Golf of the Absurd

Lexi Thompson lost a tournament yesterday because some TV fan saw her place a ball about an inch away from its original spot. He called it in, and she was give a 4 stroke penalty a day later while playing the 11th hole.

All sports are subject to officiating errors. Look at the semi finals of the Final Four. However in no sport other than golf do officials go back and change calls except with instant replay. Can you imagine altering the outcome of the super bowl by changing the score in the 4 the quarter due to a call reversal of an event that took place in the first quarter?  The call against Lexi was a silly,

obsessive ruling at its worst, since her placement of the ball gave her no advantage. Was she mad and  tearful? Of course she was!

Two principles that need to be followed are:

1.  Fans aren't officials and can't make calls.
2. If an infraction isn't seen on the spot, it doesn't exist. If the golf association is so concerned about minute rules, it needs to station officials on every hole.


The current policy lacks common sense and is very unfair to the golfers. The game is hard enough without burdening players with this kind of nonsense.