It was great to see Canada’s Graham DeLaet finish runner-up at Torrey Pines and the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open. The Weyburn, Sask. native narrowly missed earning his first PGA Tour victory, tying for second just a single shot back of eventual winner Scott Stallings.

During final round coverage of the championship, a highlight from a past broadcast sparked a rules debate, specifically with reference to Rule 17, The Flagstick.

The fuel for said rules debate was provided courtesy of a CBS flashback to the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open, where Phil Mickelson needed to hole his approach for an eagle on the 72^nd hole to force a playoff.  Mickelson sent caddie Jim ‘Bones’ MacKay forward to attend the flagstick as he prepared for his eagle opportunity from approximately 75 yards. Here’s footage of the play.

The Ruling:

Rule 17-1 (Flagstick Attended, Removed or Held Up), provides the following explanation of actions pertaining to attending the flagstick:

Before making a stroke from anywhere on the course, the player may have the flagstick attended, removed or held up to indicate the position of the hole.

If the flagstick is not attended, removed or held up before the player makes a stroke, it must not be attended, removed or held up during the stroke or while the player’s ball is in motion if doing so might influence the movement of the ball.

Based on the standards set forth in Rule 17-1, Mickelson was entitled to have Bones attend the flagstick and was required to have him do so before he made his approach shot.  You’ll notice that Bones does a diligent job of vacating the area where he was attending the flagstick, in an effort to avoid a breach of the Rules, under Rule 17-3 (Ball Striking Flagstick or Attendant), which states:

The player’s ball must not strike:

a. The flagstick when it is attended, removed or held up;

b. The person attending or holding up the flagstick or anything carried by him; or

c. The flagstick in the hole, unattended, when the stroke has been made on the putting green.

Exception: When the flagstick is attended, removed or held up without the player’s authority – see Rule 17-2.

PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 17-3:

Match play – Loss of hole; Stroke play – Two strokes and the ball must be played as it lies.

Interestingly enough, while some thought Mickelson and Bones pushed the envelope on having the flagstick attended in this situation, the player and caddie are also entitled to also indicate a line of play, under Rule 8-2 (Indicating Line of Play).  Given that Mickelson’s ball lay off the green, he would be entitled to have Bones touch the putting green to indicate a line of play as long as any mark placed to indicate the line of play is removed prior to the stroke being made.  This situation is contemplated in Decision 8-2b/3, which states:

Caddie Touches Putting Green to Indicate Line of Play Before Player Chips from Off Green

Q. The caddie of a player who is preparing to play a chip shot from off the putting green touches the green with a club to indicate the line of play. What is the ruling?

A. There is no penalty. The prohibition against touching the putting green to indicate the line of play applies only if the player’s ball lies on the putting green.

While the mid-handicapper might not benefit from such advice, indicating a line of play, you can see from the video that Phil is dialed-in to within mere yards of the flag on his approach.

Back to the 2014 Farmer’s Insurance Open… Marc Leishman did provide a worthy attempt to hole out, just as Phil did circa 2011, to force a playoff with Stallings. Like Phil, he too missed.

Next time you find yourself looking to hole out, be sure to exercise your rights under Rules 8 and 17.

For more information on the Rules of Golf, please click here.

To ask a Rules of Golf question, please click here.

For more information on how to proceed in various Rules of Golf situations, guidance on the Golf Canada Handicap System and more, please consult our Rules of Golf publications – for purchase in Golf Canada’s eStore, or at your local book retailer.

For the fourth straight year, a rules violation managed to take centre stage at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

In 2011, Padraig Harrington was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.  Two years ago, Rory removed loose soil that was on the fringe (through the green) and was penalized two-strokes.  Last year, Tiger was penalized two-strokes for taking relief for what he believed was an embedded ball.

On Saturday, during this year’s third round, Rory decided to take relief from a gallery crosswalk on the second hole, which proved to be costly for the former world No. 1.

