The 2011 season began the way the 2010 season ended, rules gaffe after rules gaffe. At this year’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions Camilo Villegas was disqualified when a fan called in a rules infraction committed by Villegas. Two weeks later, Padraig Harrington was disqualified in the same manner in Abu Dhabi. Jack Nicklaus even weighed in on the situation, calling for an entire re-write of the USGA/R&A rule book simply because there were too many rules and they were far too complicated. In an interview with the Golf Channels Morning Drive show, Nicklaus stated that a lawyer friend of his said it was “…more difficult to pass the bar than it was to pass the rules test” to become a rules official. Finchem’s response is to continue to allow viewers to call in if they feel an infraction has occurred.
"We like the fact that people call in. We like the fact people who watch the telecasts get excited about something they see. It is just a question of how the rule is applied.”
How the rule is applied is more the issue than the infraction itself. In both instances this year, Villegas and Harrington were disqualified after they had gone home for the day.The next day, both were informed of their infractions and sent packing for signing incorrect scorecards.
To this dilemma, Finchem said he was "…cautiously optimistic we'll get to some modifications that will just create a better system."
In terms of the of arm chair officials, Finchem went on further to state, "We don't want to turn those people off. We want to accept the information and deal with it. Cutting them off is not an option…”
To date, the professional golf is the only sport that allows viewers to act as officials in the field of play.
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