriety the USGA achieved at the U.S. Open last month at Shinnecock Hills when the course temporarily, at least, got out of control during the final round. Nor does the PGA of America want a repeat of the Cink controversy.

"We will make everything absolutely clear on the rules sheet (distributed to the players)," Haigh said.

Haigh also said his organization will, if conditions dictate, consider shortening the 618-yard par 5 11th, the 516-yard par 4 15th, and the 500-yard par 4 18th. If this happens, Haigh said, it won't be because of the lengths of the holes (the 15th is the longest listed par 4 in major championship history). It will be because of the carry distances off the tee.

"It's a difficult golf course with challenges unlike any other," Haigh said of Whistling Straits.

And it's terrific to see the PGA of America assessing the upsides AND the downsides of those challenges with an open mind.

[Brian_Gracely]

Here is an article from the Golf Channel's website regarding what the PGA is considering doing with the bunkers at Whistling Straits.  It's kind of confusing..... it sounds like they're considering basically doing away with rakes and you can ground your club.

Yes, that's that was being discussed on The Golf Channel last night.  

It's hard to believe that a major championship would not have the course setup and rules defined well in advance.  

Mr.Kohler makes great bathroom products, but could they produce enough towels in Kohler to dry all the eyes of crying pros if their balls ends up in a deep footprint?

[RJ_Daley]

I'd been raising this question since I heard the PGA selected WS.  Personally, I think they need to go out there and spray a white ring around what can reasonably be considered greenside bunkers and within the original fairway and intermediate cut bunkers and not allow grounding in those, and a red ring or probably easier, a red flag posted in out bunkers to be considered waste areas.  

I can however see the argument that all bunkers could be designated as waste bunkers allowing clubs to be grounded to counter the effects of length and more so, what is reported as halving the fairway LZ acreage.

I also have been wondering since the announcement that WS was given the PGA, how they are going to keep so many spectators from hurting themselves falling off sharp paths between holes in the fauz dunes.  I just now figured out that perhaps the extreem narrowing of original width of fairways can in some ways provide more walkable room for the crowds.  I  could be wrong on that however...

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

Play the ball down everywhere and treat the bunkers/weaste areas as hazards.

Put one "raker" in each group as was the case with The Open Championship at Troon.

Allow the raker to only rake hazards "Inside the Ropes" after a competitor has played from the hazard.

JWK

[RJ_Daley]

I had to bring this thread back to the front and comment on some TV fly throughs of the holes at WS that have been on our local channels, showing the course being set up.  If the TV fly overs and ground shots are to be interpreted correctly, I feel that they will not present a course that Dye intended it to be, IMHO.  It appears that they just are doing the same as Carnoustie and turning the fairways into a long and very obstacle course.  If wind is up, I really don't think they will play this at the 7600 yardage that they can go back to.  Holes 4, 8, 13, 14, 16 and 18 look too tricked up to me, mostly due to FW narrowing, and also some of the new tees seem to be forcing more extreme angles.  In looking at 18 (which never was a good hole in my opinion, they have made the entire left side into the downward chute on the more direct line to the green, they have grown rough where FW cuts used to be.  the ravine is still rugged and awkward and the line of play into the green is forced from the right into the goofy cloverleaf green.  I didn't see it with grand stands yet to be built, but if they do build them, then it seems to me they will have to do it at the top of the amphitheater of greenside slopes and bunkers and block out the view of the clubhouse.  Either way, I think the crowds around that amphitheater will detract from the otherwise desired look of the approach, making it more vague and not the type of look that I think they originally wanted for the closing hole.  I could be wrong.

I don't know if they will tweak the width or cut the incroaching rough to a modest length rather than 6 inch thick stuff.  I really don't think the course needed to go so narrow.

The way Tiger is spraying it off the tee with his new driver we saw last night, I don't look for him to do much good.  

After the practice rounds and 4 competative days, I look for many players to say they are really sick of the course.  If the wind blows, those of you sadists that like to watch train wrecks ought to have your thrills...

[Matt Kardash]

My favorite aerial is of #6 where they removed the entire fairway left of the centerline pot bunker. I can't imagine Pete Dye being vey thrilled about that.

Even though the PGA has messed up the course it will still be one of the most interesting majors to watch in years.

[TEPaul]

Jimmy:

Actually, there'd be a certain historic irony to the way golf was played a very long time ago if WS does in fact decide to play all the bunkers as "waste areas" ("through the green").

