The Current Climate

The oddity of the week was the disqualification of England's David Howell. In Thursday's opening round he hit a ball that moved after he had started his backswing. He told his playing partners, and assured them that it was within the Rules, and there was no penalty. It was only the following evening, when one of his fellow competitors casually asked a tour referee about the situation that it emerged that Howell was wrong and should have been penalised one shot. He had therefore signed for a score lower than it should have been and when he came to the course on Saturday morning he was disqualified.

Rule 14-5 (Playing a Moving Ball) states that there is no penalty "under this rule" if a player strikes a ball that moves after he has started his backswing. However, it doesn't absolve you from penalty under any other rule – and Rule 18-2b clearly states that if the ball moves after address there's a one-shot penalty.

David was guilty of "a little knowledge being a dangerous thing", and paid the price. Rather like Tiger Woods with his now infamous two-shot penalty at The Masters, David was condemned by his own honesty. Well done to them: no one would have known any different if they had not spoken up, albeit in Tiger's case there was an element of boastfulness. But the truth remains: both parties were guilty by their ignorance of the Rules.

It's something that happens so often now and it beggars belief that professional golfers do not have a better understanding of the laws of their game. That said, the Rules are incredibly complex, and any attempt by the R&A and the USGA to simplify them has to be welcomed. Good luck!