"Line of Putt, Jordan."

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, BallStriker said:

I do have video....in HD on my 60 inch TV....it is conclusive to me....not so sure seeing the repeat on a computer screen can give you the exact same perspective I have.....do you have it on big screen DVR?  if not, then i really don't care about your opinion.....sorry

I watched it, but didn't tape it, and I would bet that is true about most people.  If you want opinions of others on the incident, it would be helpful for you to share it, that's all I'm saying.  But since you made it clear you dont want our opinions, then it's not necessary.

[Chris E]

Regardless, this is just another stupid rule. I thought stepping in the line of the putt of an opponent was a no-no, now it apparently would help them lol. Stupid, along with not being able to fix a spike mark on your line. 

[bkuehn1952]

If a player is trying to get as close to his line without actually standing or touching the line, but accidentally does step on his line, it seems like the Rules gives him a pass (accidental and does not improve the line).  If during the play of a round a player had more than one of these "accidents" I think he has to be called on it.  Kind of like marking one's ball and replacing it 1/4 inch closer to the hole.  If I notice someone possibly do that, I watch how he does it on the next couple of putts to make sure it was a one time thing and/or I was wrong with what I thought I saw versus a regular procedure. 

This whole walking the line as close as possible, straddling the line to feel the slope, etc...is ripe for abuse.

[Ernest Jones]

9 hours ago, BallStriker said:

If you do not have the Masters on HD on DVR, then you shouldn't be in the conversation.......I am just giving video for frame of reference....

 

9 hours ago, BallStriker said:

I do have video....in HD on my 60 inch TV....it is conclusive to me....not so sure seeing the repeat on a computer screen can give you the exact same perspective I have.....do you have it on big screen DVR?  if not, then i really don't care about your opinion.....sorry

Yeah, @Golfingdad, mind your own business, Jackass. 

[saevel25]

http://www.masters.com/en_US/watch/2016-04-09/mxcxyy8rmcif839uau0drz7sya76epbw.html

Timestamp: 4:20 

He walked on his line. I think there should be a penalty on this. I could understand a large breaking putt and you happen to walk on the apex of the putt. He walked slightly round his ball then walked on his line a few good paces. He was trying to get the read for the top shelf and he decided to walk on his line to do so. 

 

[turtleback]

Ouch, slow play complaints, microscoping his play to scrutinize it for rules violations.  I guess Jordan really HAS made it to the big time.

 

I was going to say that the premise of the thread is a lot of hooooey, but since I only have a 56" TV, not the requisite 60 inch TV I'm not entitled to an opinion.

[newtogolf]

I have an 80" UHD so think I get a vote.  It did appear he walked on his line but I do not believe it was intentional.  He used a normal gait and did not step on a particular spot on the green as one would if they were going to push down a spike mark.  

I'm sure people have reviewed the footage as we can't be the only ones that saw it and so far there's no mention of him being assessed a penalty.  So while he did walk on his line the officials must believe it was not intentional.   

[Golfingdad]

1 minute ago, newtogolf said:

I have an 80" UHD so think I get a vote.  It did appear he walked on his line but I do not believe it was intentional.  He used a normal gait and did not step on a particular spot on the green as one would if they were going to push down a spike mark.  

I'm sure people have reviewed the footage as we can't be the only ones that saw it and so far there's no mention of him being assessed a penalty.  So while he did walk on his line the officials must believe it was not intentional.   

Right.  Some simple questions here:

Why would a guy who wears spikes on his feet intentionally step in his own line?

And, more importantly, how could he possibly internionally step in his own line when he's still at the very beginning of the process of determining what his line is going to be?

Common sense, people.

[BallStriker]

5 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I have an 80" UHD so think I get a vote.  It did appear he walked on his line but I do not believe it was intentional.  He used a normal gait and did not step on a particular spot on the green as one would if they were going to push down a spike mark.  

I'm sure people have reviewed the footage as we can't be the only ones that saw it and so far there's no mention of him being assessed a penalty.  So while he did walk on his line the officials must believe it was not intentional.   

Upon further review, I think I have the answer has to be he "accidentally" walked on his line and because there was no improvement to the line, there is no penalty....

I really can't see how he didn't know he was directly on his line though......he looked back, squatted down and looked directly down the line the ball was going to travel....maybe the 3 putt was the golf gods punishing him because they know the mortals running the tournament wouldn't have the balls to call it..

[JLeeWildcat9]

I like all the opinions guys. It's ultimately on Rory to call the penalty. That said, there is one view, from behind, he saw a spikemark early in his line, then put it down with his foot. Some of you saying, "No big deal," should have your watching privileges taken from you. A spike mark can throw a ball on these greens way off line. He knows what he did. Come on, it was intentional. Ask Billy Horscel his opinion!

