Is Phil Mickelson Going Nuts?: Hitting a moving ball at US Open

[GrandStranded]

Just curious here... What was the name of the golfer who stood by, and let a group of fans move a huge BOULDER so he could play a shot? Can't remember his name, but wasn't he the same guy who asked for and got a drop from the ROOF of a clubhouse? Yeah, it was the same guy. but who? Hmmm... oh wait. Now I remember. 

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, GrandStranded said:

Just curious here... What was the name of the golfer who stood by, and let a group of fans move a huge BOULDER so he could play a shot? Can't remember his name, but wasn't he the same guy who asked for and got a drop from the ROOF of a clubhouse? Yeah, it was the same guy. but who? Hmmm... oh wait. Now I remember. 

Can we NOT make this thread about Woods please!? We’re not playing what-about-ism. This is Mickelsons issue. He needs to own it. 

[Jack Watson]

Phil should have admitted that his glutes were activating too much causing him to run over and stop the putt.  Then we could lay this thread to rest.

[GrandStranded]

6 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Can we NOT make this thread about Woods please!? We’re not playing what-about-ism. This is Mickelsons issue. He needs to own it. 

He apologized didn't he? Or was that fake news?

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, GrandStranded said:

He apologized didn't he? Or was that fake news?

He apologized after he realized the PR was very negative. I would have rathered he did that right away. I am disappointed in him because I really enjoy watching him play. 

Is that ok, or am I a jerk in your book for my opinion?

[GrandStranded]

Just now, boogielicious said:

He apologized after he realized the PR was very negative. I would have rathered he did that right away. I am disappointed in him because I really enjoy watching him play. 

Is that ok, or am I a jerk in your book for my opinion?

Not in the least. As a matter of fact, I agree with everything you just said. My point is, He did apologize, sincerely or not. At what point do we let it go?

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, GrandStranded said:

Not in the least. As a matter of fact, I agree with everything you just said. My point is, He did apologize, sincerely or not. At what point do we let it go?

I have moved on. I am just moderating this thread. Others can’t seem to let it go and throw in what abouts because of their pathological hatred of TW. So we mods have to babysit and make sure everyone plays nice. 

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, GrandStranded said:

Just curious here... What was the name of the golfer who stood by, and let a group of fans move a huge BOULDER so he could play a shot? Can't remember his name, but wasn't he the same guy who asked for and got a drop from the ROOF of a clubhouse? Yeah, it was the same guy. but who? Hmmm... oh wait. Now I remember. 

Uhhh, both of those were within the rules. He didn't intentionally slap at a moving ball and break the rules.

Sorry that your Tiger hate leads to you trying to equate those three situations.

4 minutes ago, GrandStranded said:

Not in the least. As a matter of fact, I agree with everything you just said. My point is, He did apologize, sincerely or not. At what point do we let it go?

You're the one still talking about it.

[GrandStranded]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

Uhhh, both of those were within the rules. He didn't intentionally slap at a moving ball and break the rules.

Sorry that your Tiger hate leads to you trying to equate those three situations.

You're the one still talking about it.

Hate is a strong word. Don't confuse it with a lack of respect. I threw Phil under the bus as soon as the incident occurred, I said he should've been DQ'ed, and lost respect for him and the USGA when he was both allowed and decided to play on Sunday. However once he apologized, what is left to say. . 

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, GrandStranded said:

Hate is a strong word. Don't confuse it with a lack of respect. I threw Phil under the bus as soon as the incident occurred, I said he should've been DQ'ed, and lost respect for him and the USGA when he was both allowed and decided to play on Sunday. However once he apologized, what is left to say. . 

His apology was "too little, too late" IMO.

And to your last question… I don't know… so why do you keep posting about it?

[GrandStranded]

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

His apology was "too little, too late" IMO.

And to your last question… I don't know… so why do you keep posting about it?

I get that about too little, too late, maybe I just felt it was reaching a point of piling on. ( not my call to make I guess), so I'll stop here.. But in my defense, I felt the same way, and defended Tiger a few years ago on another site after Brandel Chamblee basically called Tiger a cheater on national TV. I don't think any of those guys are wired that way, but like everyone, they have had moments they would like to have back..

[turtleback]

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

Just curious here... What was the name of the golfer who stood by, and let a group of fans move a huge BOULDER so he could play a shot? Can't remember his name, but wasn't he the same guy who asked for and got a drop from the ROOF of a clubhouse? Yeah, it was the same guy. but who? Hmmm... oh wait. Now I remember. 