On most professional tours, the Standard Local Rules defines “areas completely encircled with white lines, including areas marked as gallery crosswalks” as ground under repair.  Rory could have played the ball as it lie, or taken free relief under Rule 25-1.

It wasn’t until the 18th hole on Saturday, when his fellow-competitor’s caddie mentioned to Rory that he might want to discuss his relief procedure on the 2nd hole with a rules official.  Rory mentioned the details to officials in the scoring tent to ensure he proceeded correctly to avoid signing for an incorrect scorecard, which would have resulted in disqualification. Unfortunately, they did not have video evidence of the situation so Rory and head official, John Paramor, had to go back to the second hole to determine if Rory proceeded correctly.

“(McIlroy) found what he thought to be his nearest point of relief where the ball was outside and when he dropped the ball within a club’s length, when he actually stood to the ball, his left foot was standing on or just over the line demarking the area of ground under repair,” explained Paramor in a statement. “Therefore he has not taken full relief and he is in breach of Rule 25-1, the penalty for which is two strokes.”

Decision 20-2c/0.5 contemplates the exact scenario that Rory was faced with after dropping a ball from the ground under repair:

Q. A player’s ball lies in ground under repair through the green. The player elects to take relief    and drops the ball in accordance with Rule 25-1b(i). The ball remains outside the ground under repair area but it rolls to a position where the player would have to stand in the area to play his stroke. Must the player re-drop the ball?

A. Yes. The ball has rolled and come to rest “in a position where there is interference by the condition from which relief was taken” – see Rule 20-2c(v). The same applies if a player is taking relief from an immovable obstruction.

On twitter, Rory was making light of a bad situation.  During his post round interview, he wasn’t as impressed with the rules violation.

To see Rory’s post round interview click here.

Foot fault…..

— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) January 18, 2014

Each year staff at Golf Canada take great pride in reflecting in the engagement of our members through the Golf Canada Score Centre and score posting for handicap purposes.  Below is a brief summary of what our members did in 2013…

Total number of members who posted at least 1 score in 2013…         202,640
Total number of new Members who posted a minimum of 5 scores…  30,351
Total number of scores posted…    7,480,087

Scores Posted by Type:

• Home…         6,069,151
• Away…         1,410,936
• Tournament… 358,982

For more information and FAQ’s on Handicap and Course Rating, please click here.

To ask a Handicap question, you can email me at ccrawford@golfcanada.ca.

For more information on how to proceed in various Rules of Golf situations, guidance on the Golf Canada Handicap System and more, please consult our Rules of Golf publications – for purchase in Golf Canada’s eStore, or at your local book retailer.

Last week the USGA and R&A announced the new changes to the 2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf book.  In total, 87 changes were implemented into the new Decisions book, set to release on January 1^st, 2014.  To read more about the notable changes, please read last week’s article here on what was updated.

The 2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf book is now available for pre-order on Golf Canada’s e-store.  The book will be shipped in January 2014, in time to brush up on your rules knowledge for the golf season.

Along with the Decisions on the Rules of Golf book, our e-store offers many different publications to learn more about the game of golf.

The 2012-2015 Rules of Golf book outlines the 34 rules to adhere to while golfing.  The Definitions sections give clarity to the terms which form the foundation around the Rules of golf.  The Appendix sections at the end of the Rules Book further explain anything from Local Rules to the specifications of the clubs and the ball.

Local Rules can vary based on the golf course and only be implemented at certain times, but all must abide by the Rules of Golf.  A common local rule that may be in effect golf courses that haven’t been hit by snow yet this year, is “Preferred Lies” and “Winter Rules”.  Not to be confused with Rule 25 (Abnormal Conditions, Embedded Ball, and Wrong Putting Green), adverse conditions are consistent around the course and temporary in nature.  To promote fair play and protect the course, the Local Rule is recommended: “A ball lying on a closely-mown area through the green may be lifted, without penalty, and cleaned.  Before lifting the ball, the player must mark its position.  Having lifted the ball, he must place it on a spot within of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay, that is not a hazard and not on a putting green.”

