Senden waits 22 sec for putt to drop

[Big C]

Assessing a penalty in scenario like this is more of an art than science. The start of the 10 second window is open to interpretation and it would have to be pretty blatant for me to feel a penalty was merited. This doesn't approach penalty level, IMO. The ball stops around 5 seconds, Senden has a few moments of genuine disbelief. He walks to his putt and stops again for a few seconds. As he begins to approach the putt to tap it in, it finally drops. 

I can't see any reasonable rules official assessing a penalty.

[bubble]

for me he was around the hole at reasonable time when he bent his knees to look at the ball that fell 2 seconds after.

no problem.

[Natural Patrick]

On 7/29/2016 at 9:57 AM, rob0225 said:

Not at all, no delay.

I agree.

[DeadMan]

Not even close to being an unreasonable delay, in my opinion. You have 22 seconds between the putt stopping and dropping. Take out the extra 10 seconds he gets from the rule, and you have 12 seconds. 12 seconds might be unreasonable for about a 5 foot putt (although it really depends on the situation - other people's lines, for example). Beyond that, I'd have a really hard time calling 12 seconds unreasonable.

The only thing that makes this look bad is his path to the ball. If he stared at it in disbelief for 5 seconds before walking to the ball and waiting, nobody would notice. Hell, Bubba can yell at Ted Scott for the whole 12 seconds in that situation.

[DrvFrShow]

Borderline. 

[rehmwa]

no issue at all - but I was waiting for someone to post it here

He took less time to go up than he and every other player would have used to go and hit it in from 3 feet with just a normal routine.  Just because it's a tap in, doesn't mean he can't go through an entire pre-putt routine just like any other putt.

[CarlSpackler]

They need to implement a "shot clock" in professional golf and take all the guessing out of it.

[Rulesman]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

They need to implement a "shot clock" in professional golf and take all the guessing out of it.

They have one, used when a player is 'on the clock'. 40 or 50 seconds for a stroke.

I don't know if the pros have introduced it yet but England Golf have a 'Random Timing' warning and penalty of 60 seconds 

[CarlSpackler]

11 minutes ago, Rulesman said:

They have one, used when a player is 'on the clock'. 40 or 50 seconds for a stroke.

I don't know if the pros have introduced it yet but England Golf have a 'Random Timing' warning and penalty of 60 seconds 

I am talking specifically about the topic discussed here. Should there be a rules official with a stopwatch posted at each green who starts the clock when the ball comes to a rest, pauses it when the player starts walking, and restarts it when he/she reaches the hole? Do they need to red card the player if they are walking too slow or taking a non-direct route to the hole?

[DaveP043]

6 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

I am talking specifically about the topic discussed here. Should there be a rules official with a stopwatch posted at each green who starts the clock when the ball comes to a rest, pauses it when the player starts walking, and restarts it when he/she reaches the hole? Do they need to red card the player if they are walking too slow or taking a non-direct route to the hole?

This scenario happens so rarely that taking any kind of timing measure is uncalled for.  I think he delayed some, but I didn't find it to be "excessive".  I do agree with @iacas in post #13, a rules official with his group would be totally justified in letting him know it was borderline, and suggest that he be more prompt in moving toward the ball in the future.

[RFKFREAK]

I have no issue with it.

[CarlSpackler]

8 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

This scenario happens so rarely that taking any kind of timing measure is uncalled for.  I think he delayed some, but I didn't find it to be "excessive".  I do agree with @iacas in post #13, a rules official with his group would be totally justified in letting him know it was borderline, and suggest that he be more prompt in moving toward the ball in the future.

But some people seem to find it excessive while others do not. A decision has to be made on the spot if it was or not. One official may find it excessive, while another may not. 

[Missouri Swede]

2 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

They need to implement a "shot clock" in professional golf and take all the guessing out of it.

Here ya go:

[iacas]

9 hours ago, rehmwa said:

no issue at all - but I was waiting for someone to post it here

He took less time to go up than he and every other player would have used to go and hit it in from 3 feet with just a normal routine.  Just because it's a tap in, doesn't mean he can't go through an entire pre-putt routine just like any other putt.

Actually the rules are clear on this. If the ball is overhanging the hole you don't get to do a pre-putt routine. You get to walk to the ball and ten more seconds. That's it.

Unless your pre-putt routine is ten seconds or less of course.

[Aflighter]

He didnt take any longer than those who go up to ball and hover putter head few secs near ball hoping.Its all bogus anyways because what if his putt was 50 feet instead of 20? Does that mean he gets more time the farther away he has to walk?

[iacas]

48 minutes ago, Aflighter said:

Its all bogus anyways because what if his putt was 50 feet instead of 20? Does that mean he gets more time the farther away he has to walk?

Yes.

You have ten seconds once you get to the ball (so you can see it's overhanging).

[saevel25]

which is only fair to all golfers to be allowed the same allotment of time from which they can assess the ball is overhanging the lip or not. 

[mac0]

I think it is about the spirit of the rule and the rule was introduced to stop players spending too much time waiting for the ball to drop. I don't think Sendon did that.