Lack of reports of ball moving when tour pros address ball in rough

[golferdude54]

Do you think on tour the players are moving the ball when they address the ball in fluffy rough and they don't report it? Think about it, you got 156 players playing almost every week and somehow the last time this was reported was Rahm at the 2020 Memorial???

[m d g]

My favorite is placing a 3-wood behind a ball in the rough 140 yards from the pin a few times.*

 

Then switching to a 9-iron after a change of mind : )

 

*Slight exaggeration for comic effect...

[jt2gt]

1 minute ago, m d g said:

My favorite is placing a 3-wood behind a ball in the rough 140 yards from the pin a few times.*

 

Then switching to a 9-iron after a change of mind : )

 

*Slight exaggeration for comic effect...

You really aren't exaggerating and it does help.

[DON SVO]

2 minutes ago, jt2gt said:

You really aren't exaggerating and it does help.

 

Yeah the only exaggeration is that it's usually going to be a pitch or gap, not a 9 iron.

[Mustard_Tiger]

6 minutes ago, m d g said:

My favorite is placing a 3-wood behind a ball in the rough 140 yards from the pin a few times.*

 

Then switching to a 9-iron after a change of mind : )

 

*Slight exaggeration for comic effect...

 

Patrick Reed has entered the chat...

[rblmp32]

I've often wondered this too.  I don't doubt the integrity of tour players.  But it makes me wonder based on the number of times I've caused a ball to move in the rough.   

Edited May 25, 2022 by rblmp32

[b.mattay]

I don't think I've ever caused a ball to move in the rough. IMO this a non-issue. 

[Hawkeye77]

52 minutes ago, golferdude54 said:

Do you think on tour the players are moving the ball when they address the ball in fluffy rough and they don't report it? Think about it, you got 156 players playing almost every week and somehow the last time this was reported was Rahm at the 2020 Memorial???

 

Think about it - 156 players almost every week - how many are using their courtesy cars for unnecessary side trips, OMG the emissions.

 

Answer is no, they likely aren't, the fact nobody talks about it would suggest they aren't (hence, that's why they don't talk about it) and beyond that -- nobody cares.  

 

 

 

 

[Shilgy]

1 minute ago, b.mattay said:

I don't think I've ever caused a ball to move in the rough. IMO this a non-issue. 

Agreed…but enjoy reading the “not saying they cheat…but” posts.  They’re right up there with the “tour guys aren’t long they just get a lot of roll” posts.

[NevinW]

No.

[jonsnow]

22 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Agreed…but enjoy reading the “not saying they cheat…but” posts.  They’re right up there with the “tour guys aren’t long they just get a lot of roll” posts.

They ARE long AND they get a lot of roll. 

[Ironman_32]

oddly it probably keeps it more fair by not assessing this, because you would probably have some guys calling it themselves once a round, and other guys who wouldn't call it on themselves all season. 

 

Is it technically a rules breach, yes. Does it affect the fairness of play, probably not. 

 

Similar stuff happens in other sports. Ever play little league basketball, kids are always boxing each other out on free throws. Ever watch the NBA, they rarely do that on foul shots during the season, but you see it a lot more in the playoffs; its because the guys talk to each other during the foul shot about who is going to "go" for the rebound. I think ESPN or something had an article on it a while back. 

[golfandfishing]

1 hour ago, Mustard_Tiger said:

 

Patrick Reed has entered the chat...

Gary Player is the moderator of that chat room.  

[Valtiel]

13 minutes ago, jonsnow said:

They ARE long AND they get a lot of roll. 

[m d g]

On the serious side, if a ball does move while in the rough it will (according to Newton) usually just fall deeper into the rough from an otherwise OK lie. So to me, that's a 'no harm no foul' situation.

[m d g]

17 minutes ago, jonsnow said:

They ARE long AND they get a lot of roll. 

 

[Shilgy]

28 minutes ago, jonsnow said:

They ARE long AND they get a lot of roll. 

At times but not on average. 

[CarlLipbaum]

I think it happens, and I am ok with them not calling attention to it.  I don't think an accidental thing like this should be a penalty.  And as someone else pointed out, the player is almost never going to benefit from the ball moving in a situation like this.   Now fluffing the ball up with your iron to have the ball sit up on the grass?  Sure, that should be a penalty.  But doing that is so obvious it wouldn't happen.  

[Dr. Block]

Isn't there a difference between making the ball wiggle a little bit, and making it move? It's been my understanding of the rule that you can cause it to wiggle a little, it's only an issue if it moves into a new position. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Dr. Block

[Hawkeye77]

This really needs to be moved to the rules sub-forum. 
 

It would still be useless, but oh, the replies, lol. 

[Valtiel]

2 hours ago, m d g said:

 

[handicap122003]

I think the ball may move slightly then returns to the original position when the club is withdrawn.    I have noticed the cameras are not as zoomed-in as they used to be in the past so the slight, irrelevant movements are not seen on the TV.   Thank heavens for the lack of zooming….

[DLiver]

2 hours ago, golfandfishing said:

Gary Player is the moderator of that chat room.  

100%!!

[bladehunter]

6 hours ago, Dr. Block said:

Isn't there a difference between making the ball wiggle a little bit, and making it move? It's been my understanding of the rule that you can cause it to wiggle a little, it's only an issue if it moves into a new position. 

Yes. There’s no penalty for oscillation.  It has to change positions.  Which means actually move it’s placement.  

[bladehunter]

5 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

This really needs to be moved to the rules sub-forum. 
 

It would still be useless, but oh, the replies, lol. 

Oh man , we can all get told how stupid we are , from 3 continents. 😂

[MattyO1984]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:52 PM, Shilgy said:

Agreed…but enjoy reading the “not saying they cheat…but” posts.  They’re right up there with the “tour guys aren’t long they just get a lot of roll” posts.

 

Finding out that they even get extra roll in the rough reading this thread!

[Fairways_and_Greens]

On 5/25/2022 at 11:17 AM, m d g said:

My favorite is placing a 3-wood behind a ball in the rough 140 yards from the pin a few times.*

 

Then switching to a 9-iron after a change of mind : )

 

*Slight exaggeration for comic effect...

*disliked by @useGolfFACTS 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Fairways_and_Greens

[MUNIGRIT]

They need PGA Tour Karen Dahmen to call them out to protect the field.

[mat562]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:17 PM, m d g said:

My favorite is placing a 3-wood behind a ball in the rough 140 yards from the pin a few times.

 

Gary Player and Jumbo Ozaki Like this. 

 

 

 

[Chunkitgood]

Sounds to me like people wanting to justify their not calling a penalty on themselves when they move the ball in the rough, either because the pros don’t call it or because it’s no harm or because obviously the rule should be changed.

 

Such love of the game and disdain for the rules.