I'm not a golfer but it seems really stupid to me that you have to pick your ball up and put it straight back down again anyway. Why do they do that?
No you don't have to do that - but on the green you are allowed to mark your ball, pick it up to clean it (or indeed remove it from the green while others are playing, and then replace it as near to it's original position as possible (hence the marker) before then removing the marker and playing your ball.
Some players will do that and then just before they putt, they will mark again, pick the ball up a few inches and then reposition it back lining up marks they have on the ball with the direction of the put. That is what she appeared to do but could be clearly be seen replacing it to the side of where it was before.
I just looked at it again. Whilst at first glance it looks like the final position she places it in is quite a ways away, looking at it more closely, I think she's out less than a cm. I placed my finger in the place from where the ball is originally taken and then watched that as she put it back. As her hand comes down, she's quite a ways away, but then her hand swings back towards the original spot (the marker is behind the original location) and I'm convinced that she actually gets very close to the original spot. I think the penalty is harsh. I'm not a golfer and I'm not sure what it says about me that I've wasted 3 minutes of my life on analysing and discussing something I have absolutely no idea about.
As I said, she should pay someone to go through footage of all the other players upon the green, see if any of them put their ball back a centimetre out of place. Golf won't be killed by piffling details like this but it will be killed by majors descending into farce for no good reason at all.
"Not everyone's shots are under scrutiny, just the leaders, so it's not a fair system," - To make it a fair playing field, the officials should only have taken it into account if TV viewers were able to follow every single Golfer in the tournament. Else one person right at the top is potentially being penalised whilst someone chasing for the lead might have done the same thing a hole or two back yet didnt get caught because the cameras werent on them.
Either way it was stupid what she did (i.e. Cant understand why she picked her ball up about an inch off the ground and then put it back down (Straight away raises question marks for me) but you either develop the technology to monitor and penalise all that do it, or you dont do it at all.
She's either intentionally avoiding an old pitch mark or spike mark, or she's been very lazy in going through her routine marking of the ball. Only she would know if it's intentional. If it was laziness, then I can't help thinking that her caddy could've picked up on it. Not sure if caddies in the women's game have the same importance and influence as the men's, but long gone are the days they were just bag carriers. I'm not saying the caddies should not take their eyes off the player for the entire round, but should at least be watching as players mark and address the ball.
they should have a rule that once a ball is on the green, it can only be moved if plugged or in the way of another player. Why do all pros pick up their ball, clean it then line it up to their markings?
they should have a rule that once a ball is on the green, it can only be moved if plugged or in the way of another player. Why do all pros pick up their ball, clean it then line it up to their markings?
Because they can?
I'm not a pro (quite the opposite) but unless it's a tap in I always mark my ball, pick it up, clean it, and replace it using markers on the ball to line up the putt.
Greens are prepared to allow the best possible surface for a putt - not being able to clean the ball sort of compromises that objective.
As I said, she should pay someone to go through footage of all the other players upon the green, see if any of them put their ball back a centimetre out of place. Golf won't be killed by piffling details like this but it will be killed by majors descending into farce for no good reason at all.
Last year's US Open with Dustin Johnson not knowing if he was being penalised shots, whilst still on the back 9, was ridiculous. His ball moved about one dimple's worth after he addressed it. No one in tv, the crowd or the field had a clue what was happening.
Comments
Some players will do that and then just before they putt, they will mark again, pick the ball up a few inches and then reposition it back lining up marks they have on the ball with the direction of the put. That is what she appeared to do but could be clearly be seen replacing it to the side of where it was before.
Now what was it she did ?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/39485717
"Not everyone's shots are under scrutiny, just the leaders, so it's not a fair system," - To make it a fair playing field, the officials should only have taken it into account if TV viewers were able to follow every single Golfer in the tournament. Else one person right at the top is potentially being penalised whilst someone chasing for the lead might have done the same thing a hole or two back yet didnt get caught because the cameras werent on them.
Either way it was stupid what she did (i.e. Cant understand why she picked her ball up about an inch off the ground and then put it back down (Straight away raises question marks for me) but you either develop the technology to monitor and penalise all that do it, or you dont do it at all.
Only she would know if it's intentional.
If it was laziness, then I can't help thinking that her caddy could've picked up on it.
Not sure if caddies in the women's game have the same importance and influence as the men's, but long gone are the days they were just bag carriers. I'm not saying the caddies should not take their eyes off the player for the entire round, but should at least be watching as players mark and address the ball.
I'm not a pro (quite the opposite) but unless it's a tap in I always mark my ball, pick it up, clean it, and replace it using markers on the ball to line up the putt.
Greens are prepared to allow the best possible surface for a putt - not being able to clean the ball sort of compromises that objective.
In the Ryder Cup you could have thousands of Americans and Europeans e-mailing in now to help get a penalty for the opposition.
Thankfully he won anyway.