New Rules.. touching the line of putt.. Impact on Aimpoint?

[vkurup]

There is a new/modified rule in town about touching the line of putt.

" The R&A and the USGA have recently been asked about methods of reading a putting green where players stand astride or stand or walk alongside their estimated line of putt to assess the slope of the green and the break of the putt. The question is whether such actions have the potential to breach Rule 16-1a.

Under Rule 16-1a, the player must not touch the line of putt. (There are exceptions to Rule 16-1a, but none of them relate to methods of reading the putting green or determining a line of putt.) The “line of putt” is defined in the Rules as “the line that the player wishes his ball to take after a stroke on the putting green” including “a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line”. The penalty for a breach of Rule 16-1a is loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play. Consequently, players who use such green-reading methods should take care to avoid walking on their line of putt in order to avoid the risk of penalty under Rule 16-1a.

The same is true of any other practices used by players to gain information when their ball is on the putting green, such as walking alongside the line of putt to measure the distance to the hole or standing at a midpoint to the hole and hovering the putter over the line of putt. To avoid the risk of penalty, players or their caddies who take any such actions should take care to avoid touching the line of putt, which includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line, with their feet, the club, or anything else."

http://www.randa.org/en/RandA/News/...addle-or-Walk-Alongside-the-Line-of-Putt.aspx

Its opens a can of worms... how does one define a 'reasonable distance'. If it is a breaking putt and I stand in the direct line (which is not my 'intended line') then does it constitute breach?? Can we have Homer and some popcorn...

On another note, why do the governing bodies come up with rules that are open to interpretation and then complain about declining interest in golf???

 

[pogle]

This is not a new or modified rule.

The line of putt is the line the ball is intended to take plus a reasonable distance either side. For a breaking putt it is not an extension of the line the player aims along, but the line the ball is intended to follow. See Decision 16-1e/1

The intention of the rule is to stop players improving their line of putt.

"A reasonable distance" will vary due to the length of putt and break involved. A longer, more breaking putt will have a greater margin of error and hence what constitutes a reasonable distance will be larger. I wouldn't penalise anyone unless they got closer than a small number of inches.

 

[duncan mackie]

There is a new/modified rule in town about touching the line of putt.....


On another note, why do the governing bodies come up with rules that are open to interpretation and then complain about declining interest in golf???

there's no new rule nor modification to an existing rule that I am aware of

the ruling body has been asked to clarify the application of an existing rule - and have basically said that the rule is quite clear and that people should be careful - or have I missed something?

the concept of reasonable distance is common to a number of rules involving line or play and have been clarified to take into account subjective factors (competence and understanding) - other than that they follow the dictionary/common definition.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I use the mid point chart and so can get a read from away from the line based and dependant the severity of the slope which I can estimate without the need to go too close. I can see how it could be viewed as an issue more for the express read but as no-one on tour has been penalised I don't think there's a problem

 

[pbrown7582]

It's only a clarification as stated above.


http://twitter.com/SwashPutting/status/557799974168461313/photo/1

 

[3565]

I use express and I'm always mindful of how close to the line I get. But the fact that my interpretation of my intended line to someone else's may raise an issue as in that the amount of break I'm going to play will probably be a lot more then the majority of players would and they could percieve this as standing on my line.

 

[drdel]

Unenforceable - Its all as clear as mud because in the real world there can be

1. The right line to get the ball in the hole
2. The player's intended line: what the golfer thinks will get ball in hole
3. The actual line the ball takes after a hit (or miss-hit).

The more skilled the golfer, the closer all '3' lines will be - ideally they'll merge. I can see a wonderful case of examination by slo-mo cameras

 

[garyinderry]

There isn't one line to the hole. It can and does vary depending on pace.

 

[SocketRocket]

It's subjective so unenforceable.

 

[Foxholer]

It's subjective so unenforceable.

Subjective...Yes, as per Drdel's points. Though the Aimpoint line shown on PGA Tour shows an accurate line.

Unenforceable...No. That's part of what 'The Committee' (as per Rule 33) is for - Rule 34-3 applies. Whether they get it right or not.

<quote>
In the absence of a referee, any dispute or doubtful point on the Rules must be referred to the Committee, whose decision is final.
</quote>

 

[SocketRocket]

Subjective...Yes, as per Drdel's points. Though the Aimpoint line shown on PGA Tour shows an accurate line.

Unenforceable...No. That's part of what 'The Committee' (as per Rule 33) is for - Rule 34-3 applies. Whether they get it right or not.

