Rickie Fowler Penalty..... Harsh!

It’s a well known rule , once the ball is dropped it’s in play and if the ball rolls into the water or the hole of the bunker then that counts - it’s not the first time that it happened and won’t be the last time
 
Liverpoolphil said:
It’s a well known rule , once the ball is dropped it’s in play and if the ball rolls into the water or the hole of the bunker then that counts - it’s not the first time that it happened and won’t be the last time
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According to the coverage last night the important thing was he had to confirm it was at rest, and by picking up the tees marking where to drop the ball he declared it to be so. My understanding is, had he stood there and the ball had then moved, he could rightly have said it wasn't at rest and dropped without the penalty. Either way it was an incredibly unfortunate thing to happen and glad he manged to win even if it was a case of last man standing over the final holes
 
I don't really see how the rule could be changed for that not to be a penalty.

If a ball is in play, it's in play.

Plus remember, the guy got to place the ball on the bank. Clearly not the best place and tried to leave it sitting on top of the grass.
 
Orikoru said:
Agree with this. If you drop at the agreed point of relief and it rolls back in without you touching it, how is that your fault? Just re-drop it in a better location where it won't roll back. Yet another stupid rule.
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So if there wasn't water, and it rolled back a bit.

Do you replace it then?

Because you have to be consistent, if you hit it after it rolled it would then be a penalty instead with your version of the rule.
 
Dasit said:
So if there wasn't water, and it rolled back a bit.

Do you replace it then?

Because you have to be consistent, if you hit it after it rolled it would then be a penalty instead with your version of the rule.
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What? It's simple to me, if you drop and the ball moves before the next time you hit it, drop again. Somewhere where it won't roll. Easy.
 
Orikoru said:
Agree with this. If you drop at the agreed point of relief and it rolls back in without you touching it, how is that your fault? Just re-drop it in a better location where it won't roll back. Yet another stupid rule.
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Usual failure to actually read the rules or probably even see what happened
 
Orikoru said:
What? It's simple to me, if you drop and the ball moves before the next time you hit it, drop again. Somewhere where it won't roll. Easy.
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Umm you do know that he placed the ball there after dropping it twice and it rolled away - Fowler placed the ball in a “favourable “ position but as he walked on the green checking his shot the ball then rolled away. Everything that happened is down to the player and he was fine with it

Do you go a little bit over the top on every rule break ?
 
Dasit said:
So if there wasn't water, and it rolled back a bit.

Do you replace it then?

Because you have to be consistent, if you hit it after it rolled it would then be a penalty instead with your version of the rule.
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There was an Open a few years ago where Mickelson took relief (I can't remember what from), dropped his ball, picked his tee up and the ball then started to roll towards the green and was in play from there. So it works both ways.
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Umm you do know that he placed the ball there after dropping it twice and it rolled away - Fowler placed the ball in a “favourable “ position but as he walked on the green checking his shot the ball then rolled away. Everything that happened is down to the player and he was fine with it

Do you go a little bit over the top on every rule break ?
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So if the ball won't stay even after placing it then drop it somewhere else. Pretty basic and I don't see anything wrong with that.
 
I like Ricky Fowler, he took the penalty like a man and carried on, it was the same last year when his ball stayed up in a palm tree, the referee handed him a pair of binoculars and said if you can confirm that's your ball Ricky I will accept your call, Ricky said he couldn't and went back to the tee to play 3, golf being played in good spirit and to how the rules are like them or not.

I didn't see the end but if he won then good for him.
 
Orikoru said:
So if the ball won't stay even after placing it then drop it somewhere else. Pretty basic and I don't see anything wrong with that.
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Have you even seen the whole incident ?!

The ball did stay there - but because the player himself placed it very precariously to ensure his best lie it rolled back after about 30 seconds maybe longer. If the ball rolled to an advantageous place then he carries on from there - it’s just the run of the green and it’s the players responsibility and the player in this occasion accepted it just like if the ball rolled into the hole for example
 
In Rickie Fowler's case last night, the rule was clearly acted on correctly
But it is too harsh a rule and should be changed.
My view is that a rule should ensure that you don't get penalised for something out of your control and thus not of your making. (See later)
In the case of dropping the easiest way to do that is to allow placing instead.
Some want to retain the drop as it simulates best the "landing "of a ball after a shot, and whilst I see the point, there are plenty of instances already where balls are allowed to be placed. So it isn't really a must have reason.
If a ball is at rest, or placed and in good faith perceived to be at rest, any movement before address not caused by the player should be replaced without penalty. Straightforward enough.
Dropping is not simple. look at the comments on TV re knee drop. There were more again last night, rightly, because of Grace's version where he did a squat and dropped from his knee in that position.
Placing would eliminate all those controversies.

Concerning my second paragraph, some will say that it was in Fowler's control in that he decided when to lift the tees and thus determine when the ball was in play. But suppose he had waited a full minute looking to see if the ball would move, and then moved the tees. Then the ball moves!
Theoretically you could have players stood over the ball for minutes!
No! If using the rule I'm suggesting, when he pIcked up the tees and moved away it was clearly "placed and in good faith perceived to be at rest"
Obviously everyone at the hole and watching ,live and on Tv, would have been of that view.
 
cookelad said:
There was an Open a few years ago where Mickelson took relief (I can't remember what from), dropped his ball, picked his tee up and the ball then started to roll towards the green and was in play from there. So it works both ways.
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Not sure how that is working both ways.

That is the same decision as Rickie got yesterday.



People who are saying Rickie should have been allowed a free redrop because it rolled in the water...Does that mean you have to always redrop if the ball moves? Because then it gets messy as if you don't realise it moves and take your shot then you would get a penalty for playing from wrong position.
 
I am convinced that it was the rain drops that accumulated on the ball that tipped the scales so to speak.

With the ball on a closely shaved bank. It would not take much for the ball to begin rolling back.
 
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