Overton DQ Suggests Golf Rules Need a Facelift

Overton DQ Suggests Golf Rules Need a Facelift
Jeff Overton was Disqualified from the Crowne Plaza Colonial Invitational for a Mild Offense. Would Tiger Woods Have Also Been DQ'd?











Adam Fonseca May 25, 2013 11:13 PM





> COMMENTARY | Jeff Overton was disqualified from the Crowne Plaza Colonial Invitational Saturday in one of the most peculiar ways you'll ever see. As a result, it may be time to update the rule book.



While waiting to tee off at hole no. 10 due to a traffic jam of players, Overton walked over to a nearby practice putting green to work on his putter alignment. Overton used a plastic rod to help him with his alignment, which is apparently a huge no-no in the Rules of Golf. He was informed of the disqualification while playing the next hole.

According to PGA Tour officials, Overton violated rule 14-3, which states that "a player is disqualified under Rule 14-3 as [an alignment rod] is unusual equipment and such use, during the stipulated round, is not permitted". A "stipulated round" consists of playing the holes of the course in their correct sequence unless otherwise authorized by tournament officials.

For the sake of clarity, a player is prohibited from using any training aid or device during a competitive round. Furthermore, it is not against the rules for Overton to carry the alignment aid rod in his bag during competition. Surely a practice green that has no bearing on the completion of a golf round would be fair game, right?

According to Mark Russell, PGA Tour vice president of rules and competition, the answer is a resounding no.

"You can go to a designated practice area and chip and putt if you'd like while you are waiting to play," Russell stated. "But you cannot use an artificial device. That's what he did. The penalty for that is disqualification."

So you can literally hit a small bucket of pitches and chips on a practice green in the middle of your round, but as soon as you lay down an object to help with alignment, you break the rules. Not only that, you don't just get penalized; you get disqualified. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Just for the sake of comparison, other rule violations that result in player disqualification include:
Misrepresenting your handicap under USGA Rule 6 (which will never be an issue on the PGA Tour);


Missing your starting time, a la Jim Furyk at the 2010 Barclays (prior to a pro-am round, at that);


Starting your round too early, as Ed Oliver discovered at the 1940 US Open;


Turning in an incorrect or unsigned scorecard;


Playing with nonconforming equipment, which includes the presence of a foreign substance on your clubs or using balls that do not conform to USGA standards. The Rules can even regulate your golf glove design.



As many golf fans learned during Tiger Woods's illegal drop debacle at the 2013 Masters, the USGA and Royal & Ancient Golf Club added an addendum in 2011 to offer tournament officials the option of waiving disqualification under certain circumstances. Despite the fact Woods was deemed to have taken an illegal drop - and since a television viewer whistle blower identified the violation after the fact - Augusta National officials decided to penalize Woods two strokes instead of disqualifying him.

Why didn't Colonial officials opt to simply penalize Overton instead of disqualifying him in this case? Rolling a few putts on a practice green that has no impact on his competitive round seems pretty mild in comparison to taking an illegal drop.

Where's the addendum on enforcing the Rules of Golf consistently?



Adam Fonseca has covered professional golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. Follow Adam on Twitter at @chicagoduffer.