Fitzpatrick cracked driver ruling a disgrace...

[Barfolomew]

eh its on the fence if official can tell so what deal with it.... its only part of a round..... play a 3 wood for remaining holes and you might score better lol. 

 

Equipment breaks all the times in sports....

[PedronNiall]

9 hours ago, Barfolomew said:

eh its on the fence if official can tell so what deal with it.... its only part of a round..... play a 3 wood for remaining holes and you might score better lol. 

 

Equipment breaks all the times in sports....

 

In other sports if your equipment is visibly damaged and there's a potential performance or integrity issue it's allowed to be replaced with no need for an official to use their non-calibrated Mark 0 eyeballs to decide which side of the fence it falls on and no special rule saying it must be broken in the right places to the right degree to be replaced. 

 

Here's part of the MLR that dictates replacement:

 

The shaft breaks into pieces, splinters or is bent (but not when the shaft is only dented)

 

So what if the shaft has a failure in which it splits partially down the middle but doesn't splinter? The player can't replace it. Let's say it doesn't show any initial performance issue on the next swing, which the player uses it for because he can't replace it and can't afford the distance loss, but on the second or third hole after, the shaft shatters during the swing and the head flies off and hits some patron during network coverage. 

 

What was gained by not allowing a player to replace a clearly damaged club? Nothing, and in worst case scenarios they open the door to tournaments being decided by faulty equipment and players or spectators being injured. 

 

The MLR for this is arbitrary. It's literally not based on any standard of testing whereby they verified that under the MLR conditions and only the MLR conditions does a club perform in a less than standard behavior, and worse it leaves open the possibility of their negligence in rule making leaving someone hurt. 

 

You can look up the people who have died when shafts cracked in motion. Usually it involves someone smashing one into the ground in anger but I'm willing to bet one tearing apart during a 120+ mph swing is going to do some damage as well. 

 

The powers that be can do as they like, though, as is tradition.

[drbonesvt]

On 8/26/2024 at 8:34 AM, bscinstnct said:

 

Why not just defer to the player? As long as it’s exactly the same set up, just let them state the driver is broken and change it. As long as there is some visible evidence of the damage and it was caused by routine play.

 

 

They let players judgment stand in other types of rules infractions. 

 

 

Just like a challenge in the NFL ; Mr rules official my driver is broken , ok swap it out we will examine, rules official upon examination “yes it is” thank you  , “no it is not” damaged broken , 1 stroke penalty (loss of time out).   There would be NO abuse of the rule

Edited September 13, 2024 by drbonesvt

[Archimedes65]

2 hours ago, drbonesvt said:

Just like a challenge in the NFL ; Mr rules official my driver is broken , ok swap it out we will examine, rules official upon examination “yes it is” thank you  , “no it is not” damaged broken , 1 stroke penalty (loss of time out).   There would be NO abuse of the rule

 

Except this would involve a random official, in real time on the golf course, making a very difficult ruling with a competitor right in his/her face arguing their point.  Very different than a video review in football, which also BTW, isn’t simply a yes or no process, as there is a ‘play stands’ option in addition to confirmation either way.

 

I could just imagine the debate on the course ‘It’s cracked!  No, that looks like a scratch to me.  No, I think it’s a crack!  Looks like a scratch.’

 

The rule is very clear. Significant damage, replace.  Not significant (i.e., beyond just a crack), no replacement.  Good rule for the protection of the field.  And it applies equally to everyone.

[Barfolomew]

14 hours ago, PedronNiall said:

 

In other sports if your equipment is visibly damaged and there's a potential performance or integrity issue it's allowed to be replaced with no need for an official to use their non-calibrated Mark 0 eyeballs to decide which side of the fence it falls on and no special rule saying it must be broken in the right places to the right degree to be replaced. 

