The PGA does this, but that’s because they can recruit from their 25,000 Golf Professionals ™️ to fill that need.
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I couldn’t remember if the PGA Championship does it, thanks for the clarification
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I forgot there are no solutions, or efforts worth taking to improve the television product.
Mea culpa.
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I’m all for reasonable solutions that could be done. There’s a middle road between what they’re currently doing and the rules official with every group solution since that job sounds like it sucks for the officials because I don’t want golf to have to deal with a bunch of Angel Hernandez and Joe West types.
I’m in favor of a pace of play bear. Someone demonstrates their turtleness or falls half a hole behind, sic the bear on them.
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It would also help if the TV windows weren’t built for 5+ hour final group rounds because if the rounds go too fast the broadcast crew is pissed about dead air.
The alternative is alter the rules ever so slightly or course setup as to remove tio and other kinds of drops.
You want the drop? Go for it from the designated drop zone. No ruling needed you’re welcome to take the free drop as you see fit.
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I’d love that, the longest rulings we constantly see are issues that deal entirely with tournament build out. No “options”, here’s your drop, be on your way.
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Operations wise, there’s a few things the Tour does with pace that don’t help things
-They don’t warn groups after the first hole, no matter how slow it’s played. If they’re slow after 1, they’ll be slow after 2!
-They like to “give groups a hole” after a lengthy ruling or bad golf before warning them. The group has been given no incentive to speed up and is now in the mindset of slower golf.
-The hesitancy to do call ups on Par 5s. Every Par 5 on tour is basically a long Par 4, if you allow groups to move aside for a call up, it gives you a better chance to get the flow back rather than 1 Par 5 taking 30 minutes to play.
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The reason the players started being little babies and needing the rules officials to hold their hands is because you have a bunch of mouth breathing nerds watching at home or in person with a cell phone ready to capture a mistake with the rules and post it on Twitter.
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Tiger’s drop at Augusta ruined how people view golf rules as television viewers.
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As much as I would like to see a rules official with every group, I can’t see the PGA Tour employing 50 rules officials. Between pay and all of the travel costs, you’re probably looking at $15m more spend a year for that. I can’t see the PE owners agreeing to that type of cost, especially because I can’t see it creating $15m+ of revenue.
Professional golf just isn’t a big enough sport to support that type of headcount.
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Have the sports books sponsor the rules officials. Also if you have 52 walking rules officials that means they’re working like 4.5 hours per day for 4 days. And that assumes all events have 52 groups and there is no cut.
The tour already gets dozens if not hundreds of volunteers for each event you’re telling me they couldn’t pay someone local who has passed the rules test to walk and if they have a question have a couple ref in the “booth” to confirm calls.
So now you have 52 walking “volunteers”. Pay them $1,000 for the week and at 46 events per year your spend on them is ~2.4 mill.
They are fucking pros, they can do it, I believe in them.
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“Hey Bob, you’re going to be away from your family for 6 days, we’re going to pay you for 18 hours of work, nothing for your travel time.”
No
This could work, but I think its a huge logistical mess and I think the integrity of the officials would be much easier to call into question, you’d have 500 to a 1,000 officials across the season that you’d have to vet and be sure they don’t have their mortgage payment riding on Xander (who they just learned they’re paired up with) to top 10, etc.
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Just make the guy carrying the scorers sign give rulings.
Two birds with one stone.
Players are responsible for their own rulings. If they’re stressed they hire a caddie with a strong rules background….done
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Players, like corporations, do not want to bear responsibilities.
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And as long as they own and control the majority of PGA Tour Enterprises, they are going to want their safety blankie.
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I think the designated drop areas idea upthread was pretty good.
Hit it behind the stands? Here’s your drop. No discussion, no faffing about needed.
Hit in the water? That white circle over there? That’s your spot.
Get on with it.
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