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NBC Sports
6 days ago
- Climate
- NBC Sports
To lift, clean and place, or not? That is the question at Jack's Place
DUBLIN, Ohio – For the second time in three weeks, Mother Nature and the dynamics of a golf ball's flight have coalesced to create unrest among the game's best and brightest. Mud balls are an issue this week at the Memorial, just as they were earlier this month at the PGA Championship, when world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler railed against a rules decision that allowed chance, not skill, to dictate the outcome. Scheffler's take, which is born from decades of perfecting his craft, was ultimately vindicated when he won his third major championship that Sunday at Quail Hollow Club, which was drenched by rain much like Muirfield Village has been this week. But then Jack's Place is historically one of the PGA Tour's messy and muddiest, which likely makes the decision not to play preferred lies for golf balls in closely mown areas even more curious. Heavy rains throughout the week have left Muirfield Village soaked but perfectly playable if not for the ever-present mud ball. 'A perfect example is the second hole today, Adam [Scott] has hit a perfect tee shot in the left side of the fairway and the whole left side of his ball is caked in mud,' Brandt Snedeker explained. 'He's done everything he should do, he's driven it down the left side of the fairway and has a 9-iron in his hand and has no chance of hitting this green. He's got to play it to the left bunker and pray the mud does what it's supposed to do and, of course, it didn't. That is not equitable and it's one of a thousand times it happened this week.' Snedeker's concern beyond the obvious impact on the competitive integrity of the event was the process the Tour uses to determine when to allow players to lift, clean and place. It's a process that is more art than science. A cold, soaking rain on Day 2 at the Memorial set the stage for cool, clear skies and winds that gusted to 26 mph on Saturday – the perfect recipe for mud balls. 'Two holes that I hit the fairway I did not [have a mud ball], one of them the ball was imbedded and I got to clean it [under the Rules of Golf],' said Maverick McNealy, who hit 11 of 14 fairways on Day 3 on his way to a 69. 'I'm not sure why [officials didn't play preferred lies]. I was just about to ask the officials about it. I don't know why you wouldn't play lift, clean and place today. 'As a consensus, Tour players like to be rewarded for good shots and penalized for bad ones. That's why we don't like mud balls.' At the PGA Championship, it was the PGA of America's venerated setup man Kerry Haigh whose decision to not allow preferred lies was questioned but also not entirely unexpected. As a rule, Haigh is very much old school and rarely allows for preferred lies in the association's championships. This week is different. The PGA Tour's philosophy for playing the ball up is based on the idea of 'extreme mud,' which means the incidents of mud balls must be more than simply isolated and instead widespread throughout the golf course. Depending on who you ask, the line Saturday at Muirfield Village seemed to waiver between the two extremes. 'I mean, we got a lot of mud balls,' said Keegan Bradley, whose 68 moved him into the top 10. 'Pretty much if you hit the fairway, you had some sort of mud ball. Some were worse than others. But, yeah, a good amount.' Anecdotally, Bradley, Snedeker and McNealy would suggest the presence of 'extreme mud balls,' but to be fair the Tour's rules committee debated whether to play the ball 'up' for over an hour both Friday and Saturday morning. It's also worth pointing out that Jack Nicklaus, the legendary host of the Memorial, was not involved in the decision to forgo preferred lies. Players do have a remedy for what some see as a capricious preferred lie policy. As evidenced by this week's player-driven changes to the format at the Tour Championship, player empowerment has fully arrived in professional golf and the membership's voice has never been louder or more important. If the Player Advisory Council and policy board want change it is only a few meetings and a final vote away, but there will be those who caution to be careful what you ask for. A change to the preferred lie policy may be what players want, but it might not be what's best for the game.
