Should a spectator be allowed to call in a rule violation?

[ole gray]

There has been a ton of discussion on whether fans should be allowed to alter the outcome of a sporting event. Last weekend during an LPGA Major, this exact thing happened when a viewer called in what they considered a violation while Lexi Thompson was marking her ball on the green.

 

I don't ever remember ever seeing a spectator calling in during other sporting events to include individual sports such as tennis, bowling, wrestling, swimming, and horse shoes to make a ruling.

 

Personally I am strongly against spectators calling in to make rulings during a sporting event. 

 

Let's put this up for fellow spys to cast their vote!

 

 

 

[BigtazzGolf]

Simply no.

Unless you are affiliated with the tournament in an official capacity. Then you have no say.

 

Tazz

Grip n Rip it

[Jmikecpa]

I was looking for the h$ll no button and couldn't find it so I simply voted no.  Who is to say that the person calling in the violation even knows the rules of golf and their qulifications?  We have one simple rule at my club for rules assessments....if you are playing a match and the people in the match agree on a rules determination in the group it is done even if the ruling was not completely correct.  If you don't all agree then call the shop and have one of the pro's come out and enforce the ruling that is deemed correct.  I had someone last year try and call a penalty on me for hitting a shot off the cart path since they thought it was a mandatory drop.  This guy plays golf four to five days a week and obviously does not know the rules.

[ole gray]

I was looking for the h$ll no button and couldn't find it so I simply voted no.  Who is to say that the person calling in the violation even knows the rules of golf and their qulifications?  We have one simple rule at my club for rules assessments....if you are playing a match and the people in the match agree on a rules determination in the group it is done even if the ruling was not completely correct.  If you don't all agree then call the shop and have one of the pro's come out and enforce the ruling that is deemed correct.  I had someone last year try and call a penalty on me for hitting a shot off the cart path since they thought it was a mandatory drop.  This guy plays golf four to five days a week and obviously does not know the rules.

 

Actually I almost created a "Hell No" button as that was my feeling on the subject!  

[silver & black]

No way! I suppose they can call in, but there is no way they should be given any consideration.... at all!

 

There is no other sport/game I can think of that allows it, let alone condones it and uses it!

 

I'm not saying Lexi shouldn't have been penalized....... if it was caught and dealt with the day of the infraction... and not by some a**hole watching on TV.

[Shankster]

http://www.pgatour.com/tourreport/2013/11/19/usga-decision-affects-viewer-call-ins.html

 

 

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[tony@CIC]

Actually I almost created a "Hell No" button as that was my feeling on the subject!

In this situation I'd prefer a NFW as a response to someone wanting spectators to call violations

 

 

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[djahubes]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

Absolutely not. Mic dropped.

[J.B. TexasEx]

FOX's Joel Klatt had a hot take on the topic this morning that I think had merit. 

 

"It's very simple...unless EVERY shot by EVERY player is broadcast INCLUDING marking, then call-ins and e-mail should NEVER be accepted."

[EthanSterlingPrice]

In a word no.

 

 

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[hckymeyer]

Absolutely not.

 

However, If you do call or email in...  The tour should be allowed to post your name, pictures and all social media handles both on TV and on the tour's web site so we can all ridicule the person.

[DawgDaddy]

Never!!!

[Jiro]

No! Could you imagine if this happened in other sports? If a ref missed a call, that is just part of the game.

 

 

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[Badfish]

Spectators taking the role of a referee is completely ridiculous in my opinion.  Having said that I'm not opposed to professionals having their play reviewed.  If not with the purpose of changing scores then for the potential assessment of fines.  The rules are there for a reason, and infractions at the professional level should have repercussions.  

[Kor.A.Door]

Spectators taking the role of a referee is completely ridiculous in my opinion. Having said that I'm not opposed to professionals having their play reviewed. If not with the purpose of changing scores then for the potential assessment of fines. The rules are there for a reason, and infractions at the professional level should have repercussions.

Having a review by officials in some capacity is exactly what should happen.

[PMookie]

A couple posts on Twitter from last night's national championship game put things in perspective here. Answer this: would calling-in these change the calls, or outcome in a basketball game? If not, why so for golf?

 

In the first pic, the ball was called out of bounds off Carolina, but the TV shows differently. In the second pic, the player's toe is touching the free throw line- a violation, loss of made free throw and possession to the other team (if the last of the series of free throws). So, if other sports don't allow it, golf shouldn't either. And to think how many shots were struck in the LPGA tournament WITHOUT being covered by TV? How many MORE strokes would've been subject to the same scrutiny????!!!!

 

 

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[ole gray]

A couple posts on Twitter from last night's national championship game put things in perspective here. Answer this: would calling-in these change the calls, or outcome in a basketball game? If not, why so for golf?

