One's first thought - okay, my first thought - is to take this as evidence that golfers are insane for putting up with this. Golf may be among the most individual of sports, but this sort of pettifogging nonsense is a libertarian's nightmare.
On the other hand, golfers don't seem to mind it, and even embrace the precision required. The sport does have fewer scandals compared to...well, anything, really, and that may not be accidental. When you look at it a certain way, professional sports are federalism in action. Each sport can have whatever rules it wants, and enforce them as strictly or loosely as it pleases. As many athletic attributes transfer from one sport to another, some athletes have a degree of choice what they want to put up with.
Freedom also includes the freedom to put up with excessive and unfair discipline.
One might think the caddie would mention this. Silly me!
ReplyDeleteSam, you aren't the only one who thought that. I had to google the rule to make sense of the article since I couldn't wrap my head around the reasoning. I understand that the player has to take the penalties, and I suppose golf rules make the player responsible for the caddie's actions on the course but that article seemed to totally ignored the fact that it was the caddie who was in the incorrect position, not Ms Walker. I suppose Ms Walker could have brought her own caddie who was similarly ignorant of the change but if she used someone provided by the course or tournament you would think the caddie would have known where to stand when she was putting.
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