Sweep
Journeyman Pro
Plus 1 on that!Wow! Why did he do that?If it's a habit, it's one he needs to get rid of fast!
Armchair referees
- Thread starter BrizoH71
- Start date
two-clubs
Assistant Pro
I thought I'd seen it happen a few times on the telly myself so assumed it was ok to do so - it appears not.
What actually is the rule regarding this if somebody could explain please.
JustOne
Ryder Cup Winner
Didn't actually look like the spike mark was directly on his line. Close, but not on.
Foxholer
Blackballed
paddyc
Challenge Tour Pro
I don't understand how this happened on the 8th green and he was not notified by a player, caddie, referee, tv man or anyone before he signed his card. Yes it looks to me on the video like an infringement based on the ridiculous rule that you cannot tap down a spike mark on your line of the putt, so how could no one else had seen this at the time or by the end of his round. If it had been mentioned he could signed for two more and he's still in the tournament with a chance of winning. I think something needs to be done about so called armchair referees, I mean do they wait until the round is over deliberately to possibly get a player DQ. If infringements are not noticed by the player (who you would expect to be knowledgable in the majority of rules and have the professional integrity to call a penalty on himself), playing partner, referee, tournament official or tv etc by the end of the round and before the card is signed, I believe the player should not be disqualified afterwards. Unless your name is Tiger and you can get away with anything,
mchacker
Head Pro
DQ is far too harsh and gives these do-gooders too much power, application of the same 2 shot penalty and a %age of earnings lost should be penalty enough. Signing for a wrong score is a poor description of events, it's not as if someone's advised him of a penalty but he still signs for par or whatever score he had on the hole.
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
First time I saw it I thought this as well - seen it a few times now and it's not on his line.
How far either side of the straight line between ball and hole does the "line" extend...?
chrisd
Major Champion
I got Arteta sent off today but at least it was live at the ground!
gdc
Head Pro
IMO it is one of the all time stupid golf rules. The green is supposed to be smooth so what is the problem with tapping down a spike mark no matter where it is on the green. I just can't see what the downside to changing this rule is!
Tommo21
Tour Winner
If we take the rule away then where do we stop tapping things down. I call my playing partners when I sort a pich mark....on or off my line. If you dont then you can get pulled........Stupid rule or not, it's a big no no what he done even if it could be off his line. I've never seen anyone do this in a bounce game never mind the pro game.
gdc
Head Pro
I know it against the rules and he deserved the penalty but What I'm saying is it is a stupid rule.
What is there on a green to repair other then a pitch mark or spike mark? Nothing.
So why can you repair a pitch mark but not a spike mark? Bl##dy stupid IMO.
two-clubs
Assistant Pro
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
On the basis of the video it's had to draw any other conclusion.
Either a cheat or a complete idiot. Maybe both!
bladeplayer
Money List Winner
question should be tho what is the armchair viewers standing as an official in the comp ? none i should think ..
if i ring the FA that a player was offside after seeing it on highlights on tv should the result of a match be changed ? .. do away with this ringing in thing altogether ..
..not all players get coverage over the run of any comp so is it fair and equal the ones that do are open to extra scrutiny ? i dont think so ..
if i ring the FA that a player was offside after seeing it on highlights on tv should the result of a match be changed ? .. do away with this ringing in thing altogether ..
..not all players get coverage over the run of any comp so is it fair and equal the ones that do are open to extra scrutiny ? i dont think so ..
BTatHome
Tour Winner
According to definitions on the usga rules site ...
Line Of Putt
The “line of putt’’ is the line that the player wishes his ball to take after a stroke on the putting green. Except with respect to Rule 16-1e, the line of putt includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line. The line of putt does not extend beyond the hole.
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
It's that word "reasonable" again - it gets everywhere and has no specific meaning...
Dyson has gone on record as saying he doesn't actually remember doing it, and only realised he had when John Paramor showed him the footage.
That leads me to believe tht the mark wasn't on his line so he didn't even think it was a problem....
If he'd hit that spike mark the ball was missing the hole and could easily have been pushed back on line by it.....
I also think it's a daft rule....
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Yes but cheating is part and parcel of football and any pretence otherwise has long since ended. Golf still considers itself to have a higher standard.
One Planer
Global Moderator
Are there any other sports where you can, effectively, ring in and point out rule violations?
Why should golf be different?
Why should golf be different?
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I agree but, to an extent, the genie is out of the bottle on this one. They could have refused to take action when people started phoning in but hard to backtrack now.
The other thing is that many other sports now take retrospective disciplinary action based on video evidence. These sports it would cause havoc if the result was to be altered based on this, less of an issue in golf.
Colin L
Tour Winner
There is maybe a little mixing up in the thread between being penalised for touching the line of your putt which is one breach and repairing a spike mark which is potentially a separate breach. It is said that Dyson was penalised for touching the line of his putt . It doesn't matter what his purpose was in doing so - it might have been tapping down a spike mark; it might have been absent mindedly tapping his putter on the ground for no particular reason. The breach is simply in the touching.
Repairing a spike mark is potentially a breach of Rule 16-1c. If the repair could assist you at any time later in the play of the hole, you have breached the rule. Where you repair it is not necessarily on the line of your putt - it could be anywhere else where you ball might end up if, say you missed the hole with your putt.
Dyson's only defence would have been had he been tapping down an old hole plug or a ball mark. Neither would have breached 16-1a or 16-1c.
Repairing a spike mark is potentially a breach of Rule 16-1c. If the repair could assist you at any time later in the play of the hole, you have breached the rule. Where you repair it is not necessarily on the line of your putt - it could be anywhere else where you ball might end up if, say you missed the hole with your putt.
Dyson's only defence would have been had he been tapping down an old hole plug or a ball mark. Neither would have breached 16-1a or 16-1c.
