Rule 13-4a, exception 2

The Zurich Classic was played in New Orleans this past weekend. In Saturday's round, on the 15th hole, Stewart Cink's tee shot landed very close to a sand trap. He stepped into the sand trap as he looked over his shot, then stepped out and hit the ball. Said ball landed in another sand trap 180 yards further up the fairway. Cink's caddy raked the sand trap he had stood in, and they walked up to his ball. Cink hit his shot out of the sand trap and played on. At the end of the round he signed his card.

The next morning he was talking with Zach Johnson about some of the sillier rules in golf. Zach mentioned Rule 13-4a. This rule says that a player can't test the condition of a hazard, or of any similar hazard. With regards to sand traps ( which are considered a hazard ), what this means is, when you land in a sand trap you can't take practice swings to test the sand. To see how heavy it is, if it's wet, or dry and hard, or how deep it is. You can't pick up the sand in your hand. You can't kick it around with your feet. In short you can't do anything that would tell you about the consistency of the sand. You just make your best guess, based on experience, and hit the ball. The part about 'similar surface'  means you can't test the surface of another sand trap, one that your ball is not in, on the same hole. Rule 13-4a has several exceptions. Here they are, straight from the rules:

Exceptions:

    1. Provided nothing is done that constitutes testing the condition of the hazard or improves the lie of the ball, there is no penalty if the player (a) touches the ground or loose impediments in any hazard or water in a water hazard as a result of or to prevent falling, in removing an obstruction, in measuring or in marking the position of, retrieving, lifting, placing or replacing a ball under any Rule or
    (b) places his clubs in a hazard.

    2. After making the stroke, if the ball is still in the hazard or has been lifted from the hazard and may be dropped or placed in the hazard, the player may smooth sand or soil in the hazard, provided nothing is done to breach Rule 13-2 with respect to his next stroke. If the ball is outside the hazard after the stroke, the player may smooth sand or soil in the hazard without restriction.

    3. If the player makes a stroke from a hazard and the ball comes to rest in another hazard, Rule 13-4a does not apply to any subsequent actions taken in the hazard from which the stroke was made.

Got that?  Hope so, because I'm not sure I do. Anyway.

After this conversation Stewart Cink started thinking. He though about 2 things. First, raking the sand is considered testing it. Second, his caddy raked the first sand trap before he hit his shot out of the second sand trap. Stewart figured that the fact that his caddy raked the sand trap before Stewart hit his second shot broke the rule based on exception #2. Apparently if his caddy had waited until Stewart hit his second shot THEN raked the sand trap everything would have been fine. But by raking it before he was 'testing the condition of the hazard' and he could have passed any useful information on to Stewart before he hit his next shot. So what he should have done is walk with Stewart the 180 yards up to his ball, watched him hit it out of the sand trap, walked 180 yards back to the previous sand trap, rake it, then walk the who knows how many yards back up to where ever Stewart's second shot landed. At which point Stewart probably would have been given a warning for delaying play.

In any case, after talking with Zach, Stewart went to the rules officials and asked about the rule, and sure enough, he had broken it. Had he known he had broken the rule during the round he could have taken a two stroke penalty and played on Sunday. But he didn't know, and he had signed his card. Since he should have had the two stroke penalty he had signed an incorrect score card, which is an automatic disqualification. Meaning Stewart had to leave the course, and didn't finish the tournament.

If you watched the tournament on Sunday ( as we did here at The Household ) as Stewart was driven off the course you would have heard the announcers say that is was a confusing rule with all those exceptions, that it was a tough break for Stewart, and that probably the rule needs to be changed. What you did NOT hear was anyone suggesting that just maybe the smart thing for Stewart to have done was keep his thoughts to himself, and finish the tournament. Or anyone saying Gosh what a stand up guy Stewart was for calling the rule on himself, what a guy, good for him.

So in this day and age of athletes of various sports having their names in news paper headlines for drug use ( both performance enhancing and otherwise ), bad behavior on and off the field of play, and even for criminal acts, I give you this little side note to the tournament with only two comments.

Stewart Cink called the rule violation ON HIMSELF, fully understanding the consequences of doing so. And everyone involved treated this not as some errant do-goodery by a guy who could've gotten away with it, but as the EXPECTED behavior of a member of the PGA tour. And above all as the expected behavior of A Golfer.

Comments

[Anne Cink]

Great depiction of what happened to Stewart in New Orleans. Thought you would like to know that the JRC (Joint Rules Committee of the Royal and Ancient and the USGA) changed the rule this past weekend. Stewart, along with all contestants at the Masters, got a letter from the JRC announcing the change. Because it is Masters week, it probably won't get much press.

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