[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

The R&A and the USGA announced today changes to the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. The main changes are the following:

1) New decision 14-3/18 which confirms that the players are allowed to check weather conditions on their mobile devices during a round.

2) New decision 18/4 which provides that if sophisticated technological evidence shows that a ball has moved but the player may not reasonably perceive such movement, the ball is deemed not to have moved.

3) Decision 25-2/05 modified, which clarifies when a ball is considered to be embedded.

4) Decision 27-2a/1.5 modified, which allows the player to go forward approximately 50 yards without loosing the right to go back and play a provisional ball.

[Thomas Dai]

Ricardo,
thanks for this.
All the best

[Ronald Montesano]

point 3 is confusing...more on this later.

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

Ronald,

My post is just a very brief explanation of the main changes. There are many more and what I wrote about those 4 points is only a summary. There are 3 new decisions, 59 modified decisions, one renumbered decision and 24 decisions that have been eliminated.

Regarding point 3 Embedded ball, the modified decision is number 25-2/05. It includes a graphic with examples on when a ball can be considered as embedded in its own pitch-mark. It tries to clarify that a ball may be embedded even if between the ball and the ground grass, loose impediments or other things intervene. The key issue is that the ball must be below the level of the ground. I hope this clarifies the matter a bit further.

All the best.

[Tom Kelly]

I really don't understand the point of the smartphone weather rule?!

[Brent Hutto]

Tom K,

Surely it is to make clear that checking the weather radar on your phone while playing golf is allowed under the Rules of Golf.

[Michael Whitaker]

How many rules changes or decisions are directly connected to Tiger Woods?  Is it just my perception or has any other player in history single handedly had as much impact on the rules during his reign?

[Bryan Lewis]

How many rules changes or decisions are directly connected to Tiger Woods?  Is it just my perception or has any other player in history single handedly had as much impact on the rules during his reign?

As I understand it this decision was more related to the Harrington incident where he lifted his marker nudging the ball and the ball did not exactly return to its original position.  Given the cycle of Rules changes, I'm pretty sure this decision would have been written prior to what happened with Tiger.  I also believe it would not have helped him as the movement of the ball was clearly noticeable to the naked eye.

[Tom Kelly]

Brent,

My point was that I just don't understand why anybody would think checking their smartphone for the weather is any better than looking at the sky and seeing which way the wind is blowing or if it is snowing and therefore why the R&A feel the need to make it legal? In my eyes all it can do is slow play down, we'll soon be having players using their rangefinders and then checking the weather on their phone to see which way the wind is blowing before hitting a 45 yard pitch/chip! Make it illegal and it won't waste anybodies time.

I didn't even realise there had been a discussion going on regarding the use of smartphone weather apps!

[John Kavanaugh]

Brent,

My point was that I just don't understand why anybody would think checking their smartphone for the weather is any better than looking at the sky and seeing which way the wind is blowing or if it is snowing and therefore why the R&A feel the need to make it legal? In my eyes all it can do is slow play down, we'll soon be having players using their rangefinders and then checking the weather on their phone to see which way the wind is blowing before hitting a 45 yard pitch/chip! Make it illegal and it won't waste anybodies time.

I didn't even realise there had been a discussion going on regarding the use of smartphone weather apps!

Tom,

I guess you don't live in tornado alley.  My group teed off this Sunday knowing full well we would experience violent weather some time during our round.  This is not an uncommon situation and our cell phones are a very useful tool in our attempts to play another day.  Just this Sunday we decided to end our match because we saw that one of our players needed to head home before he got hit.  He lives an hour away.  Washington, Indiana.  At least nobody died.

I mean really, in matters of life and death you don't call the pro shop.

[Brent Hutto]

As John K. says, in some parts of the world you really want to know what's coming before that siren blows telling you there's life-threatening weather five minutes away from the clubhouse. At one certain point on my home golf course, it is a minimum of an 11-12 minute walk to get back indoors or to your car.

I'd say of every time I've looked at the sky and thought something dangerous MIGHT be coming my way, only a small fraction of the time was it actually serious weather. Without being able to check the radar prudence would dictate bailing out on the round every time I think there just might be possibly something bad 5-6 miles away and headed for me. Now in the age of iPhone radar apps I think I've actually headed in twice out of the last dozen times I've been inclined to check.

I've probably told the story before but there's an older fellow I very occasionally play with who is a bit of a curmudgeon. Doesn't have much use for rangefinders, cell phones or other doo-dads on the course. One day we were about five holes from finished our round when the wind shifted and the sky to the south turned solid black. A hole earlier I had taken what I thought was a discreet peek at my iPhone while he was walking ahead and I had a pretty good idea it was not headed our way.

As we were getting ready to tee off he told me "Well, go ahead and pull out that iPhone and tell us whether we need to head in".

[Joe Sponcia]

#2 really got me.  If players are honest, we don't need this one.  I understand some players have more camera's on them..but they also make a lot more money.  Instead of making this "concession" they should just say, "be aware, people have camera's on you at all times, if you feel you have broken a rule (i.e. ball moved), call the penalty on yourself and move on".  I do not want to argue/replay the idiocy of trying to move a stick resting against a ball...because we have all done it and 95% of the time, the ball moves....but instead of raising the bar...

[Tom Kelly]

Both of the examples you've given are obviously very fair points, but to me they have more to do with common sense that what needs to be written down in the rules of golf. Neither of you gained an advantage on a particular shot you played by knowing that in 30mins/an hour or two bad weather was heading your way. If playing in a competition, you had walked off and the weather was as forecast I am sure the organisers would have cancelled it anyway and the situation addressed as needed with common sense. To me it is more like taking an emergency call on the course which I am sure most sane human beings let their playing partners do, I just don't see why it doesn't need to be in the rulebook. Are we going to have Tiger and co checking their phones during a tournament and then asking the rules officials to walk off because there is heavy rain on the way? By putting it in the rules all it seems to be doing is tempting players into checking more and more things before hitting their shots to make sure they have all the data they can get. No doubt someone will come up with a formula for the distance balls are likely to travel in different air temperatures and pressures and other things of the sort which 'joe pro' at your club will calculate before each shot. It could get ridiculous.

[Brent Hutto]

Tom,

I would think it's placed in the Decisions to avoid unpleasantness from the occasional self-righteous poser who takes it upon himself to object to another player eyeballing his iPhone, so to speak.

[John Kavanaugh]

The USGA doesn't want to get sued by some guy struck by lightning who wasn't allowed to check the weather on his phone during a qualifier.  No player should be expected to remain on the course when they feel physically threatened.  

On another note:  Have you ever met more clueless individuals when it comes to weather than your local pro?  I get it, rain is like a day off, I swear I have seen them out back doing a rain dance.  Pro's can't wait to get to the track and bet on their favorite mudder.

[Thomas Dai]

The USGA doesn't want to get sued by some guy struck by lightning who wasn't allowed to check the weather on his phone during a qualifier.

Just what I was thinking. It's an exposure rule, not exposure to the weather, but exposure to legal action. Such is the way modern society is going. There'll be a rule about playing in safety glasses soon, in case a tee-peg should spin out of the ground and hit someone in the eye (sic).
All the best.

[Brent Hutto]

I used to wear one of those Greg Norman style straw hats. I hit a tee shot once into a bit of a headwind and didn't see where my tee went. Started walking and the tee toppled off the brim of my hat and I caught it right in front of me.

It's all good fun until someone loses an eye...

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