[newtogolf]

9 minutes ago, JLeeWildcat9 said:

I like all the opinions guys. It's ultimately on Rory to call the penalty. That said, there is one view, from behind, he saw a spikemark early in his line, then put it down with his foot. Some of you saying, "No big deal," should have your watching privileges taken from you. A spike mark can throw a ball on these greens way off line. He knows what he did. Come on, it was intentional. Ask Billy Horscel his opinion!

He's wearing soft cleat shoes, how do you propose he'd step on the spike mark perfectly to push it down?  

[JLeeWildcat9]

That's beside the point. It's the rule. He's a pro, and he blatantly stepped on his line!

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

And, more importantly, how could he possibly internionally step in his own line when he's still at the very beginning of the process of determining what his line is going to be?

Common sense, people.

I would have said maybe if the putt wasn't that straight. Jordan read the putt, then read the putt closer to the hole to read it on the top tier. Which means he had a general idea of how the putt broke and was just looking at if he needed to tweek his read due to the top tier. Also, he has to know that putt is pretty much straight that he putted that green many times. 

It would be interesting to what defines accidentally and intentionally by the USGA. A lot of stuff is penalized by accidently actions. To me, the accident is if you walk in an area you didn't think was your line until you read it. Maybe you pulled your putt through the area you walked and it wasn't your intended line. 

Jordan walked through his intended line multiple times. He was deliberate in walking down that line. He wasn't trying to stand astride it. He intentionally walked in that area with the intent to read the top tier. 

If this doesn't get a penalty then I don't understand the meaning of the rule. 

[Golfingdad]

15 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I would have said maybe if the putt wasn't that straight. Jordan read the putt, then read the putt closer to the hole to read it on the top tier. Which means he had a general idea of how the putt broke and was just looking at if he needed to tweek his read due to the top tier. Also, he has to know that putt is pretty much straight that he putted that green many times. 

It would be interesting to what defines accidentally and intentionally by the USGA. A lot of stuff is penalized by accidently actions. To me, the accident is if you walk in an area you didn't think was your line until you read it. Maybe you pulled your putt through the area you walked and it wasn't your intended line. 

Jordan walked through his intended line multiple times. He was deliberate in walking down that line. He wasn't trying to stand astride it. He intentionally walked in that area with the intent to read the top tier. 

If this doesn't get a penalty then I don't understand the meaning of the rule. 

What would your answer be to my first question?

[saevel25]

To me the word intent should be used as in did he intend to actually walk where he knowingly knew where his line was. For me, he read the putt initially. He had an idea of where the putt would break. He walked over an area that his line was to read the top tier. He broke the rules. Maybe he wasn't thinking at the time, "Oh i have spikes on". I don't think he thinks too much about if he's wearing spikes or not. 

 

[Golfingdad]

12 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

To me the word intent should be used as in did he intend to actually walk where he knowingly knew where his line was. For me, he read the putt initially. He had an idea of where the putt would break. He walked over an area that his line was to read the top tier. He broke the rules. Maybe he wasn't thinking at the time, "Oh i have spikes on". I don't think he thinks too much about if he's wearing spikes or not. 

I do t even know what to say.  You have to be kidding.

[dchoye]

One point I like to make is learning aim point express we have to careful when we walk midway to the hole that we don't walk on our line . Even my instructor suggest standing on one side or another and not straddling the line at the midway point to the hole. If Spieth can walk like that and not be penalized why cant the aim point express users do the same?

Edited April 10, 2016 by dchoye

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I do t even know what to say.  You have to be kidding.

So you're saying I can just walk all over the green as long as I have no clue where my line is then I don't get penalized because walking on it would be accidental? 

Then what about the Aimpoint ruling? Why do I have to be concerned where I stand for that so I don't stand in my line? If I don't know where my line is then I can stand anywhere because standing on it would be accidental. If there is a penalty for standing on the line for aimpoint. Then the penalty comes from after knowing the exact location of the line and if I stood on it. On which case then Spieth violated the rules because his read was where he stood even if he didn't know the line of the putt. 

Quote

Recently the USGA and R&A released a joint statement on the issue and clearly state that collecting information about the putt, including feeling slope for the AimPoint read, is legal as long as the player stays a reasonable distance away from their intended line. The European Tour also released a video explaining their position on it. The only ambiguity lies in what the definition is of the term “reasonable distance”. That is left to the local rules officials and can depend on the player’s level of expertise and the length and amount of break of the putt.

Again, with aimpoint the attended line is one that you determine after you read the putt. So you have to be extra careful in not standing on what your line would become. In Spieth's case he should have done better to stand a reasonable distance away form his line when reading his putt. Once his intended line became the line on which he stood on he violated the rules. 

Why does AimPoint have to be careful and Spieth doesn't? 

I don't see the difference in walking to the midpoint to read a putt with your feet or reading the last quarter of the putt with your eyes as Spieth did.