Penalties and rule changes

[Baynative]

In the Sunday rebroadcast of the colorized 1960 Masters there were two things that made me curious:

1. Arnie left the pin in while putting on 16. When was that option taken away?

2. They said that Dow Finsterwald had taken a two stroke penalty for dropping a ball on the green and taking a practice putt after he had already holed out.

Doing this seems to be allowed ( I saw Calcheveccia do it recently) but not under a local Augusta or Masters rule. Here's the question: The program stated that he was informed of his mistake after the round was complete and he had already turned in his card and he announced the mistake and assessed the penalty the following day.

I guess there was a variance allowed beccause he didn't know the rule that allowed him from being DQ'd for turning in the card. It seems odd in light of other DQ's I've heard of but I think it's a good practice.

[iacas]

1. Arnie left the pin in while putting on 16. When was that option taken away?

I don't know when.

2. They said that Dow Finsterwald had taken a two stroke penalty for dropping a ball on the green and taking a practice putt after he had already holed out.

No, you didn't. This was debated extensively and, IIRC, nobody actually saw him strike a putt. He just made a putting motion after dropping his ball on the green. The camera - again IIRC - didn't show his feet or the ball. He could have made a putting motion of the top of his ball, beside the ball, etc.

but not under a local Augusta or Masters rule. Here's the question: The program stated that he was informed of his mistake after the round was complete and he had already turned in his card and he announced the mistake and assessed the penalty the following day.

No, the variance is that the Masters plays under USGA rules, but "not really." They considered allowing Roberto de Vicenzo "correct" his mistake, too, because it's "their" championship and they've bent a few rules from the super-strict interpretations in the past.

[Baynative]

No, the variance is that the Masters plays under USGA rules, but "not really." They considered allowing Roberto de Vicenzo "correct" his mistake, too, because it's "their" championship and they've bent a few rules from the super-strict interpretations in the past.

Thanks for the info. Like I said I think it's a good thing that if a player is willing to rectify a situation and penalize himself it shouldn't result in DQ. It's not as if he doctored a card or used a foot wedge from under a bush.

On the "Calc thing" - I remember now that it was agreed that no one actually saw him hit a ball. But it was also stated that had he done so, it's OK. Wasn't it?

[iacas]

On the "Calc thing" - I remember now that it was agreed that no one actually saw him hit a ball. But it was also stated that had he done so, it's OK. Wasn't it?

No, it's not okay. The PGA Tour's local rules prohibit practice putting on the course. It doesn't matter if you're in the last group or not.