Golf, the great game of honor...

I really thought it did not matter as long it was during his actual swing and not a practice swing. Obviously, he hit several loose impediments as he made contact with the ball, so the rule seperates his backswing and downswing??

To play the ultra cynical devil's advocate here, he didn't know if anyone could have seen it, so if he didn't call the penalty on himself and someone saw it, he could have been DQed...

quote:

---

so the rule seperates his backswing and downswing??

---

I don't think so. I think if he would have hit the loose impediment on the down swing before he made contact with the ball, it would have been a penalty as well. I just tried to look on the USGA website, but couldn't find a clear answer. All the rule states is that contact can't be made with a loose impediment in a hazard. If that had been a branch from a growing object, there would have been no penalty.

quote:

---

Note: At any time, including at address or in the backward movement for the stroke, the player may touch, with a club or otherwise, any obstruction, any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course or any grass, bush, tree or other growing thing.

---

Furyk was pretty sure to make par if Davis didn't call the penalty on himelf. If he didn't call the penalty he would have had to make that long putt for a 4. Since they were in sudden death the worst Davis could do was 2nd place money.

Which means that what he didn't wasn't any more "honorable" than recording the correct score on his scorecard.

I get what you're saying; it's just that the cynical part of me is saying that it's a damned shame that we feel the need to praise someone because he followed the rules and did what he should have done anyway.

quote:

---

Irrelevant to this thread

---

The fact that the title has the words "great game" in it makes it relavent. I am a golfer and LOVE the game. But they let a bunch of drunk snobs from England write rules that no longer make sense.

I'm sure the NFL thought the goalposts were just fine IN the endzone until they realized how stupid it was.

Any game that punishes a player for kneeling on a towel to keep his pants from getting wet (Remember the dorks that called Stadler out) should probably re-visit it's outdated rules. Screw computers....let's make the players keep score. I think the NBA should have let Chris Washburn keep score when he played.

quote:

---

Screw computers....let's make the players keep score.

---

Someone still has to enter the numbers into the computer.

I agree some rules are stupid, but that's not what I was making the thread about.

quote:

---

bullshite. If a player trapped a fly ball, and walked up to the ump and said, "yep, I trapped it," the umpire would change the call.

If a football player dropped a pass that was ruled a catch, and he admitted it to the ref, the ref would change the call.

---

You don't know that. Plus, players in those sports are coached to act as if they caught it, etc. If they were to "do the honest thing", they would lose their job and in certain cities, their house would be vandalized.

You can't compare a team sport that is regulated by officials to an individual sport regulated by the participants.

quote:

---

Show me proof. I've never seen it in a professional tourney. They have replay now, so it doesn't matter, but I'd like to see evidence of this.

---

I remember several years ago, prior to replay, seeing players give a let when they saw that the wrong call was made. I don't have the time or energy to search for this on youtube, but it's happened.

Furthermore, the point is that it's a horrible indictment of society that you feel the need to praise someone for following the rules.

quote:

---

The in the OP was to the game of golf and its traditions.

---

So you worship rules? j/k

Valid point, and I agree. I do like the fact that we have a professional sport that can be self regulated and that participants don't take advantage. That's very refreshing, especially when we examine how self regulation has failed in so many other areas of life.

I respected him for that. Makes me feel like I wanted him to win. He was pretty cool.