In fact, if Max Behr could see this it would probably make him very happy in a certain sense. In golf long ago everything about the course was basically considered of no real difference---various areas of courses weren't necessarily to be considered "good areas" (fairways) and "bad areas" (bunkers and hazards such), it was all just "the golf course" and the overriding rule was that you never touched your ball until removing it from the hole and you never "improved" your lie no matter where your ball was. With this overriding philosophy there was no prohibition against grounding your club in something like a sand bunker---as it really didn't matter. The only prohibition was that a player must not "improve his lie" no matter where his ball was. Opponents in that day and age did not even feel the need to watch another player to determine if he improved his lie. Everyone understood that the only one whose responsibility it was to determine if a lie was improved was the player whose ball it was.

That was the "Spirit of St Andrews" in a rules context. That was the very thing Macdonald tried so hard to transport to America but could see early on that he was never going to be able to!

[A_Clay_Man]

Sounds like a great idea. I don't agree with distinguishing between which bunkers can and cannot be raked. Play them all as waste areas, or not, and put rakes out for the considerate golfer, oh, I mean caddy.

[Brad Klein]

Was there twelve days ago and didn't hear a thing about this bunker/waste area stuff and doubt it will happen.

As for the fairway narrowing, which I discuss in my Golfweek review of the course (out this week), narrowing fairways from 37 acres to 21 did take many of the flanking bunkers out of play and turn this from its original intent to a somehwat more modern tournament layout.  

[Tim Liddy]

I was there Sunday and it was getting a lot of discussion. As the article above mentions I do not think they will know absolutely until they put up the ropes and see how many bunkers the rope traverses. They should play the ball down. It would be great to see a pro play out of a heel print in a bunker.  I predict winning score at 10 under unless the wind is crazy.

[Brad Klein]

Tim, and you didn't tell me this! Thanks a lot.

[TEPaul]

"They should play the ball down. It would be great to see a pro play out of a heel print in a bunker."

Tim:

What do you mean they should play the ball down? Of course they're going to play it down. Not playing the ball down is "lift, clean and place" and that's generally only for extremely wet conditions. Playing all bunkers as "waste areas"="through the green" is something else altogether.

[Tim Liddy]

If you play through the green it will allow the players to ground their club.  By playing it down I mean not being able to ground your club and improve your lie.

[JohnV]

Tim, I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

If you play all sandy areas as bunkers then you can't ground your club or remove loose impediments.  If you play them as through the green, then you can.

There is no rule that allows you to declare them as not a bunker but not allow grounding your club lightly.

As for improving your lie, Cink was allowed to do that because the "waste areas" at Hilton Head are made up of broken shells and not sand.  The areas at Whistling Straights are sand and therefore are not loose impediments.

Also, the optional embedded ball rule that the US tours play will not allow relief from plugged balls as it exempts balls plugged in sand.

It will be interesting to see them explain all this to the players.

[TEPaul]

"If you play through the green it will allow the players to ground their club.  By playing it down I mean not being able to ground your club and improve your lie."

Tim:

What I meant was when players play the ball "through the green" ("the whole area of the course except: a. The teeing ground and the putting green of the hole being played: and, b. All hazards on the course), they can ground their clubs but they certainly can't improve their lie in any way or it'd be a violation of rule 13, one of the most overriding and fundamental rules in all of golf.

The point I was trying to make in the post above about the way "old golf" was played is it really didn't matter if you touched the ground in a hazard or bunker because the overriding rule was always you could never improve your lie no matter where you were. That's still true, only in modern times obviously golfers have become so suspicious of each other (or rules makers have become so suspicious of golfers) they've instituted a rule where the ground in a hazard cannot be touched.

If one thinks about it rule 13-4 (Ball in a Hazard; prohibited Actions) is really not necessary. Golf can be played as it was in the old days as the overriding rule still is you can't improve your lie even if you do touch the ground. The same can certainly be said for sand bunkers and hazards, as it once was. In the old days there was no difference or distinction between ground in a hazard and the rest of the golf course---it was all just the golf course.

[Tim Liddy]

TE and John

Defining what is a hazard and what is not outside the ropes is the issue for the PGA.  It will be clear to define the hazards (bunkers), but the condition of the hazard could be suspect as fans might be walking through them. I doubt they will.  If a player hits a shot that badly, he should play it as a hazard, not a waste bunker. It is giving him an ability to improve his lie by grounding his club behind the ball.

[TEPaul]

JohnV:

This is a good example of why a tournament should not try to play under various rules or local rules and conditions that the USGA/R&A rules of golf have really not contemplated. If they try to do that, as in this case, there are too many conflicts with the way the rules are now written. As far as I know the USGA/R&A does not have a local rules or a condition of competiton for "waste areas". That is just something that some courses seem to have started to use on their own cards and courses.

