Bernhard Langer earlier this yr.
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The Rules of Golf are a perpetual work in progress; the truth is, the USGA and R&A lately introduced a slew of guidelines modifications that will likely be enacted on Jan. 1. Still, irrespective of what number of tweaks the governing our bodies make, the foundations guide won’t ever be excellent in each golfer’s eyes. What edits would one of the best gamers on the planet make to the legal guidelines of the sport? We polled a few of them. First up on this sequence: Bernhard Langer.
Langer’s beef is with Rule 8.1a(3), which relates to enjoying your ball the place it comes to relaxation.
Among “actions that are not allowed,” the rule states, are for golfers to “alter the surface of the ground” the place their ball lies. That contains by: “Replacing divots in a divot hole; removing or pressing down divots that have already been replaced or other cut turf that is already in place; or creating or eliminating holes, indentations or uneven surfaces.”
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In brief: ball in a divot? Sorry, pal, you’re outta luck!
Surely you’ve discovered your individual ball in such a predicament. There are also numerous examples of professionals in high-profile conditions encountering the identical misfortune.
Take Lee Westwood, who arrived on the 72nd gap on the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational trailing Bryson DeChambeau by one. Westwood wanted a stellar drive for any probability at birdie on the lengthy watery par-4 and delivered simply that, splitting the green — solely to see his ball tumble right into a nasty divot. From there, Westwood hit his strategy to 65 ft and two-putted for par and second place.
“Just gotta shrug it off and get on with it,” he later tweeted. “The game was never meant to be fair. That’s the mental challenge.”
But not all gamers really feel the identical approach. Enter Langer!
“I think we should be dropping out of divots,” Langer instructed GOLF.com. “Divots are made by us.”
Us, as in us people. Why, Langer contends, ought to one golfer undergo for turf trauma left behind by one other golfer?
“Sometimes you hit a beautiful tee shot down the middle of the fairway and you’re in a sand-filled divot, and it’s like hitting out of fairway bunker,” he mentioned. “I don’t think that’s fair. If you had a good shot, you should have a lie on grass.”
Fair or not, it’s unlikely Langer will get his approach, irrespective of what number of years his ageless recreation holds up. Playing the ball because it lies is one of many fundamental tenets of the sport. It’s laborious to think about the rulesmakers altering this regulation anytime quickly.
