ORLANDO, Fla. – There comes a moment in every discussion when dialogue can go in one of two directions, and golf has reached that tipping point.
Either the conversation can careen down an unproductive path and devolve into pointless blame and endless accusations, or all the parties involved can decide that the most productive way forward is to find some common ground and start anew.
For those on both sides of the current rules dispute, it’s time for the grown-ups to talk.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said as much, albeit in a more measured tone, in a one-page memo sent to players on Monday.
“This is a collaborative process, one the PGA Tour has been a part of from the beginning, along with all organizations in the world of golf,” Monahan explained.
Monahan has found himself in the role of peacekeeper following a particularly contentious week between the game’s top players and its governing bodies.
On Thursday at the Honda Classic, Justin Thomas took up the crusade against this year’s changes to the Rules of Golf after he damaged his 9-iron while trying to advance a shot around a tree. Under the new rules, players are now allowed to repair but not replace damaged clubs during the round.
“You can just add that one to the list of rules that don’t make any sense,” Thomas said.
During the same round, Rickie Fowler seemed to troll the new rules when he mocked taking a drop from his, eh, back side.
The USGA didn’t help the situation with Thomas when the association’s public relations department tweeted:
Justin, we need to talk. You’ve cancelled every meeting we’ve planned with you, but we are reaching out again. We were at the first 5 events, and tournaments last year, and your tour has had a seat at the table for 7 years. We’d love nothing more than to give you a seat. Call us.
— USGA PR (@USGA_PR) March 2, 2019
On Tuesday, the USGA backtracked and said that Thomas never canceled a meeting with the association, but the damage was done.
After further and more direct conversations with @JustinThomas34, we realize he did not avoid a discussion with the USGA nor cancel any meetings. We value his and all players’ opinions and are committed to a productive dialogue as the golf world adjusts to the modernized rules.
— USGA PR (@USGA_PR) March 5, 2019
It’s well past the time to start passing the trust stick and clear the increasingly heavy air between the rule makers and those whose livelihoods depend on understanding the rules.
The first step forward came in the form of Monahan’s memo. It’s important for players to understand that the USGA and R&A no longer make these decisions in a bubble. The PGA Tour and the European Tour now have a permanent seat at the rule-making table, and their voices were heard throughout this most recent makeover of the rule book.
“During this process, we put forward a lengthy list of recommendations to improve the rules in many ways, including the removal of numerous penalties, and virtually all our suggestions were incorporated,” Monahan wrote. “We also had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed rules prior to implementation, which resulted in modifications for the final version.”
It’s also worth noting that recent calls for the bifurcation of the rules may sound prudent, but that’s probably not an option in which the Tour would be interested.
“We believe the game is best served when all of the industry partners in the game are working together, and we intend to continue to approach this issue in that manner,” the memo read.
The next step in the healing process is understanding that it is the desire of both the Tour players and the USGA to make the rules easier to understand. Although the USGA is no stranger to controversies — last year’s U.S. Open setup being Exhibit A on this front — the stated goal of this year’s changes was to help the game, not to make golf a trending topic on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.
“It’s everyone’s favorite pastime in golf to bash the USGA right now. They are an easy target,” Rory McIlroy said. “It’s never going to be perfect, especially when you’re trying to implement change. For the most part, people are resistant to change.”
If players were to look beyond their general distrust of the USGA, they would see the reasoning for knee-height rather than shoulder-height drops. They’d also see that these changes, which were conceived and implemented by the game’s best rule-making minds from St. Andrews to Sawgrass, were always going to be a work in progress.
The new rule on caddie alignment, which required a clarification following a series of high-profile miscues on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, probably looked good on paper; in practice, it has proven to be problematic. But then there were always going to be growing pains, and a healthy amount of trial and error in this process.
“Some guys go out and play a bad round of golf, and they are trying their hardest, and it doesn’t work out, and I feel that’s what the USGA has done here,” McIlroy said. “They have the best interests of the game at heart; they aren’t trying to ruin the game. They might have just got a couple of things slightly wrong, but that’s why they are trying to have some dialogue with the players. We’re all in this together. We’re all trying to elevate the game to a place where it should be.”
McIlroy has proven himself over time to be one of the calmest heads in the room. His take is a promising sign that, despite growing tensions, this conversation is finally starting to take a productive turn.