Maybe the USGA and R&A will put something into the rule book on "waste areas" but somehow I doubt they will. This is really no different than using a competition ball in certain tournaments. If the tournament wants to require a competition ball and also wants to play by the USGA/R&A Rules of Golf, the USGA and R&A will first have to institute at least a local rule or something in the  "Conditions of Competition" appendix within the rule book to allow for the requirement to use a competition ball.

[TEPaul]

"TE and John
Defining what is a hazard and what is not outside the ropes is the issue for the PGA.  It will be clear to define the hazards (bunkers), but the condition of the hazard could be suspect as fans might be walking through them."

Tim:

I realize the PGA of America can do that. But if they do it the way the PGA Tour did it at Harbor Town they're bound to create some confusion and also to get into some things that may start violating or abridging the Rules of Golf, simply because the Rules of Golf do not contemplate some of these things.  

Improving your lie by being allowed to ground your club in a so-called "waste area" (an area or definition the Rules of Golf does not have or contemplate) is really not the entire point here as that then simply becomes deemed "through the green" under the Rules of Golf. The problem arises, as JohnV, just touched on, as what to do about defining what is and what isn't a loose impediment in these types of sand areas the USGA has basically defined as hazards (bunkers).

The definition of loose impediment is very clear and the definition in the Rules of Golf states;

"sand and loose soil are loose impediments on the putting green but not elsewhere".

I think you can see how confusing this can and probably will get in large sand areas that are deemed "through the green" ("waste areas") under some local rule the USGA/R&A Rules of Golf do not contemplate and have never defined.

The PGA of America or the PGA Tour can certainly start playing golf under their own rules or local rules but they never really have before and if there was any difference between the things they did in the past they've tried in recent years to get back into line totally with the USGA/R&A Rules of Golf.
I really don't think anyone wants to see the PGA or any tour start to play golf under separate rules.

[JohnV]

Tom, perhaps I'm misunderstanding the idea.  As I was reading it, they were just going to say that all areas that are not water hazards or putting greens are "through the green"  There is no need for any special local rule for that.  All the rules apply to sandy areas just the same as they apply to grassy areas.  You can still have rakes in the ones you want and the player/caddie can still rake them after hitting his shot.

The problem is that when you have areas that are sandy by nature (or man in the case of WS) but still have lots of grass growing in them, it is tough to determine their status.  So, in order not to confuse anyone, the Committee could just say, it is all through the green, play it that way.

There is no such thing as a waste area in the rules of golf and I don't think there ever will be.  Through the Green covers all the bases and is sufficient.  That along with the definition that sand is not a loose impediment anywhere other than the putting green should cover this.

By the way, Decision 13-2/9 allows the player to knock down a sandy mound in his backswing TTG provided he took a normal backswing and had only grounded his club lightly.

[Tim Liddy]

My guess is they will pay it “through the green” because if they don’t they will be giving rulings every 5 minutes.

[Jeff Goldman]

I don't know if anyone posted this yet, but they have decided not to use the back tee on the first hole, which was adjacent to the putting green near the clubhouse.  Instead, it appears that they are playing it from the original back tee, at about 405 yards.  Too bad.  From the putting green tee, you can't see anything but dunes.

Jeff Goldman

[A_Clay_Man]

Jeff- I suspect that there will be a lot of easing going on. Just like at Bethpage, it would appear just having the ability to make these guys tremble, is good enough for marketing purposes. And if that's true The Raunch will likely be a rousing success.

[Tim Liddy]

Jeff,
The first tee next to the practice green can not be used, as I understand, because it pinches the spectator traffic flow at this congested area by the clubhouse.

[TEPaul]

JohnV:

I certainly buy your explanation of how this could work if they play all the sand waste like areas "through the green". The only problem I could see is if a player starts removing loose impediments in those sand areas and starts moving sand too. What're they going to do about that?---probably just overlook it.

[gholland]

13-4/3.5 Player uses cane or club to enter or leave hazard when ball lies in Hazard.
q. Aplayer, to prevent falling, uses a cane or club to enter a hazard to play his ball which lies in the hazard.

Is the player in breach of Rule 13-4b which prohibits touching ground in the hazard?

A.  No, provided nothing is done which constitues testing the condition of the hazard or improves the lie of the ball - see Exception 1 to rule 13-4

Exceptions:
1. provided nothing is done which constitutes testing the condition of the hazard or improves the lie of the ball, there is no penalty if the player (a) touches the ground in any hazard or water in a water hazard as a result of or to prevent falling, in removing an obstruction, in measuring or in retrieving or lifting a ball under any Rule or (b) places his clubs in a hazard.


AND MY QUESTION IS...

While climbing into a steep bunker, the player slips,falls, and drops his club into the bunker.  Has he gained knowledge about the conditions of the bunker and is he in breach of rule 13-4?