IMG_2479.PNGIMG_2480.PNG

In the first pic, the ball was called out of bounds off Carolina, but the TV shows differently. In the second pic, the player's toe is touching the free throw line- a violation, loss of made free throw and possession to the other team (if the last of the series of free throws). So, if other sports don't allow it, golf shouldn't either. And to think how many shots were struck in the LPGA tournament WITHOUT being covered by TV? How many MORE strokes would've been subject to the same scrutiny????!!!!

 

 

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This is one of the points I was trying to make about other sports and calling in however I couldn't do it this well.   

[DiscipleofPenick]

NO!

 

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[JudgeSmails]

no, no, no and i would say NO

[StrokerAce]

certainly not Joe Q. Public, but what about a PGA/LPGA tour rules official watching on television?

 

This is someone that is qualified and adept at determining rules violations.

I would think that this would be acceptable.

[MDGolfHacker]

I don't think any of the governing bodies took into account the impact of television on golf. Self policing should only be within the players and rules officials at the tournament. After the scorecard is signed and authenticated by the governing official then that should be the players score for the day (as others have said).

 

MDGolfHacker

[Undershooter]

certainly not Joe Q. Public, but what about a PGA/LPGA tour rules official watching on television?

 

This is someone that is qualified and adept at determining rules violations.

I would think that this would be acceptable.

Unless literally every shot from every player is televised then this creates an unfair advantage for non leaders and less popular players.

Brooks Koepka could probably start playing a box up as little as he's shown .

[TheWahoo]

When the application and enforcement of the rules are discussed, often the term "equity" is referenced.   In my opinion, such term implies that the rules should be applied and enforced in a consistent or equal manner to all participants.   Given that only those players receiving an excessive amount of televised coverage are subject to the enforcement by outsiders, have the rules been applied in an equitable or equal manner to all participants.   In my opinion, only the participants and on site officials can apply and enforce the rules in an equitable or equal manner.

[StrokerAce]

Unless literally every shot from every player is televised then this creates an unfair advantage for non leaders and less popular players.

Brooks Koepka could probably start playing a box up as little as he's shown .

 

fair enough, but shouldn't the leaders or at least those in the top 10 know that they are being watched and **heavily** scrutinized and be extra-super-duper careful ??

[Kenny B]

Golf is a game of honor, and players call penalties on themselves.  The playing partner protects the honor of the game for the entire field of players by calling violations when they see them, and then attest the score for the other player.  People should not be able to call in and change the score of a match after the scorecard has been signed and attested by another player and the official.

[Undershooter]

fair enough, but shouldn't the leaders or at least those in the top 10 know that they are being watched and **heavily** scrutinized and be extra-super-duper careful ??

Yes they should but that isn't really the issue. Just because someone is in the top 10 doesn't mean they are on TV much. See my above Koepka reference. It still doesn't create an equal playing field for all players. 

 

What if this was Tiger/Phil and it was Friday to make the cut? Would some joe schmoe have the same scrutiny over a shot, so far back from the leaders? Definitely not. TV coverage only shows certain shots of certain players at certain times so it gives less notable player an unfair advantage. Just like it doesn't protect the field from players further back from the lead having less chances to be shown/penalized. 

[MDGolfHacker]

I have a idea.. Start televising the game in standard definition. That way you can't tell if they put it in the wrong spot lol

 

MDGolfHacker

[Undershooter]

The kicker is... ALL OF THIS, is assuming that someone isn't calling in for selfish reasons. 
What if someone has money on another player and calls it in to help themselves out. Or if they just dislike a player and would otherwise not call in if it was a player they liked. 

 

Let me give you one particularly crappy scenario with this Lexi fiasco. What if... The person who emailed in to call out Lexi, actually noticed this rules infraction on Saturday right after it happened. He/she doesn't like Lexi. In fact, she is his/her least favorite player(or they have $$$ on someone else, whatever). The second they saw the penalty, they got really excited because they get to call a rules infraction on someone they dislike. Then they realize, I can call this in now and she will get a 2 shot penalty. Orrrrrr. I can wait until tomorrow and call it in(email) and then she will not only get a 2 shot penalty but also an additional 2 shot penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard!

This person just negatively affected the outcome of the tournament to serve their own purposes. Not to protect the field but to hurt an individual and change the outcome of a major. 
 

Think about that for a second. 

[MDGolfHacker]

We all can debate it, but in the end the rules need to be updated for the world we live in of high definition tvs, dvrs etc. It was unfortunate that it happened to Lexi and it will happen again upto when they enact the new rules in 2019...

 

MDGolfHacker