PGA Tour Rules: They’ve got some things to clean up

The PGA Tour event at Bay Hill was an amazing event again. The battle between Bryson Dechambeau and Lee Westwood also revealed a few more PGA Tour Rules tweaks to make.

The final round at Bay Hill was a study in contrasts. Bryson Dechambeau with his compass, encyclopedia-sized greens book, and sloth-like pace versus Lee Westwood with his girlfriend on the bag and a devil-may-care attitude.

Let’s just say I was rooting for Westwood.

Not only was it a contract in style, but it also brought to light three rules changes the Tour needs to fix immediately.

First, players need to be on a clock and it needs to be rigorously enforced. I’ve heard the argument that by putting players on the clock you essentially get in their heads and impose a penalty to their competitive mindset.

Baloney.

Those players are already screwing with their playing companions by studying every shot like it was a new find in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

When you arrive at a ball, you should have no more than 90 seconds to play your shot. The players and caddies have already surveyed every inch of a course. They get the green books and pin placements in advance. Yardage is figured in seconds.

I’m also in favor of players and caddies using rangefinders. Getting numbers on yardages is not a particular skill that some possess and others don’t. It’s just simple math done with books and notes that are essentially cheat sheets.

Shoot the number, subtract or add the front and back numbers, consult the green book for breaks, and hit the damn ball. Fix these PGA Tour Rules

Second, fix the divot rule. Westwood was one shot back on the 18th with a chance to birdie and possibly force a playoff. He hit a perfect drive and the ball rolled smack into the middle of a sandy divot.

Though Westwood played on without a hint of frustration or whining, at home we all felt he’d been the latest victim of the dumbest rule in golf. A ball coming to rest in a divot in the fairway deserves a one-club free relief drop.

Yes, I hear all the “play it as it lies” traditionalist tut-tutting through their pipe smoke. But then explain to me how Bryson bullied a rules official into getting a free drop on the fringe just a couple of holes before when a sprinkler head was neither in his line, in his stance, nor touching his ball.

Frankly, it was shades of Patrick Reed all over again. Bryson either had to putt through two feet of fringe or fake an obstruction and putt through five inches of fringe. That’s a pretty big difference with the tournament on the line, holding a one-stroke lead.

That leads me to rule change number three. The Tour needs to get tough on free drops. I propose this.

If your ball is touching a sprinkler or man-made moveable object, you get relief. If not, hit the ball where it lies. That means you might have one foot on a path or sprinkler head. Deal with it. Get creative, adjust your stance, and hit the shot.

That might even mean that you have to chip over a sprinkler rather than putt over it. I DON’T CARE. You hit the ball there, now you get to deal with it. Bryson’s drop gave him a huge competitive advantage because the rules official didn’t have the stones to say, “Sorry, Dude. I don’t buy it.”

None of this is to say Bryson didn’t earn his victory. But I find it hard to believe he gained many fans with his sloth-like pace, questionable drops, and “Worst bunkers on Tour” hot mic incident.

It’s silly that we have to keep revisiting these infraction situations. The divot rule change is a no-brainer. Not a single player on Tour would disagree. Good shots in the fairway should not be penalized.

The pace of play is about creating a level playing field. Even chess has a clock and those folks are doing mental calculations just a tad more complex than licking your finger and holding it up to gauge the breeze.

Most of all, stop allowing players from thinking first about how they can improve their lie or angle with a free drop. A free drop should be the most harshly judged and rarest ruling in golf. The saddest part is that the rules officials have allowed the players to bully them on this.

The game has made significant progress with recent rules changes. A few more tweaks and the game can be at a point where it makes sense, attract new adherents, and creates fair and well-paced playing conditions that truly help identify the best players.