Soly and Neil caught up a couple of weeks ago with Craig Winter, USGA Sr. Director of the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status, for a Q&A focusing on a variety of topics surrounding the rules and their application. Now, after an eventful Open Championship with notable rulings involving Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, we’re excited to share our chat with Craig which touches on many of the hot button issues in the rules that affect professional tournaments across the globe, plus some common misconceptions that impact everyday recreational golf.
Enjoyed this one. Really informative stuff. As a longtime tournament committee member I wish I could make this a mandatory listen for anyone who signs up for a club tournament.
I enjoyed it, too. Craig did a good job explaining stuff, and he treated @MerchCzar’s misunderstandings with grace and good humor.
I was very happy with the quick “no” to my question about moving a ball from a divot. So many serious golfers I know complain about that, and it drives me up the fucking wall.
Honestly thought I was going to hate it - but it was excellent. Made me realize we need more yellow and white stakes in pro golf to really make these hazards, hazards. And I totally get where and why the USGA makes the rules read the way they do.
You can tell every rule is very well thought out about “what aboutisms” and “what if”.
This is something the “quick reactions to a specific situation” takes from people when “something” happens with a ruling/the rules in golf don’t consider: every other ramification to their proposal about how the rules “should” be.
After > 100 years, the Rules of Golf have seen a lot of situations. They continue to evolve. Writing rules is hard because you want to keep them simple, but the simpler they are, the less the edge cases get exceptions and special treatment.
I just watched Michael Kim at the 3M do AimPoint on the 5th green for 90 seconds, straddling the line of his 15-footer 5 times – only to miss by 2 cups left. Can you guys get somebody at the USGA on the blower?
