Assuming you’re not one of those golf fans who are deep in the weeds of which angle whose ball flew over which turtles, here’s a very basic breakdown to get you started.
With a mere couple of taps of his club behind a ball in the rough, reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark caused a stir on the television broadcast of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and, of course, in many golf corners of social media.
Since the Rules of Golf have been greatly modified in the past five years, many terms we’ve all been accustomed to saying are technically no longer considered part of the game.
A number of rogue videos of the supposed incident have already been removed from social media. But they had been spreading like wildfire, as all potential rules controversies do. The CBS crew must have known this was the case, because Jim Nantz quickly brought in rules and review analyst Mark Dusbabek to explain that there was no foul play from Matsuyama.Â
The general principal of Rule 8 is to “play the course as you find it”. But there are times when you’re allowed to lift your ball and clean it beyond the putting green.
While there’s little question that the turn at a golf course is often a spot where traffic jams occur, does stopping to grab some lunch or a cocktail – or both – constitute an “unreasonable delay” in play during a competition as outlined by under Rule 5.6 in the Rules of Golf?
Now, according to Rule 11.1, there is no penalty if you accidentally hit yourself with your shot. Furthermore, there is no penalty if you hit your equipment, your caddie, your opponent, your opponent’s equipment, etc. In most cases, you just play the ball as it now lies.