The CSGA Links Volume 5 Issue 2 June 2017 | Page 44

NEWS & NOTES
New USGA Rules of Golf Decision Limits Use of Video Review
T
he USGA and The R&A have issued a new Decision on the Rules of Golf to limit the use of video
evidence in the game, effective immediately. New Decision 34-3/10 implements two standards
for Rules committees to limit the use of video: 1) when video reveals evidence that could
not reasonably be seen with the “naked eye,” and 2) when players use their “reasonable judgment” to
determine a specific location when applying the Rules.

The first standard states, “the use of video technology can make it possible to identify things that
could not be seen with the naked eye.” An example includes a player who unknowingly touches a few
grains of sand in taking a backswing with a club in a bunker when making a stroke.

If the committee concludes that such facts could not reasonably have been seen with the naked
eye and the player was not otherwise aware of the potential breach, the player will be deemed not to
have breached the Rules, even when video technology shows otherwise. This is an extension of the
provision on ball-at-rest-moved cases, which was introduced in 2014.

The second standard applies when a player determines a spot, point, position, line, area, distance
or other location in applying the Rules, and recognizes that a player should not be held to the degree
of precision that can sometimes be provided by video technology. Examples include determining the
nearest point of relief or replacing a lifted ball.

So long as the player does what can reasonably be expected under the circumstances to make
an accurate determination, the player’s reasonable judgment will be accepted, even if later shown to
be inaccurate by the use of video evidence.

The standards in the Decision do not change any of the current requirements in the Rules, as the
player must still act with care, report all known breaches of the Rules and try to do what is reasonably
expected in making an accurate determination when applying the Rules.

Video-related topics that require a deeper evaluation by the working group include the use of
information from sources other than participants such as phone calls, email or social media, and the
application of penalties after a score card has been returned.
44 | CSGA Links // June, 2017
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