SHOULD THEY OR
SHOULDN’T THEY?
storm has erupted worldwide
and rightfully so. Li Haotong,
would, forever go down in the
history of the game to be the
very ¿ rst, in professional golf, docked 2
strokes for his, hapless, caddie standing
behind him, as he was preparing to make a
stroke, in breach of Rule 10.2b (4). And no,
Li is not just going to be remembered for the
2 strokes but having slipped from T3 to T12
at the Dubai Desert Classic, that cost him a
whopping 100000 Euros. One must really
feel for this nice chap. So did the Referees
get the ruling right? Having worked for years
with the European Tour referees and with the
Hero Indian Open on the ET, for a few years
now, I can vouchsafe the fact the Referees at
the event got the ruling, spot on. They would
have done everything possible to let Li off the
hook, if it were legally possible and would
have examined that video a thousand times,
from every angle, to determine if the caddie
was actually standing on or close to the line
of play behind the ball.
THE RULE
To understand what happened, lets break this
Rule down.
Rule 10.2b (4) reads: Restriction on Caddie
Standing Behind Player. When a player
begins taking a stance for the stroke and until
the stroke is made:
•
The players caddie must not
deliberately stand in a location on or
close to an extension of the line of
play behind the ball for any reason.
•
If the player takes a stance in breach
of this Rule, he or she cannot avoid
penalty by backing away.
Exception -Ball on Putting Green: When
the player’s ball is on the putting green, there
is no penalty under this Rule if the player
backs away from the stance and does not
16 G o l f P l u s
FEBRUARY
begin to take the stance again until after the
caddie has moved out of the location.
To understand this Rule better, perhaps,
some de¿ nitions of the italicised words in the
Rule, would also add clarity:
Caddie: Someone who helps a player,
including in these ways:….
Line of Play: The line where the player
intends his or her ball to go after a stroke,
including the area on that line that is a
reasonable up above the ground and on either
side of that line.
The line of play is not necessarily a
straight line between two points (for example,
it may be a curved line based on where the
player intends the ball to go)
Stance: The position of a player’s feet
and body in preparing for and making a
stroke.
Stroke: The forward movement of the
club made to strike the ball.
Interpretation 10.2b(4)/1 - Examples
of When Player Begins Taking His or Her
Stance, also provides a lot of clarity to the
Rule.
THE BREACH
When we teach the Rules to aspiring Referees,
we ask them to learn to resolve questions of
fact, which undoubtedly is among the most
dif¿ cult of actions, required of a Referee. We
use the weight of evidence standard including
the balance of probabilities. In some cases,
where the facts are not so decisive, the doubt
should be resolved in favour of the player and
in other cases, against the player.
In Li’s case, if each of the boxes (of the
Rule) were to be checked off, you will ¿ nd a,
large, tick mark against the boxes.
Did Li begin to take a stance as de¿ ned?
Yes, he did! Was Li’s Caddie involved? Yes,
he was! Did Li’s Caddie stand on or close
to the extension of line of play? Yes, he
did! And ¿ nally, did the Exception apply?
2019
Ishwar Achanta
Ishwar Achanta, International Golf Referee, Council
Member & Chairman - Technical, Rules & Amateur Status
Committee of the Indian Golf Union, Former Advisory
Member of the R&A’s Rules of Golf Committee.
Unfortunately, no, Li did not back away to
avoid the penalty! The undeniable fact was
that Li was in breach pf the Rule and in order
preserve the integrity of the full ¿ eld, playing
at the Dubai Desert Classic, the Referees had
no option but to dock Li with the General
Penalty for Rule 10.2, which is two strokes.
WHY THIS RULE CHANGE?
Several questions, that I have been asked are:
1) Was it necessary to introduce this Rule 2)
The Rule says Caddie must not stand, what
about a Partner? 3) Can a Caddie stand in front
of the player and align him? As a member of
the R&A’s Rules of Golf Committee between
2010-2016, I was privileged to be a part of
writing the new Code. I recall, with clarity,
the numerous discussions that the Committee
had while discussing this change. We had
overwhelming support for this change and
most of us felt that, this change would help
speed up the game. The Professional Tours
were consulted, particularly the women, as
it was, erroneously felt, that women golfers
were more prone to seeking such assistance
from caddies. Comments ranging from,
“it’s against the spirit of the game”, “lining
up is part of the skill of the game”, “slows