Rules of Golf - Loose Impediment or Movable Obstruction

As I said from the start of this blog, I am not a stickler for the Rules of Golf. I realize that this may taint my USGA handicap, but c'est la vie. There is nothing worse than ruining a beautiful day on the golf course by pulling a two foot putt for par (except for missing the bogey putt coming back)! I am not trying to compete on the PGA Senior Tour, but rather play a nice round of client golf in the mid 80s.

Acting as my own rules Committee, I oftentimes consider the advantages that the pro golfers have at tournaments when making rules decisions. I am not talking about the manicured fairways and perfect greens that have no spike marks or ball marks, but, for example, having spectators lining the fairways keeping the errant tee shot in the fairway or short, trampled rough. Or my favorite spectator intervention that occurred at our own Phoenix Open.

The avid golf fans will remember a young Tiger Woods at the 1999 Phoenix Open. His tee shot on No. 13, a 585-yard par-5 hole, was off-line and landed behind a large boulder. Two or three spectators rushed over to the ball and rolled the boulder away giving Tiger an unimpeded shot to the green. It is hard to believe but I cannot find a video of this on YouTube! Having recently landscaped my backyard, I can tell you that boulder probably weighed 300+ pounds.

[NOTE: One of my followers located a video of the "Tiger Incident". You have to scroll down almost to the bottom of the page to find the correct video and then click on the correct bandwidth and connection for your computer.]

Rule 23 of the Rules of Golf generally provides that a player may move any loose impediment without penalty, with certain exceptions. A loose impediment is defined as any natural object such as a stone, leaf, branch, etc. Anything that is fixed, growing or solidly embedded is not a loose impediment. An "obstruction" (Rule 24), whether movable or immovable, refers only to an artificial object, and, thus, is not applicable assuming that the boulder was natural and not artificial. Since the definition of a "loose impediment" does not differentiate between a pebble and a boulder, moving the boulder complied with the letter of Rule 23, but maybe not the spirit of the Rules. I have no recollection whether moving the boulder had any effect on the outcome of the tournament, but it is a good basis for "stretching the Rules".

There are two interesting asides relating to this incident. First, some years later the golf course owners affixed a placard on the boulder commemorating the "Tiger Incident", which arguably makes the boulder a part of the course and not a loose impediment. To further solidify that position, the boulder was solidly embedded into the ground. If you have an opportunity to play the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, you should check out the boulder on No. 13, but do not try to move it!

Second, after the "Tiger Incident", the USGA issued a ruling that a player can only move a loose impediment by using "reasonable effort" without the help of others. Given the size and weight of the boulder on No. 13, the only Tour player that might have a chance of moving the boulder himself would be Tiger Woods!