Men's US Amateur Bandon Dunes

[William_G]

pretty good summary Jeff
+1

[Bernie Bell]

Not really understanding the criticism of the father.  He did what any caddie would have to do, including -- I would hope and presume -- any other Bandon caddie.  Maybe from the comfort of their homes some think they would have done it differently, but you can't just look the other way on an obvious and non-trivial violation in the biggest match of your player's life, whether that player is your kid or not. 

[JLahrman]

Not really understanding the criticism of the father.  He did what any caddie would have to do, including -- I would hope and presume -- any other Bandon caddie.  Maybe from the comfort of their homes some think they would have done it differently, but you can't just look the other way on an obvious and non-trivial violation in the biggest match of your player's life, whether that player is your kid or not.

Good for him for recognizing the violation and calling it out, nobody is saying he shouldn't have done that. Or at least, I'm not.

But to continue to stick his nose in and loudly criticize the other player and caddie while the infraction was being sorted out was unnecessary. And also amateur hour. He had no place in the conversation at that point. It made him look like an annoying little yapping dog. We shouldn't be seeing him quoted in articles about the incident.

[John Kavanaugh]

There will never be another greatest generation until we eliminate the parents.

[JLahrman]

• Bandon Dunes was awesome on TV and hope they expand to Pacific Dunes in the future for some USGA events.

Jeff, Old Mac and Pacific Dunes were used for the Four Ball last year. Per the website, now that Bandon Dunes is one of the two courses for the Am this year, each of the four established courses has been used at least twice for USGA events:


https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/blog/what-next-horizon-bandon-dunes-usga-championships


Only question is whether Sheep Ranch gets into the act!

[JLahrman]

There will never be another greatest generation until we eliminate the parents.

No doubt. And unfortunately I'm part of the problem.

[John Kavanaugh]

Do you have grandchildren yet? I’m terrified at what I may do to protect that kid from a bad call. That’s why God invented Florida.   

[JLahrman]

Do you have grandchildren yet? I’m terrified at what I may do to protect that kid from a bad call. That’s why God invented Florida.

Good Lord no, my kids are 8, 6, and 4. I played a lot of organized sports when I was a kid, but I've seen how adults have ruined everything for kids over the past 20 years. I'm steering my children towards stargazing and birdwatching.

[John Kavanaugh]

I had a friend back in the 70’s that was an avid birdwatcher. Never had a job but still could afford a set of Bose 901 speakers and a Reel to Reel set up. His bootleg collection of Dead concerts was phenomenal. Nice hobby.

[JMEvensky]

I had a friend back in the 70’s that was an avid birdwatcher. Never had a job but still could afford a set of Bose 901 speakers and a Reel to Reel set up. His bootleg collection of Dead concerts was phenomenal. Nice hobby.

Thanks for that. I hadn't thought of Bose 901's in 40 years.

[Kalen Braley]

I think the way rules violations continued to be implemented in golf, either your call it on your self or a competitor must narc on you, is just going to keep escalating into these ugly situations in the case of the Dad.  Emotions running high, super high stakes for everyone involved, competitive juices flowing, and then asking them to objectively referee themselves on top of that is just absurd.

Its time for the USGA to step up and assign a referee for the match to actively watch and call these things.

P.S.  Please spare me the self-righteous bs about how golf is different, and a game of honor, yada, yada.  Its clear that when it comes to high stakes competitions an independent 3rd party observer/enforcer is needed.

[Jeff Schley]

Players cannot agree to waive a Rule.  But in a match, a player can choose to look the other way.  Once the infraction is called, it is too late.  Interesting to note that it was the other caddy who called the infraction and that he is Strafaci's father.

Shel like Kuchar last year not giving Sergio a 6 inch putt he missed as a tap in. Had Kuchar just moved on and not call in a rules official and moved on he might have saved some of his reputation. Nobody wins in those situations.

[William_G]

match play can have an intimidation factor for sure, whether in the gallery or with the caddie of your opponent

[Mike_Trenham]

Does anyone have a good before and after pictures showing


Impact from gorse removal
Joe’s bunker “touch-up” work


? Thanks

[SL_Solow]

Jeff,  That's an interesting comparison.  As for some of the other comments, we should consider the basic difference between match play and stroke play.  In match play the only person impacted by a rules violation is the opponent.  Hence it is up to the opponent to "call" the penalty if the offender does not engage in self-policing. If he chooses to ignore a violation, he is the only one harmed. But in stroke play each player has a responsibility to protect the field.  Hence the need to "narc" (I haven't heard that expression since the early 70's) on an offender.


In my experience working as an official at the state and local level, I have been the official assigned to some relatively important matches.  Most of the players have been well versed in the rules.  Occasionally, they have tried to improve their position by calling me in for a "ruling".  In those cases we explain the rule after ascertaining the facts.  In most situations, it becomes unnecessary to make a ruling as the players understand the rule and agree.  But there are situations where we have to resolve a dispute.

[Bernie Bell]

Speak plainly.  Are you suggesting Pops should have looked the other way?  If so, I disagree.  You can't test the condition of the sand on the 18th hole of a match of that importance.  It's not even a close call.  There's NO WAY any caddie  . . . or player . . . lets that go.  C'mon.  Pinto might have called it on himself if he saw it.

