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Erik asked this in the US Open thread, but I think it will get lost there, so I thought I'd start a new thread here under Rules.  This was his question:

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@Rulesman, @Asheville, @Fourputt, @Dormie1360, @Martyn W… do you care to weigh in on 34-2?

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The question came up in reference to the actions of the official and the subsequent reaction of the committee in the Dustin Johnson fiasco.  I'll copy my reply from over there:

 

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To be honest, I'm split on 34-2.  I too feel that a ruling should be as correct as possible, but I also don't see why they bother to have a RO with a group if they are going to second guess him later.  It used to be that the RO's ruling was the end of the matter, right or wrong, so they were usually careful to get it right from the start.  That was why we each had a radio when I was officiating, so that if we had a question, we could get assistance from the committee immediately.  I know that in this case the same option was available, but the RO was confident that there could be no issue with such a simple ruling.  As it turned out, he was too confident and failed to do his job properly and completely.

The only time one of my decisions was disputed, the player simply questioned my ruling that his act was in breach of a rule.  I actually called the RO from the next hole and he supported me, then when it was reported to the committee and we went back out on the course to reenact it, the ruling was still affirmed.  It didn't have any effect on the pace of play, but it did affect the ultimate outcome of the tournament, as the 2 stroke penalty which was upheld caused him to lose by one stroke instead of winning by one.

I feel that RO's need to be more cautious and follow prescribed procedure for even the simplest situations.  When that is done, then their ruling needs to be considered final unless there is overwhelming evidence to overturn it.  The real evidence against DJ was somewhat underwhelming, but in the end I do believe that the ruling was correct as the rule currently reads.  It would probably have been made correctly in the first place and been a non-issue if the RO had done his job and followed complete procedure.

 

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 Comments or ideas?

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Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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Just some initial comments as I've have been "off the grid" having missed the open on Sunday as well as much of what has taken place since then.  I have not had a chance to look at the various threads yet.

As far at 34-2 has anyone mentioned the last paragraph of  D34-2/6 as well as D34-3/7

It would seem the USGA acted correctly under the rules, if you accept the fact Dustin caused his ball to move.  How he was notified/not notified is certainly a valid discussion, however. 

I would also add, the player is protected in the sense he can not incur an additional penalty for following the referee's instruction or ruling.  In Justin's case that would mean no additional penalty for playing from a wrong place.

As far as having ruling "replay's" now with HD cameras and fan call ins..........I don't know.  Do you want to treat players differently given the fact that most players are not televised during the competition and not subject to the same level of scrutiny, or do you want to protect the field at all costs? 

 

Regards,

John

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  On 6/22/2016 at 4:16 AM, Dormie1360 said:

Just some initial comments as I've have been "off the grid" having missed the open on Sunday as well as much of what has taken place since then.  I have not had a chance to look at the various threads yet.

As far at 34-2 has anyone mentioned the last paragraph of  D34-2/6 as well as D34-3/7

It would seem the USGA acted correctly under the rules, if you accept the fact Dustin caused his ball to move.  How he was notified/not notified is certainly a valid discussion, however. 

I would also add, the player is protected in the sense he can not incur an additional penalty for following the referee's instruction or ruling.  In Justin's case that would mean no additional penalty for playing from a wrong place.

As far as having ruling "replay's" now with HD cameras and fan call ins..........I don't know.  Do you want to treat players differently given the fact that most players are not televised during the competition and not subject to the same level of scrutiny, or do you want to protect the field at all costs? 

 

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Thanks for those references, Dormie...  On another note, per 34-3/8, the committee must not have decided that DJ gave incorrect information, otherwise, they would have given him 2 penalty strokes, not just one (at least that's how I read that decision...).

Also, I think rule 34-2 should be clarified in the ROG.  I'm not sure exactly how, but various decisions make it clear that the referee's decision may not be final when it comes to ruling on whether a player's action was proper or not.  Whether he made a ball move or not is the obvious example here.  I'm sure there are others, I just can't think of any right now.


The are many reasons why a referee's ruling may be faulty.

His not actually seeing the incident, nor being close enough to be sure, incomplete or incorrect information from the player or other witnesses, HD TV .........

That is why the various decisions are necessary.

 

 

  On 6/22/2016 at 4:52 AM, boil3rmak3r said:

Thanks for those references, Dormie...  On another note, per 34-3/8, the committee must not have decided that DJ gave incorrect information, otherwise, they would have given him 2 penalty strokes, not just one (at least that's how I read that decision...).

 

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DJ proceeded under instruction from the referee, so no extra penalty.

See http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-34,d34-3-7


  On 6/22/2016 at 7:43 AM, Rulesman said:

DJ proceeded under instruction from the referee, so no extra penalty.

See http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-34,d34-3-7

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Per 34-3-8, if a player's version of facts is subsequently found to be incorrect, a 2 stroke penalty would come into play - even though the player followed the referee's instruction to proceed (right?).  The only reason I mention this is people have guessed in other threads that rule 34-2 didn't apply to DJ's situation because DJ gave incorrect information....

 


  On 6/23/2016 at 4:06 PM, boil3rmak3r said:

Per 34-3-8, if a player's version of facts is subsequently found to be incorrect, a 2 stroke penalty would come into play - even though the player followed the referee's instruction to proceed (right?). 

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No. The referee's instruction exempted DJ from any second penalty stroke regardless of what may or may not have been said or done before.


  On 6/23/2016 at 8:39 PM, Rulesman said:
  On 6/23/2016 at 8:39 PM, Rulesman said:

No. The referee's instruction exempted DJ from any second penalty stroke regardless of what may or may not have been said or done before.

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You must not understand what I am saying.  There were others (in other threads) saying that rule 34-2 was not applicable in DJ's case because DJ gave incorrect information.  Per 34-3-8, If that was the case, DJ would have incurred a two stroke penalty.  The decision is very clear on this...

 

 


The difference is that in 33-3/8 the referee did not give the player an instruction. In DJ's case he played under instruction.


  On 6/23/2016 at 4:06 PM, boil3rmak3r said:

Per 34-3-8, if a player's version of facts is subsequently found to be incorrect, a 2 stroke penalty would come into play - even though the player followed the referee's instruction to proceed (right?).  The only reason I mention this is people have guessed in other threads that rule 34-2 didn't apply to DJ's situation because DJ gave incorrect information....

 

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His info wasn't so much incorrect as it was (to some) incomplete.  He hadn't grounded his club at address which is basically what was asked of him.  He had grounded it next to the ball after his practice swing but the ref didn't ask any questions to extract that fact from DJ.

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  On 6/24/2016 at 7:47 AM, Rulesman said:

The difference is that in 33-3/8 the referee did not give the player an instruction. In DJ's case he played under instruction.

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From 34-3/8: " The referee instructs the player to play the ball from its new location without penalty."

The decision and DJ incident seem identical with the exception of relationship of committee/referee.   


  On 6/24/2016 at 1:15 PM, Whiner said:

From 34-3/8: " The referee instructs the player to play the ball from its new location without penalty."

The decision and DJ incident seem identical with the exception of relationship of committee/referee.   

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Oops. Missed that.

Perhaps the committee decided that DJ did not give wrong information deliberately because he misread the question.


Note: This thread is 3165 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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