Coaches and competitors at the NCAA Women’s Championship were informed Wednesday that the official yardage books handed out for the event by the NCAA were non-conforming.
First reported by Golfweek, the size of the grids for 10 of the 18 greens were in violation of a new USGA rule regarding green-reading materials. Rule 4.3a/1, part of several new changes to the Rules of Golf, states that these detailed green maps must not exceed a ratio of 1:480, or 3/8 inch for every 5 yards.
“It’s 1/16th off,” Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor told Golfweek. “It’s less than a freckle.”
The discovery certainly saved any team or individual who planned to use the books this week at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The first round begins Friday.
Many teams in the field typically rely instead on StrackaLine’s green-reading books, and Andrew Tredway, who runs StrackLine’s college program, said on Twitter that the NCAA had already reached out to him for help. Other coaches told Golfweek they already planned to cover up the greens.
“Just to be safe,” Estes-Taylor said.
In statement to GolfChannel.com, the NCAA stated, "[On Wednesday] the NCAA Women’s Golf Committee was made aware of an issue regarding some green diagrams in the tournament yardage book. By mid-afternoon, yardage books with conforming green diagrams were available.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article included a photograph, which contained a yardage book that was not distributed to players by the NCAA.