Newsweek
19-05-2025
- Newsweek
PGA Championship: Wyndham Clark Under Fire for Dangerously Whipping Club
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Wyndham Clark kept his streak of poor results at major championships, which began at the 2023 Open, alive at the 2025 PGA Championship. Quail Hollow's event was Clark's seventh consecutive major outside the top 10, and his frustration was more than evident. A video of him venting his anger by violently throwing his driver has gone viral on social media. Not so much for tossing the club itself, which is fairly common behavior among golfers, but because there were other people in the direction he was sending it. Wyndham Clark just about smoked a volunteer (and a TrackMan) with this club throw. The driver broke. — Golf News Net (@GolfNewsNet) May 18, 2025 In the video, Clark can be seen angrily throwing his driver at a sign behind him, while several volunteers working at the event were nearby. Clark's group mate, Max Homa, and their caddies were also in the vicinity. Afterwards, an X user claiming to be one of the volunteers at the event posted a picture of the sign Clark hit. You can clearly see that the club head went completely through the advertising fence. I'm the Marshall holding the flag. Scared me to death. — Chris Deiulio (@CMDeiulio11) May 18, 2025 Throwing a club this way can be quite dangerous, especially the driver, which is the heaviest club in the bag. In fact, Clark's driver broke on impact and the player had to be without it for the rest of the round as the rules prohibit him from replacing it if he voluntarily broke it. Not surprisingly, many fans took to social media to express their disapproval of Clark's stance: "Should be minimum 500k fine and suspension. dangerous," a fan wrote. "There's a difference between dropping the club and full tilt throwing it at another human being," wrote another. There were plenty more. "Could have killed the guy standing back there." "Behaving like a child is embarrassing for a grown man." In addition, the 2023 US Open winner could face repercussions for this behavior. The Rules of Golf state that players must maintain integrity of conduct during play, and all golfing organizations have varying penalties for violations. However, these policies are generally not made public. Wyndham Clark finished the PGA Championship in a tie for 50th place at 4-over. The 31-year-old carded just one round under par (69 on Friday) to improve on Thursday's 72 and make the cut by two strokes. However, he fell off the pace, carding a 73 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday. Wyndham Clark of the United States looks on from the ninth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 18, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wyndham Clark of the United States looks on from the ninth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 18, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images After winning the U.S. Open in 2023, Clark has failed to return to the top 10 in major championships. In fact, his victory at the Los Angeles Country Club is his only top 10 in 14 career major starts (7 cuts made). More Golf: Rory McIlroy Skips PGA Championship Media amid Driver Controversy
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Arccos Teams With Titleist To Offer Golf Shot-Tracking And Insights
Arccos has added Titleist to its growing lineup of equipment partners, giving one of the game's most engaged golfer communities access to free performance-tracking smart sensors as well as a mix of data-driven insights, special offers and other benefits. The global collaboration between Arccos and Titleist will focus initially on bringing new analytics, content and special offers to Team Titleist golfers, with the intent to help them make smarter decisions, improve faster, and shoot lower scores. 'The partnership with Arccos expands our commitment to excellence by delivering A.I.-powered game tracking and data-driven strategy at the highest level,' said Mike Lowe, Vice President, Titleist Brand Management & Communications. 'We're excited to learn from Arccos' data set and expertise to enable our consumer insights, product innovation, and fitting teams to enhance the relationship with our brand fans.' Arccos now counts partnerships with a handful of the biggest club manufacturers in the industry, as Titleist joins Cobra PUMA Golf, PING, Srixon-Cleveland, and TaylorMade. The Official Game Tracker of the PGA TOUR, Arccos counts professional golfers such as Matthew Fitzpatrick and Edoardo Molinari among its ambassadors and advocates. But the technology platform also has gained a massive following among recreational golfers, with hundreds of thousands of users playing more than 22 million rounds with the system across 162 countries. Arccos has tracked more than 1.2 billion on-course shots. The partnership with Titleist presents an opportunity for Arccos to bring game tracking to millions of other dedicated golfers worldwide. Members of Team Titleist, the game's largest and most engaged equipment loyalty program, can claim their free sensors and a complimentary trial online. 'Together, we'll harness golf richest data set alongside the expertise of elite players and world-class engineers to deliver groundbreaking insights,' said Arccos Executive Vice President and Head of Partnerships Tom Williams. 'This collaboration will empower Titleist players to understand their game like never before and discover new ways to unlock their peak performance.' Among Arccos' recent innovations is its Link Pro shot-tracking wearable, which – like the standard shot-tracking technology -- is permitted for use under the Rules of Golf. The company's new A.I. Caddie, which is launching soon, features proprietary course strategy algorithms to provide Arccos users with a precise, personalized, A.I.-driven strategy for every shot they take on any course in the world.
NBC Sports
16-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Spaun smartly gets relief into fairway at Players
J.J. Spaun used the Rules of Golf to his advantage in the final round of The Players Championship, smartly getting himself free relief from not one, but two sprinkler heads, from the rough right back into the fairway.
NBC Sports
16-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
'It was fascinating': J.J. Spaun receives advantageous drop during Players final round
If J.J. Spaun goes on to win The Players, he'll have the Rules of Golf to thank. Spaun was leaking oil with two bogeys and no birdies in his first eight holes of Sunday's final round at TPC Sawgrass. He had just lost his lead, too, when he teed off on the par-5 ninth hole. After finding the fairway, Spaun's second shot traveled 240 yards, missing in the right rough. Though Spaun had just 45 yards to the hole, his lie was brutal. Rules to the rescue. Upon taking his stance, Spaun noticed that he was standing on a sprinkler head. He took relief from that, only to find that his drop area included another sprinkler. So, he dropped and received relief from that, too. Spaun's next drop was in the fairway. Here's how NBC on-course reporter Bones Mackay described the series of events: 'It was fascinating. J.J. got up there and his ball was in a horrible lie. He was standing on a sprinkler, but still nowhere near the fairway, so he took relief and within that club length was another sprinkler. He intentionally dropped it in the sprinkler, got a second club length away from that and got himself into the fairway.' According to Rule 16.1a of the Rules of Golf, interference exists and relief is allowed if 'your ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition' or 'an abnormal course condition physically interferes with your area of intended stance or area of intended swing.' Spaun then pitched to 7 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to re-tie Rory McIlroy for the lead at 11 under.