 

Here's part of the MLR that dictates replacement:

 

The shaft breaks into pieces, splinters or is bent (but not when the shaft is only dented)

 

So what if the shaft has a failure in which it splits partially down the middle but doesn't splinter? The player can't replace it. Let's say it doesn't show any initial performance issue on the next swing, which the player uses it for because he can't replace it and can't afford the distance loss, but on the second or third hole after, the shaft shatters during the swing and the head flies off and hits some patron during network coverage. 

 

What was gained by not allowing a player to replace a clearly damaged club? Nothing, and in worst case scenarios they open the door to tournaments being decided by faulty equipment and players or spectators being injured. 

 

The MLR for this is arbitrary. It's literally not based on any standard of testing whereby they verified that under the MLR conditions and only the MLR conditions does a club perform in a less than standard behavior, and worse it leaves open the possibility of their negligence in rule making leaving someone hurt. 

 

You can look up the people who have died when shafts cracked in motion. Usually it involves someone smashing one into the ground in anger but I'm willing to bet one tearing apart during a 120+ mph swing is going to do some damage as well. 

 

The powers that be can do as they like, though, as is tradition.

 

You've convinced me!  Let the poor guy change his club or there will be blood... 

 

Tennis finally started letting the coaches coach their player during a match lol so why not a whole new set at the turn...

 

But if not still don't know what the big deal is with playin with 13 clubs.... I can putt with any club, drive with a 3W.... I'll make it work lol

[drbonesvt]

9 hours ago, Archimedes65 said:

 

Except this would involve a random official, in real time on the golf course, making a very difficult ruling with a competitor right in his/her face arguing their point.  Very different than a video review in football, which also BTW, isn’t simply a yes or no process, as there is a ‘play stands’ option in addition to confirmation either way.

 

I could just imagine the debate on the course ‘It’s cracked!  No, that looks like a scratch to me.  No, I think it’s a crack!  Looks like a scratch.’

 

The rule is very clear. Significant damage, replace.  Not significant (i.e., beyond just a crack), no replacement.  Good rule for the protection of the field.  And it applies equally to everyone.

Not what u envisioned , it would be imaged after the fact then penalty assessed 

[Archimedes65]

2 hours ago, drbonesvt said:

Not what u envisioned , it would be imaged after the fact then penalty assessed 

 

Where in the rules does it say they would handle it that way?  No way would a pro take that risk and swap clubs if there was a potential retroactive penalty, as they’d take a penalty on every hole that they played the new driver.  They’d just hit their three wood for the rest of the round.  No way would that type of enforcement work.

[ThaPebblePlaya]

It's Fitzpatrick's fault for playing inferior equipment. Enjoy that endorsement paycheck because you are NOT winning with that cracked equipment. There are a few OEMs selling clubs that DON'T crack, maybe try one of those.

[grm24]

28 minutes ago, ThaPebblePlaya said:

It's Fitzpatrick's fault for playing inferior equipment. Enjoy that endorsement paycheck because you are NOT winning with that cracked equipment.

LOL! He's an equipment free agent. BTW what OEM's sell drivers that the faces don't crack? 

[iBanesto]

4 hours ago, grm24 said:

LOL! He's an equipment free agent. BTW what OEM's sell drivers that the faces don't crack? 

 

Also Fitzpatrick won the US Open with the Titleist TSi3 driver too.

 

Maybe not the same head exactly with the one that cracked but obviously the club works.

 

Edited September 14, 2024 by iBanesto

[bcjim]

Lol, people still not over this?

 

[PedronNiall]

On 9/14/2024 at 7:22 AM, bcjim said:

Lol, people still not over this?

 

 

 

[JungleJimbo]

On 9/14/2024 at 7:22 PM, bcjim said:

Lol, people still not over this?

 

 

Fitzy = still not over it either.

 

 

[Nickb333]

53 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

Fitzy = still not over it either.

 

 

Ha! I was going to type the same thing. Rory could just choke way down right? 

[PedronNiall]

5 hours ago, Nickb333 said:

Ha! I was going to type the same thing. Rory could just choke way down right? 

 

Someone out on the course with him made the same quip. 3 points