Global Golf Post - May 16, 2011

about the recently revised decision to the Rules of Golf is misleading. You were close, but with the Rules of Golf, close is simply not good enough.

Though I applaud you for placing the Rules at the forefront, this revised decision will have no impact in 99 percent of golf played around the world.

As Mike Davis said during the announcement, its application will be “very, very small.” Yet, publications everywhere, including GGP, are raising the banner as if they have won the battle against the Ruling Bodies and silenced Armchair Rules Officials everywhere.

You even mention Camilo Villegas as an example – this is simply wrong. What happened to Camilo was the result of a call-in, yet the revision would not change the result of his situation.

Your mention of him only
misleads casual golf fans and
less informed Committees
the world over. Thanks for
the mention, but I take great
exception in that you have
made the job of rules officials
more difficult as we will
now struggle to explain to
players who generally have
little knowledge of the Rules
anyway why the DQ stands
and the revised decision has
nothing to do with situations
like Camilo and themselves ...
that being a golfer who simply
never took the time to learn
the rules of this great game.
GGP: You said a mouthful,
Craig. And you are welcome
to your opinion about what
“misleads” and what doesn’t.
Obviously, we disagree
with you on that score.
Camilo would have been
DQ’d under the old and/
or new rule and we didn’t
report that incorrectly.
But, more important and
to the larger issue, you are
spot on about the general
ignorance, among players
who should know better, of
the rules. Cheers again to
Dottie Pepper, who, earlier
this year in a GGP interview,
said one of the first things
she would do if she was the
empress of golf, would force
all top players to attend rules
schools.

S
If you had one last
round of golf to
play, where would
you play it and
why?

Jeff Posts: It was refreshing to read your piece (Editor Brian Hewitt’s column earlier this year). No real punches pulled. Having experienced being around LPGA players as the head professional of the Kraft Nabisco for many years, as well as PGA players. I have always found the attitude one of giving and graciousness. GGP: This is in response to Hewitt’s column supporting the decision to have prize money for one LPGA event go to charity. It was a stirring success. And when all was said and done, the players understood it was a win-win-win-win proposition for them.