The Rules of Golf book is an important tool to keep in your golf bag.  In addition to the Decisions and Rules book, golf is a game of integrity and to display respect for your fellow competitors.  The Easy Guide to the Etiquette and Rules of Golf is perfect for someone new to the game or those who are experienced and may want a quick reference on how to proceed on some of the more common rules of the game.

The Golf Canada Handicap Manual is the comprehensive guide to the rules and regulations of the handicap system. The book is essential for every club handicap committee.

Golf Canada’s e-store provides many books to become an expert in the Rules of the game.  If these books intrigue you to learn more about the game, begin your online Rules Education here.

As always, our ‘Ask an Expert’ tool can be utilized and accessed via our website, where we would be happy to answer your Rules-related inquiries.

For more information, please consult our Rules of Golf publications – for purchase in Golf Canada’s eStore, or at your local book retailer.

Golf Canada is proud to be a partner of the PGA of Canada. And, with such partnership, opportunities arise to assist each other in the execution of our championships. Last week, my colleagues and I were fortunate enough to officiate the PGA Championship of Canada at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont. It was exciting to see spectacular play from the top 64 club professionals from across the country.

The championship was a match play event which differs in the Rules from stroke play championships. In any form of play, a referee is one who is appointed by the Committee to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules. He or she must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him.

In match play, there is an exception: unless a referee is assigned to accompany the players throughout the entire match, he has no authority to intervene in a match other than in relation to Rule 1-3 (Agreement to Waive Rules), 6-7 (Undue Delay), and 33-7 (Disqualification Penalties; Committee Discretion). The first two days we were faced with this type of officiating and only able to intervene under the 3 scenarios.

Beyond these three Rules, if we saw a Rules breach, we were unable to interject in a match. Note 1 under Rule 2-5 states a player may disregard a breach of the Rules by his opponent provided there is no agreement by the sides to waive a Rule (Rule 1-3). It is solely up to the player whether he wants to overlook a Rules breach of his opponent.

My colleague Adam Helmer, was called into an interesting scenario during the first round. A player had hit the cart path on his approach shot and it bounced down the road into a manhole. A spectator witnessed the ball enter the manhole which allowed the player to find and identify the ball. The player was able to take relief under Rule 24-2b, relief from interference by an immovable obstruction through the green. Note 2 to Rule 24-2 states if a ball to be dropped or placed under this Rule is not immediately recoverable, another ball may be substituted which was the case with this ruling.

Here’s another interesting situation that arose at Magna. Prior to the Round of 16, a competitor approached an official inquiring about a ruling. The competitor presented the situation; if he was chipping onto the green, and his opponent’s ball was a few feet from the pin, could he request his opponent to leave his ball beside the hole. In a stroke play competition, this would be a disqualification under Rule 22-1, but this situation differed due to the form of play. The Rules do not require the opponent to leave the ball beside the hole to assist his opponent, and the opponent was not in breach of the Rules by asking his player to leave the ball there. In Decision 22/5 there is a similar situation where an assisting ball is requested to be replaced after the opponent had marked his ball.

There were four Golf Canada championship staff members helping out with the PGA Championship which allowed each of us to be assigned to a match in the quarterfinals, entitling us to apply the Rules in each match. Each official walked with the groups for the remainder of the championship encountering clarification questions and routine rulings. It was a great experience assisting the players and the PGA of Canada throughout the week.

___

If you would like to expand your Rules base, you can begin your Rules of Golf Education anytime, beginning with our online curriculum. To start your Rules Education, click here.

As always, our ‘Ask an Expert’ tool can be utilized and accessed online here. We would be happy to answer your Rules-related inquiries.

After another busy year, Golf Canada’s amateur championship season came to an end last month at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. In all, 25 competitions were conducted from the beginning of May to mid-September.

