Rule change could have meant no penalty for Tiger Woods

The U.S. Golf Association and the R&A announced Tuesday four noteworthy revisions to the "Decisions on the Rules of Golf," most notably the use of high definition recordings to determine infractions. The change most likely would have saved Tiger Woods two strokes in this year's BMW Championship.

The governing bodies have determined that "where enhanced technological evidence shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time."

The revisions are effective Jan. 1.

At the BMW Championship during the FedExCup Playoffs at Conway Farms north of Chicago, Woods was assessed a two-shot penalty in the scoring trailer at the end of the second round when HD quality tape filmed by a PGA Tour Entertainment crew showed the world's No. 1 player's ball had moved while he was removing debris around his ball in back of the first green.

Woods was not pleased and had a heated discussion with rules officials when told of the infraction. Woods insisted the ball just oscillated and did not move even after seeing the video evidence "again and again and again." Rules officials disagreed and docked him two shots. Woods was still simmering 24 hours later.

The USGA and R&A said the rapid development of video technology has brought a new level of scrutiny to the game and led to an increasing number of inquiries to rules officials from people outside the field of competition. In April 2011, the USGA and the R&A adopted decision 33-7/4.5, which authorizes committees to waive the disqualification penalty for a breach of Rule 6-6d in narrow circumstances in which the player could not reasonably have been aware of a breach of the rules that later was identified through video evidence.

After continuing to monitor the situation, and with input and assistance from representatives of the professional tours who serve as consulting members of the Rules of Golf Committees, the USGA and R&A further addressed the situation and arrived at a revision of the rules.

"The decision ensures that a player is not penalized under Rule 18-2 in circumstances where the fact that the ball had changed location could not reasonably have been seen without the use of enhanced technology," the USGA and R&A said in a joint statement. " … As is true of the rules in many other televised sports, adapting to developments in technology and video evidence is an important ongoing topic in making and applying the Rules of Golf."

"The Rules of Golf are constantly evolving," said Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director of the Rules of Golf. "The decisions review process is an opportunity for The R&A and the USGA to continue to help make the game more understandable and accessible for players, officials and others who participate in the game."

Among other changes:

• Decision 14-3/18 confirms that players can access reports on weather conditions on a Smartphone during a round without breaching the rules. Importantly, this new decision also clarifies that players are permitted to access information on the threat of an impending storm in order to protect their own safety.
• A revised decision helps to clarify when a golf ball is considered to be embedded in the ground through the use of illustrations.
• A revised decision allows a player to go forward up to approximately 50 yards without forfeiting his or her right to go back and play a provisional ball.