This week I was supposed to talk about what the golf Clubs should do to re-open with social distancing. I decided to wait because a lot of stakeholders are actually working on a report to present to the government.
For now, I will focus my time only on the rules of golf.
An important ruling was given last month on a Mini-Tour:
In Arizona last month, a group of players from the Outlaw Tour were disqualified for playing from the wrong tees.
https://www.golf.com/news/2020/03/31/bizarre-rules-situation-mass-disqualification-mini-tour-event/.
You just have to read the article to find out what happened. The Outlaw tour uses a special tee-marker. It is very hard to make a mistake.
Last Fall, I was in charge of a golf tournament in Chateau Bromont and the same thing happened to a group of three players. (Honesty example from Quebec pros)
The Quebec players could have argued that Black and Blue markers look alike. They still have the responsibility to make sure they use the right markers. They also gracefully accepted the disqualification penalty.
THE RULE
The player must start from the right markers. If he makes a mistake he must correct before starting from the next tee and add a penalty of two strokes. If he does not correct, he will be disqualified.
COMMENT
I am always surprised when I see that type of mistake but unfortunately, it happens more often that we think. The Committee can sometimes make mistakes, but the players are always responsible of there actions and for the outlaw Mini Tour, the players don’t have any excuses.