What a jerk he was for playing by the rules.  Just because you don't seem to understand the rules doesn't mean he broke them.

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

Not in the least. As a matter of fact, I agree with everything you just said. My point is, He did apologize, sincerely or not. At what point do we let it go?

For me it is after he takes questions about it at his next tourney presser if he implicitly or explicitly denounces that whole BS, 'I knew what the penalty was and I'm  so smart' line and sincerely apologizes to the golf world in person, not a tweet or having a reporter report it.  

[Aflighter]

2 minutes ago, turtleback said:

What a jerk he was for playing by the rules.  Just because you don't seem to understand the rules doesn't mean he broke them.

Yeah but allowing it to happen isn't in the spirit of the game.Just cause you stand by and allow it to happen doesnt make it right.I remember DJ getting a drop couple years ago from rough at US Open because of line of sight.Only problem was he got to drop out of rough instead of staying in rough to drop.That's also against the spirit of the game but since its in rulebook he took advantage of it aka Phil.

[turtleback]

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

Hate is a strong word. Don't confuse it with a lack of respect. I threw Phil under the bus as soon as the incident occurred, I said he should've been DQ'ed, and lost respect for him and the USGA when he was both allowed and decided to play on Sunday. However once he apologized, what is left to say. . 

And how many times was Tiger's stuff brought up even after he apologized AND subjected himself to a humiliating presser about his private life (NOT anything golf) and it is STILL brought up here - even in this very thread?

[GrandStranded]

4 minutes ago, turtleback said:

What a jerk he was for playing by the rules.  Just because you don't seem to understand the rules doesn't mean he broke them.

...and here comes the Cavalry! What took you so long? 

[turtleback]

1 minute ago, Aflighter said:

Yeah but allowing it to happen isn't in the spirit of the game.Just cause you stand by and allow it to happen doesnt make it right.I remember DJ getting a drop couple years ago from rough at US Open because of line of sight.Only problem was he got to drop out of rough instead of staying in rough to drop.That's also against the spirit of the game but since its in rulebook he took advantage of it aka Phil.

What Phil did had nothing to do with 'rulebook'.  And using the rules properly to your advantage is not violating the spirit of the game.

Just now, GrandStranded said:

...and here comes the Cavalry! What took you so long? 

Good contribution.

[iacas]

Just now, Aflighter said:

Yeah but allowing it to happen isn't in the spirit of the game.

That makes no sense at all. Moving a loose impediment is allowed in the Rules. You should check out 23-1/2 and 23-1/3. Perfectly within the spirit of the Rules (and within the Rules).

Slapping at a moving ball is neither.

Just now, Aflighter said:

I remember DJ getting a drop couple years ago from rough at US Open because of line of sight.Only problem was he got to drop out of rough instead of staying in rough to drop.That's also against the spirit of the game but since its in rulebook he took advantage of it aka Phil.

No, it's not.

And it's not at all like what Phil did.

Phil breached the rules. He purposefully and willfully violated them.

DJ and Tiger did not.

2 minutes ago, GrandStranded said:

...and here comes the Cavalry! What took you so long? 

Borrowed: Good contribution.

[brocks]

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

Just curious here... What was the name of the golfer who stood by, and let a group of fans move a huge BOULDER so he could play a shot?

There have probably been several, but the one I remember most clearly was named Tiger.

And thanks for the PERFECT example of properly using the rules to your advantage.  Before moving the boulder, Tiger had a tour official verify that it was not embedded, and therefore was a loose impediment.  The rule and decision Tiger used were written specifically for the situation he was in, and had been in force for decades before he was born.  It explicitly said that the size of the object was irrelevant, and that any number of people could assist, as long as it didn't cause an undue delay.

THAT is how you intelligently use the rules.  Any golfer who took an unplayable or chipped out in that situation would be a victim of his own ignorance.   It would be as dumb as not re-teeing your ball if it fell off the tee as you addressed it.

Tiger used the rule in exactly the way it was meant to be used.  Phil didn't.  Nobody expected that a golfer would run after his ball and hit it back toward the hole when they wrote the rule he broke.  That's why he should have been DQd for a major breach, and that's why the rule itself should be rewritten to automatically DQ a player who deliberately hits a moving ball.