"Line of Putt, Jordan."

[Buckeyebowman]

On 4/13/2016 at 0:36 AM, JLeeWildcat9 said:

I backed off this keyboard 3 times before I typed this! It's a bit windy here: Slow play is selfish. How can anyone say it's not? 

I have to agree. And I'm a Spieth fan! His pace of play on Saturday was absolutely glacial! Sunday was not quite as bad, but I guess he still wound up on the clock. He backs off of shots more than anybody I've seen lately.

On 4/13/2016 at 0:18 AM, Golfingdad said:

Yes, they do that occasionally too, but what I said doesn't dispute that.  What I said was that they often times repair the pitch marks themselves without conferring, and I've never once seen an FC object.  My point was that if somebody actually wanted to cheat, they could just repair it as if it's a ball mark, no questions asked.

This in response to the silly comments above that suggested that he was tamping down a spike mark with his ... Spiked shoes.

You have a valid point. Although if I was on tour, playing for the kind of money they are, and trying to take care of my own status, and saw a FC repairing what appeared to be spike marks I'd have to, first, take him aside and talk to him quietly. If he persisted, I'd have to call him on it, and report him to the rules officials. This isn't Quarter skins, or beers and hot dogs after the round. This is your living!

And a damn nice living it can be. But it can be here today and gone tomorrow. If you can't maintain, next thing you know, you're a country club pro giving lessons to geriatrics who can't hit the ball out of their shadow. That must be so enjoyable! 

Speaking of officials, has it ever puzzled anyone why, when a player needs a ruling, they have to wait around while some guy buzzes across the course to them in a golf cart? With the kind of prestige and money involved, why isn't there a rules official on every hole? Hell, why isn't there a rules official with every group? Can't they afford them?

I also notice that Spieth's FC on Sunday, Smylie Kaufman didn't call him on anything. Of course, he seemed to be having enough problems of his own. The pressure of a Masters Sunday just squashed him flat!

Edited April 15, 2016 by Buckeyebowman

[saevel25]

An email response I got,

 

While a player is not permitted to touch, which includes intentionally standing or walking on, the line of putt under Rule 16-1a, there is nothing in the Rules to prevent a player from straddling the line of putt prior to his stroke.  The issue with this action is that the line of putt includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line.  For short putts (i.e., a couple feet) it is easy to determine the line of putt and if the player is standing on it.  However as the length of a putt increases, so does the reasonable distance on either side of the intended line.  For longer putts it may be difficult to definitively identify the line of putt.  When a player chooses the straddle the line of putt in this manner, the referee or Committee is forced to make a determination of the line of putt to decide if the player has committed a breach of Rule 16-1a (i.e., touching the line of putt).  The penalty for a breach of Rule 16-1a is loss of hole in match play and two strokes in stroke play.

 

[colin007]

On 4/22/2016 at 8:45 PM, saevel25 said:

An email response I got,

 

While a player is not permitted to touch, which includes intentionally standing or walking on, the line of putt under Rule 16-1a, there is nothing in the Rules to prevent a player from straddling the line of putt prior to his stroke.  The issue with this action is that the line of putt includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line.  For short putts (i.e., a couple feet) it is easy to determine the line of putt and if the player is standing on it.  However as the length of a putt increases, so does the reasonable distance on either side of the intended line.  For longer putts it may be difficult to definitively identify the line of putt.  When a player chooses the straddle the line of putt in this manner, the referee or Committee is forced to make a determination of the line of putt to decide if the player has committed a breach of Rule 16-1a (i.e., touching the line of putt).  The penalty for a breach of Rule 16-1a is loss of hole in match play and two strokes in stroke play.

 

Woah...that could lead to a serious disagreement, when the official says that the player stepped on his line and the player says that wasn't his intended line. That could be a mess.

[iacas]

5 hours ago, colin007 said:

Woah...that could lead to a serious disagreement, when the official says that the player stepped on his line and the player says that wasn't his intended line. That could be a mess.

It's generally just ruled in favor of the player. There's no real desire to traipse in your line.

What advantage could you really hope to gain?

[14ledo81]

Why is the rule in place? 

I agree that there is no advantage, but then why have the rule?

[colin007]

11 hours ago, iacas said:

It's generally just ruled in favor of the player. There's no real desire to traipse in your line.

What advantage could you really hope to gain?

I guess it would be iffy in the example posted here. I don't know why Jordan would want to, what with his spikes and all, but it certainly looked like he did it on purpose.

[iacas]

10 hours ago, 14ledo81 said:

Why is the rule in place? 

I agree that there is no advantage, but then why have the rule?

I don't know.

If I had to guess I would imagine it's somewhat of a rule grounded in the older style of play: bumpier greens could possibly be improved (or spike marks) by stepping on them.

Maybe it remains because they want to make sure the line of putt remains somewhat sacred… including the lines of other player's putts. If you're required to respect your LoP, you'll be more likely to respect the LoP of others.

Just a guess. Because, yeah, there's really not much of an advantage to walking in your own line unless you can flatten something that you're not otherwise allowed to repair (ball marks).

[dchoye]

Walking on ones line I don't think has been enforced.  It's usually done accidental and given benefit of doubt.  However it you start touching the line with line of the putt with your hands other than green cleaning and fix in ball marks is strictly enforced.  Remember Dyson getting that harsh penalty for stupidly pushing his ball in front of his ball mark?  

[pumaAttack]

On 4/25/2016 at 6:33 PM, iacas said:

It's generally just ruled in favor of the player. There's no real desire to traipse in your line.

What advantage could you really hope to gain?

I think it's pretty obvious.  

If you walk the exact line of your putt, you can get a much better sense of the break.  If you are walking adjacent to the line, you may miss some nuances.  Your foot could easily feel the last yards breaking right to left, or whatever. 

Also, you could drag a spike mark towards the hole, creating a funnel like approach.  (This reasoning is secondary and probably not a valid concern)

[iacas]

2 hours ago, pumaAttack said:

I think it's pretty obvious.  

If you walk the exact line of your putt, you can get a much better sense of the break.  If you are walking adjacent to the line, you may miss some nuances.  Your foot could easily feel the last yards breaking right to left, or whatever. 

Greens don't change so significantly in one foot that this matters. If it changed that significantly you could see it.