<quote>
In the absence of a referee, any dispute or doubtful point on the Rules must be referred to the Committee, whose decision is final.
</quote>

The 'reasonable distance' is the part thats subjective.

The Committee are not present to determine the line of putt and what can be a reasonable distance from it so can only take the word of the players. It's unenforceable due to subjectivity.

If you were on the committee how would you decide?

 

[Region3]

I can understand how you could gain an advantage by 'touching' your line of putt, but if an aimpoint user inadvertently 'stands' on his line I don't see how he is doing himself any favours.

 

[duncan mackie]

I can understand how you could gain an advantage by 'touching' your line of putt, but if an aimpoint user inadvertently 'stands' on his line I don't see how he is doing himself any favours.

thank you for bringing this back into the real world!

the reason for the rule is about deliberate acts to improve the line, and as such treading on your line of putt which co-incidentially flattens a spike mark (or whatever) is covered.

the clarification makes it clear that you can't tread on the same area claiming an exemption because of the system you use to line up or read your putt - you still have to take care.

as to the other players, committee and subjectivity - it's only going to get to committee if the player is considered to have gained an advantage in exactly the same way as it does now. it's also surprisingly obvious when a player sets out to gain an advantage in such situations! if he may have gained an advantage from a deliberate act then any subjective assessment of his line is likely to be rules against him.

exactly the same situation applies where a player repairs a pitch mark on the fringe of the green that may, or may not, have been on his line of play - 99%+ of players would simply repair it afterwards of course!

 

[Foxholer]

The 'reasonable distance' is the part thats subjective.

The Committee are not present to determine the line of putt and what can be a reasonable distance from it so can only take the word of the players. It's unenforceable due to subjectivity.

If you were on the committee how would you decide?

Wasn't disagreeing with your statement that it's subjective. There are plenty of things that are enforced, even when there's subjective (or doubt) involved! But as 34-3 states, that's part of the role of 'The Committee' - where there is no Referee.

Rulefan and ColinH (and maybe Duncan) are the best placed to suggest the best questions to ask in order to make a 'proper' decision. I've been on too many committees that have made blunders to not 'ask a proper expert' the sort of questions to ask!

I can understand how you could gain an advantage by 'touching' your line of putt, but if an aimpoint user inadvertently 'stands' on his line I don't see how he is doing himself any favours.

But 'aimpointing' is a quite deliberate activity, so the action is/should be deemed to be deliberate. The fact that he may or may not be doing himself favours is beside the point. If he touched the line of putt while aimpointing, then it's a penalty. Btw. There's a Decision (16-1a/12) that covers real inadvertent touching of the line of putt.

 

[Region3]

the reason for the rule is about deliberate acts to improve the line, and as such treading on your line of putt which co-incidentially flattens a spike mark (or whatever) is covered.

I guess hard and fast greens and/or spikeless shoes must make a difference to what I'm used to.

Every now and then I'll need to repair a pitch mark and don't have my putter with me. If I try to flatten the repaired area with my shoe it looks horrendous!
If I were trying to flatten one spike mark I think I'd make 6 fresh ones

I'm not being intentionally awkward btw, I do see your point.

 

[Region3]

But 'aimpointing' is a quite deliberate activity, so the action is/should be deemed to be deliberate. The fact that he may or may not be doing himself favours is beside the point. If he touched the line of putt while aimpointing, then it's a penalty. Btw. There's a Decision (16-1a/12) that covers real inadvertent touching of the line of putt.

I wasn't saying that it shouldn't be a penalty, just that I didn't think standing on your line to try to gain an advantage was a good idea.

 

[Foxholer]

More examples of subjectivity!

And touching line of putt isn't included!

http://www.barryrhodes.com/2014/10/the-rules-of-golf-are-not-always-black.html

 

[duncan mackie]

More examples of subjectivity!

And touching line of putt isn't included!

http://www.barryrhodes.com/2014/10/the-rules-of-golf-are-not-always-black.html

reading that I find my understanding of the term subjective to be significantly different to the author.

 

[Oddsocks]

This shows how the rules are subject to interpretation

You are not allowed to pace a putt, but you can read it from the opposite side of the flag then as you walk past the pin count in your head...... It's only counting allowed that breaches the rules

 

[duncan mackie]

You are not allowed to pace a putt, but you can read it from the opposite side of the flag then as you walk past the pin count in your head...... It's only counting allowed that breaches the rules