The Mitzel Rule, anyone?
As part of its latest additional clarifications to the Rules of Golf, the USGA released new guidance on Model Local Rule G-6, which prohibits the use of motorized transportation.
MLR G-6 states: “During a round, a player or caddie must not ride on any form of motorized transportation except as authorized or later approved by the committee.”
Seattle’s Paul Mitzel knows this rule well. It cost him his first-round match at last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he lost in 20 holes to Ryan O’Rear without actually playing 20 holes. On the way from the first playoff hole to the second, Mitzel’s caddie accepted a cart ride from a volunteer, who had just shuttled the competitors from the 18th hole to the first playoff hole and was following the match to bring them back to the clubhouse upon the match’s conclusion. The walking rules official witnessed the unauthorized transport and called a penalty, which was loss of the next hole for Mitzel – and, in this case, the match. O’Rear asked if the penalty could be negated but was told no.
“I have to think anyone in that situation takes the ride when a shuttle driver asks if they want to hop on really quick and not think anything of it,” Mitzel said afterward.
There have been other notable instances of MLR G-6 coming into play, including at the 2023 Lecom Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, where three players were penalized two shots for accepting shuttle rides midway through their second rounds. Several years before that, at the U.S. Amateur, Akshay Bhatia lost the 14th hole of his first-round match after Bhatia’s caddie asked someone who he thought was a USGA rules official if he was allowed to be carted back from the restroom. The person was merely wearing volunteer apparel. Bhatia eventually was defeated in 19 holes.
Moving forward, though, tournament committees will have more freedom when applying MLR G-6.
There is now this verbiage: “A committee can also later approve a ride that was accepted by a player under the mistaken belief that it was allowed, such as when it was reasonable for the player to believe that the person who offered the ride was authorized to do so as part of the competition.”
So, in Mitzel’s case, the rules official could’ve negated the penalty if he felt that Mitzel’s caddie had made a reasonable mistake.