Golf Canada’s Amateur championship department conducts eight National Championships. Our Canadian Amateur Championships continue to attract more top international competitors and offer exemptions into the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship as well as the RBC Canadian Open and Canadian Women’s Open. With the commitment of our national partners in RBC Wealth Management, Titleist and Footjoy, we have been able to hold best in class events. The Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship retained its reputation on the world stage remaining an ‘A’ ranked event on the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the highest distinction behind the four elite ranked championships.

In case you missed any events, here’s the low down on who took home Golf Canada hardware in 2013. Our reigning champions are:

Canadian University/College Championship – Club de golf Val des Lacs in Ste-Sophie, QC

Men’s Team Champions: Université Laval Rouge et Or
Women’s Team Champions: Université de Montréal
Low Men’s Medalist: Ugo Coussard of Université Laval Rouge et Or
Low Women’s Medalist: Sabrina Sapone of Université de Montréal

Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship – Club de golf Beloeil in Beloeil, QC

Amateur Champion: Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls, ON
Mid-Amateur Champion: Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, BC
Mid-Master Champion: Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, QC
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: British Columbia

Royale Cup Canadian Junior Girls Championship – Cherry Downs Golf & Country Club in Pickering, ON

Junior Champion: Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas
Juvenile Champion: Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls, ON
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: Alberta

Canadian Junior Boys Championship – Timberwolf Golf Club in Garson, ON

Junior Champion: Kevin Kwon of Maple Ridge, BC
Juvenile Champion: Andrew Harrison of Camrose, AB
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: Alberta

Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship – Royal Colwood Golf & Country Club in Victoria, BC

Amateur Champion: Eli Cole of Beverly Hills, California
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: British Columbia
Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Senior Championship held at Spallumcheen Golf & Country Club in Vernon, BC
Senior Champion: Mary Ann Hayward of Aurora, ON
Super-Senior Champion: Alison Murdoch of Victoria, BC
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: Québec

Canadian Men’s Senior Championship – The Briars Golf Club in Sutton West, ON

Senior Champion: David Schultz of Calgary, AB
Super-Senior Champion: Robert Fugere of Gatineau, QC
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: Alberta

Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship – Blackhawk Golf Club in Spruce Grove, AB

Mid-Amateur Champion: Kevin Carrigan of Victoria, BC
Mid-Master Champion: David Bartman of Los Angeles, California
Inter-Provincial Team Champions: Ontario

The CN Future Links series featured six regional events across the country. Each championship offered an opportunity for the top six boys to earn an exemption into the 2013 Canadian Junior Boys Championship and the girls champion to earn an exemption into the 2013 Royale Cup Canadian Junior Girls Championship. The 2013 Champions:

Pacific Championship – Crown Isle Resort in Courtenay, BC

Boys Champion: Kevin Kwon of Maple Ridge, BC
Girls Champion: Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls, ON

Ontario Championship – Listowel Golf Club in Listowel, ON

Boys Champion: Carter Simon of Sutton, ON
Girls Champion: Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas

Prairie Championship – Elmwood Golf & Country Club in Swift Current, SK

Boys Champion: Zach Anderson of Nanaimo, BC
Girls Champion: Jaclyn Lee of Calgary, AB

Quebec Championship – Club de golf Milby in Sherbrooke, QC

Boys Champion: Etienne Papineau of Champlain St. Lawrence, QC
Girls Champion: Annie Lacombe of Laval, QC

Western Championship – Wolf Creek Golf Resort in Ponoka, AB

Boys Champion: Brett Pasula of Red Deer, AB
Girls Champion: Sabrine Garrison of Calgary, AB

Atlantic Championship – Antigonish Golf & Country Club in Antigonish, NS

Boys Champion: Ryan Nowe of Bridgewater, NS
Girls Champion: Krysta Schaus of Fredericton, NB

The Canada Games were hosted in Sherbrooke, Québec with the golf portion held at Club de golf Milby. Thirty-six junior boys and thirty junior girls represented their provinces in an individual and team competition. British Columbia proved to be a dominating force as they were crowned the champion in the boy’s individual, girl’s individual, boy’s team, and girl’s team competition. The 2013 Champions:

Boy’s Individual
1st Place: Kevin Kwon of British Columbia
2nd Place: Étienne Papineau of Québec
3rd Place: Matt Williams of Alberta

Girl’s Individual
1st Place: Taylor Kim of British Columbia
2nd Place: Valérie Tanguay of Québec
3rd Place: Sabrine Garrison of Alberta

Boy’s Team
1st Place: British Columbia
2nd Place: Ontario
3rd Place: Québec

Girl’s Team
1st Place: British Columbia
2nd Place: Québec
3rd Place: Alberta

In its eighth season, the Canadian Women’s Tour continues to be one of the world’s premier development tours for women attracting rising professionals and elite amateurs, both Canadian and internationals. Samantha Richdale was awarded as the Jocelyne Bourassa player of the year after winning the Tour’s Order of Merit and topping the money list. Richdale then went on to win the low Canadian honours at the CN Canadian Women’s Open. The 2013 Champions:

CN Canadian Women’s Tour held – Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, BC

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, BC

CN Canadian Women’s Tour – Club de golf Cowansville in Cowansville, QC

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, ON

CN Canadian Women’s Tour held – Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, ON

Emily Childs of Alameda, California

New to the Championship schedule in 2013 was the PGA Tour Canada TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial. This event was conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the PGA Tour Canada. Held at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club in London, Ontario, the 2013 champion was Université Laval alum, Max Gilbert. Five exemptions to the Web.com Tour were handed out at the conclusion of the championship. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, ON, Riley Wheeldon of Comox, BC, Mark Hubbard of San Jose, CA, Hugo Leon of Chile, and Wil Collins of Albuquerque, NM earned their ticket to the Web.com Tour as the top five finishers on the PGA Tour Canada’s Order of Merit.

Of course, Golf Canada also conducted our National Open Golf Championships. The champions were:

RBC Canadian Open – Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, ON

Brandt Snedeker of Nashville, Tennessee

CN Canadian Women’s Open – Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton, AB

Lydia Ko of Seoul, South Korea

As the National Sport Organization and governing body of golf in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association, announce the new revisions to the 2012-2013 edition of the “Decisions on the Rules of Golf”.

The recent changes will come into effect January 1, 2014.

Golf Canada is proud to be the sole association sitting with R&A Rules Limited and the USGA on the Joint Rules Committee, which carries out the quadrennial review of the Rules of Golf, and revises the “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” every two years. Golf’s governing bodies are committed to ensure the rules are constantly evolving and relevant to today’s game.

The “2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf” contains more than 1,200 entries addressing specific situations under the Rules of Golf. A total of 87 changes have been made to the 2012-2013 Decisions book: three (3) new Decisions, 59 revised Decisions, one (1) re-numbered Decision and 24 Decisions withdrawn.

Notable changes to the 2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf include:

• New Decision 14-3/18 confirms that players can access reports on weather conditions on a smartphone during a round without breaching the Rules. Importantly, this new Decision also clarifies that players are permitted to access information on the threat of an impending storm in order to protect their own safety.
• New Decision 18/4 provides that, where enhanced technological evidence (e.g. HDTV, digital recording or online visual media, etc.) shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time. The R&A and the USGA have issued a Joint Statement Regarding the Use of Video and Visual Evidence to further explain the governing bodies’ position on the use of this technology.
• Revised Decision 25-2/0.5 helps to clarify when a golf ball is considered to be embedded in the ground through the use of illustrations.
• Revised Decision 27-2a/1.5 allows a player to go forward up to approximately 50 yards without forfeiting his or her right to go back and play a provisional ball.

The full text of the revisions to “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” can be found at www.RandA.org and www.usga.org.

Printed copies of the “2014-2015 Decisions on the Rules of Golf” are available on Golf Canada’s e-store for pre-order and will be shipped January 1st, 2014. Pre-order here.