Knee Drop Height - Absurd or Just Something to Get Used To?

[iacas]

40 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

It literally takes 5 minutes to read why this is the new rule, but none of them will actually bother doing that. Drives me batty.

Exactly right, and screw the press. They'd rather just quote the players and offer a "hot take" than to actually say "well, the reason is…".

[DaveP043]

55 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

Not only players, but golf media is playing this up because they don't care to learn about why the rule is necessary:

The media's job is to attract readers/viewers.  I'm sure they'll do that much better by pitting poor Rickie(David in this story) against the big bad USGA (Goliath).  Its a classic underdog story.  I'd say that to present the opposite view, that players don't understand or even know the rules that govern their profession would be much less popular among viewers, potentially pushing them towards a different media outlet, one that's more sympathetic to poor little Rickie.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

The media's job is to attract readers/viewers.

Not entirely true. It's also to inform and educate. It's to suss out the details and get to the meat, rather than just saying "player X said this, but we have no idea how much they actually know about the subject matter nor do we care in this clickbait headline-driven age."

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

The media's job is to attract readers/viewers.  I'm sure they'll do that much better by pitting poor Rickie(David in this story) against the big bad USGA (Goliath).  Its a classic underdog story.  I'd say that to present the opposite view, that players don't understand or even know the rules that govern their profession would be much less popular among viewers, potentially pushing them towards a different media outlet, one that's more sympathetic to poor little Rickie.

I take your point, but I don't think that's what they're doing here. They're just saying it's dumb and it looks bad. They're not engaging in any depth with it. It's a constant problem the golf media has with the rules. Instead of trying to figure out why the rule is the way it is, they just say it's bad and bash the USGA. I'm not a fan of that. I haven't read one person even explaining why the rule is knee-height. I would have a lot more respect for someone who said they understand the why but still disagree with it.

[3jacker]

1st world problems. lol

I agree with your take.

[DaveP043]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Not entirely true. It's also to inform and educate. It's to suss out the details and get to the meat, rather than just saying "player X said this, but we have no idea how much they actually know about the subject matter nor do we care in this clickbait headline-driven age."

 

1 hour ago, DeadMan said:

I take your point, but I don't think that's what they're doing here. They're just saying it's dumb and it looks bad. They're not engaging in any depth with it. It's a constant problem the golf media has with the rules. Instead of trying to figure out why the rule is the way it is, they just say it's bad and bash the USGA. I'm not a fan of that. I haven't read one person even explaining why the rule is knee-height. I would have a lot more respect for someone who said they understand the why but still disagree with it.

I would love to believe that the media has an interest in educating the viewers as to the actual reasons for the rules, and explaining a reasoned dissent, but I've just never seen it happen.  I think most programming is done assuming the viewing public has the attention span of a flea, and that's simply not long enough to stay on any topic long enough to even start to explain it.

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I would love to believe that the media has an interest in educating the viewers as to the actual reasons for the rules, and explaining a reasoned dissent, but I've just never seen it happen.  I think most programming is done assuming the viewing public has the attention span of a flea, and that's simply not long enough to stay on any topic long enough to even start to explain it.

Dave you said "the media's job is to…" You didn't say "the media has an interest…".

The two things are unfortunately not the same.

[DeadMan]

17 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I would love to believe that the media has an interest in educating the viewers as to the actual reasons for the rules, and explaining a reasoned dissent, but I've just never seen it happen.  I think most programming is done assuming the viewing public has the attention span of a flea, and that's simply not long enough to stay on any topic long enough to even start to explain it.

I can't speak for the general public, but I personally can't stand sports media that treat me as if I know nothing and don't care to learn more. This is why I rarely visit/read golf.com or Golf Digest, but will read things on No Laying Up, the Fried Egg, Golfers Journal, etc. Those type of outlets are growing pretty fast, too. Those publications tend to be more educated and less full of hot takes like RORY CAN'T CLOSE that I'm not interested in. And even those outlets are doing the lazy thing. It's just disappointing to me when we've seen a resurgence in high-quality golf media in the past 5 years.

[iacas]

Oy.

I like a few responses:

 

I had to reply to one guy:

 

[DrMJG]

Is it really that difficult to do? If so, they can practice it for say a whole 3 minutes or so.  Hell, I did not practice it before the first time I had to do it last week.  And, much to my total dismay, it left me with a clear 6i to the green.

These guys claim to be pros.  No sympathy from me.  This has been a known change for months before the end of last season.

Perhaps they simply don't like the fact that, for some of them, their butts stick out a bit while they do it.

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by DrMJG

[Missouri Swede]

If the rule is such a big problem for the tour pro, they could have started filing complaints when the final rules were published—last March.  Since the rule is being described as “terrible” or “stupid,” it should have been apparent to them when they looked through the rules (or summaries) or glanced at a couple videos.

Unless they never bothered to look these things over. Nah.

[iacas]

28 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

Unless they never bothered to look these things over. Nah.

Exactly…

Also, props to @DeadMan:

[Rulesman]

Waist height? What would they say when they start plugging in bunkers.

[AlDena]

Waist Height? Let me get wasted first. As for looking bad, try this:  Point your toes in a little, so your knees point in. Slowly squat until your hand is at knee height. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me that does not look silly.😊 Maybe we need a Minister of Silly Looking Ball Drops...   

[Missouri Swede]

25 minutes ago, AlDena said:

Waist Height? Let me get wasted first. As for looking bad, try this:  Point your toes in a little, so your knees point in. Slowly squat until your hand is at knee height. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me that does not look silly.😊 Maybe we need a Minister of Silly Looking Ball Drops...   

You could make a drop from shoulder height or over the back of your shoulder look ridiculous too, if you wanted to.

To hear complaints about how awkward the knee height drop is, you’d think tour pros were quite uncoordinated people. I’m pretty sure my knee-height drop looks quite a bit more fluid and natural than my full swing (that’s where I worry about looking silly).

[DocP]

I think this isn't a big deal.  The rule has changed, it is simple and clear.  I can understand the reasoning behind it.  Bottom line:  follow the rule and save any concern or frustration for a more critical issue like slow play!

[Sandy Divot]

The more I see it, the more stupid it looks. 

[billchao]

Played my first round today, had a bunch of drops. Not once was remembering to drop from knee height an issue.