[SL_Solow]

Bernie,  I'll be happy to speak plainly.  I think "Pops", the caddy, should have left it up to his son, the player, to decide what he wanted to do.  I won't speculate on what he might have done but based on his reaction afterward, it would have been difficult.  Making difficult decisions both make and reveal character  I thought the caddy's continued aggressive behavior was offensive.  I believe in playing by the rules but reveling in an unfortunate situation is not very attractive.


I have never been good enough to play anywhere near the level of the US Am so I can only guess at the pressure.  But in club competitions I have had the opportunity on several occasions to decide whether to "call" a penalty.  My decisions, which varied, usually included a consideration of whether my opponent intended to break the rule and whether he benefited. I recognize that there are many differences between club competitions and high level tournament play and I would not criticize someone for enforcing the rules.  I only wish the player had been allowed to make the call.

[Rob Marshall]

Really sad on all fronts.


You would be amazed how many people assume caddies know the rules well.
A particularly sticky wicket in tournaments as "often wrong but never in doubt" can be a formula for disaster.


I had a similar incident when my son raked the back of a bunker where an earlier player had failed to clean up-BEFORE I hit my bunker shot from about 40 feet away the area he had raked. Fortunately, that was after the rule regarding this had changed(no penalty)but it didn't stop my fellow competitor from having a full on freak out, not accepting my interpretation or that of two other on site rules officials.


My personal favorite line is "the caddy kept score"

Jeff, the amazing thing is who would want to win that way? That’s mind boggling to me.

[Bernie Bell]

SL, that's an interesting perspective. As a father, I can see not taking control of that situation and letting your kid make their own call.  But I don't think a Bandon caddie would have put that decision on his or her player.  I could be 100% wrong about that.  Does it depend on whether you see it as a "don't be a douche" call?  I think checking the sand is deliberately gaining advantage.  Non-trivial. 

[SL_Solow]

Bernie,


Let the player decide.  I would expect my caddy to tell me.  It's the player's match and not the caddy's.  Even more important if it is your child.  Doubly important if they are a young adult.

[Rob Marshall]

I have had this happen to me twice in local/club competitions. Once a caddie for my opponent raked the bunker before he played the shot as my opponent walked to the green. He saw it and immediately looked at me. I was down 2 and this was the 15th hole. Like the caddie testing the sand with his hand the actual player had gained nothing. I shook my head no. And we played on and I lost. He played better that day.



Second time I was in a close match on the 13th hole. My opponent  was in the bunker. The match was close. He chunked the shot and left the ball in the bunker. He dropped his club in the bunker in disgust. Our pro looks at me and I just mouthed no. He gets up and down on the next bunker shot for bogey and of course I three putt to tie the hole. I ended up winning. Never said a word about it. A week later a member who was watching the match comes up to me and says classy move. This daughter was a college player and told him what had happened. He had gained no advantage and hadn’t done anything to try too. I would rather lose than win that way.


I remember the story of a big tournament in I think Arizona. The player has his son caddying. The son has a buddy there watching the tournament. It was late in the final round and the player had a 10 or 12 shot lead. The son hands a club to his buddy and the buddy hands it to the father. He got DQ’d for having two caddies! Some times these rulings defy logic.

[Sven Nilsen]

Rob:


Let's not even get started on all of the wrinkles the Covid guidelines have thrown into things.


We see it every day.  Some people are going to look for every advantage or excuse they can find.  Some people are going to go with what they think is fair.


Sven

[Pete_Pittock]

Bernie,


Let the player decide.  I would expect my caddy to tell me.  It's the player's match and not the caddy's.  Even more important if it is your child.  Doubly important if they are a young adult.

spot on. The father, as caddie, should have informed the player.  The player then decides whether to let it go or inform the referee of the infraction.

[JLahrman]

Bernie,

Let the player decide.  I would expect my caddy to tell me.  It's the player's match and not the caddy's.  Even more important if it is your child.  Doubly important if they are a young adult.

spot on. The father, as caddie, should have informed the player.  The player then decides whether to let it go or inform the referee of the infraction.

Yeah I do agree with this...I was more critical of the father's behavior after the infraction had been noted and the official was sorting it out with the player and caddie. The caddie should really report it to his player, though in the end I don't have an issue with this being called at all. Several examples have been noted of accidental infractions that you might look the other way. In this case though, the action was taken with intent to gain knowledge for the player and personally I wouldn't have let it slide. Additionally, with it clearly being caught on camera, had the Argentinian player gone on to win the match it would have taken away from his win. He's handled the situation very well. What happens if he had won and then the infraction had been raised after the match? Now he's in an awkward spot.

Getting back to the matches today though, Tyler Strafaci (who won the match we've been discussing) is in his semifinal match against Aman Gupta (the player who went out in 29 on Trails in the first round). Strafaci won the first hole and held at least a 1 up lead after every hole until Gupta just got back to AS with a par on 17. Strafaci was 4 up after 12 but Gupta has won 4 of the last 5 holes with some excellent up and downs.

The four players today on the par-3 15th: 5-5-5-6. I honestly have never cared for that hole, it's so exposed to the wind and there is not really anywhere to miss. Although from the few clips I've seen it doesn't look windy today.

[Sven Nilsen]

Just a reminder that you're looking at Joe Hancock's work on all of the bunkers out here.

No credit for the foreshadowing?