Golf is a game of integrity. Players are self-policed, and in the rare instance they fail to correctly assess a penalty for some inane rules violation, myriad busybodies watching the telecast will invariably phone the PGA Tour Transgressions hotline to rat out the guilty party. Checks and balances, people.Oddly, neither happened during February's FBR Open when Kenny Perry, as Local Knowledge blog's John Strege writes, appeared to "deliberately improv[e] his lie by tapping down grass behind his ball on the first playoff hole."
Video evidence after the jump.
Doesn't seem like much, particularly when millions of hackers do this and more every weekend at the local muni. But rules are rules, and if Perry is a cheater he should rightly be branded as such. Old Tom Morris would want it that way. Except that neither the PGA Tour nor its European counterpart found Perry guilty of anything other than choking away a green jacket at Augusta National.
The PGA Tour reviewed the video and met with Perry at the Players Championship and has ruled that there was no infraction ... John Paramor, chief referee of the European PGA Tour, viewed the video and rendered his judgment: Not guilty.Meanwhile, the Scotsman's John Huggan screams conspiracy, something about if people actually believe Perry is innocent then "not only does golf at the highest level have a serious problem, but some education in the area of what does and does not constitute 'improving one's lie' is badly needed."
"The fact is the player is allowed to put his club behind the ball, otherwise he would never be allowed to address his ball in any circumstance," Paramor told [Lawrence Donnegan of the Guardian]. "As soon as any player puts his club on the grass behind the ball, then the grass will be flattened. The issue is, is there excessive pressing down with the club? Looking at this, I don't think Kenny Perry did use excessive pressure when he put his club behind the ball. It does look bad, it does look like the lie was improved but, as long as there was no intent to do so, and I don't think there was, then it is not a penalty."
In addition to the American and European tours clearing Perry, Charley Hoffman, who lost to Perry in the FBR Open playoff, said that he "had no problem with [what Perry did on the shot in question] ... we all do it." Obviously, Huggan is the sane one here, and the rest of us are crazy.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-17-2009 @ 3:23PM
jumponit211 said...
He clearly cheated. Watch the rest of the round and you will not see a single instance where he taps that grass behind the ball 5 times! He even steps away from the ball after he does this before he actually takes the shot. His intent is clearly to inprove the lie, not address the ball ... as he wasn't addressing the ball until later in the shot routine! The ball also moved up in the grass when he tapped on it ... the lie was improved because the ball moved,another infraction, not because he matted the grass down.
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5-17-2009 @ 4:13PM
lgtarheel said...
you still have to make good contact and you still have to hit the ball out of the rough whether or not how much grass is behind the ball. Check where Kenny is on the money list and then check where we are!!
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5-17-2009 @ 6:50PM
ed344mu said...
I don't think he cheated. He grounded his club to test the lie, then he moved away and tested the grass to determine how hard to hit the chip. I can't believe that Perry would try to cheat. You seem to have better vision than all the authorities!
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5-17-2009 @ 7:20PM
gfg7180 said...
I do not think he cheated on purpose, but when he walked up to ball, we couldn't see it, when he patted down the grass we could. It was a clear infraction. Even us weekend golfers roll it in the fairway, but DOWN in the rough!!
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5-17-2009 @ 9:16PM
George said...
Gary Player was known for doing this all the time,let alone his big cheat in '73.
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5-18-2009 @ 3:32AM
wondogwade said...
No doubt about it. That is an infraction. Patting down the grass is an improvement of the lie. Just a big coverup again by the PGA...Should have been given a penalty. YOU CAN'T DO THAT............
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5-18-2009 @ 5:57AM
dufferal said...
Yes it is an infraction. You are not allowed to tap down the grass behind any ball during a round. When he tapped down the grass he is making it easier to get under the ball without any grass between the ball and the club blade to get the ball airbourn. That is against the rules.
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5-19-2009 @ 12:33PM
bikinginor said...
Players address the ball to check if they can get the club they have in hand on the ball, that is not a violation. Every player in the process of testing a lie pushes the grass down to some degree. Perry did not improve his lie in doing so and the ball did not move. NO VIOLATION! Weekend hackers check the rules and realize a players intent is part of the rules process. There was no intent on his part to improve the lie!!
5-18-2009 @ 8:19AM
CJaYankee said...
Nonsense!!! Imagine if all sports let fans call in with infractions and then reviewed them. Not quite an instant replay and the only reason we see Perry at all is because he is on TV. What folks don't know is that every professional match has a PGA official with them who can call rules infractions if they occur. If Perry was cheating then the PGA will need to take away all Tiger's trophy's he does the same thing ALL the time.
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5-18-2009 @ 9:30AM
Ken Kriz said...
The current rules allow a player to set the club down behind the ball in every situation but in a hazard. Once you set the club down behind the ball you have deemed to have addressed the ball. Playing out of the rough, fairway or on a green is no different. However, if the ball did move after the club was set behind the ball (addressed the ball), then there should have been a penalty. In order to address the "improving your lie" issue, the USGA needs to modify their rules. Currently you can take your driver in the rough with the "intent" to hit a ball out of the rough", after addressing the ball by tapping down a few times behind the ball, you can now decide "hey I can hit my 4 iron out of this lie" and there isn't an infraction. The USGA can only address this problem if they change the rule to "only allow the grounding of the club in the fairway and on the green". You will need to write in to the USGA requesting these changes.
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5-18-2009 @ 11:58AM
hobbsoldbg65 said...
I hate to say it but it does look like he deliberately tapped down the grass behind the ball.Does he normally do that with a chip when it is not in rough?Sorry kenny but I think you did it on purpose, what other explanation is there?
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5-18-2009 @ 6:34PM
Patches said...
Perry broke a rule that should have been enforced. Just another example of the inmates running the asylum. Hoffman is correct that "we all do it", but that still does not make it right. At least now all those millions of hackers who also "do it" now have a ruling that says they can do it. BRK
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5-22-2009 @ 12:16PM
Jim said...
Kenny is a super guy. I was priveleged to play a round with him at the Buick Southern Open and no one respects the game and its rules more than him. The rules officials say he acted within the rules. One of the things that seperates amateurs from professionals is the latters better understanding of how the rules apply to situations. Its a shame that some find fault when a playe follws the rulesand irewarded for that action.
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5-26-2009 @ 3:30AM
baffler231 said...
Not every group has an official with them. Im pretty sure only the US Open and the PGA Champ. have an official with every group and that might just be after the cut. And bikinginor, intent does not apply to this situation. Intent would only morally assess the violation not determine if one happened. I'd say Kenny's actions show a bit of guilt though-taking off away from the ball after it surfaces, joking about who's away--out of character for him in that situation, playing the shot rather quickly when it's his turn. All these people saying what a great guy Kenny is does nothing to prove he did or didn't violate the rule. Maybe he's not that great of guy?? I guess an unpopular tour player would have definitely cheated in this instance. I sure wish I was nice! Madoff was a great guy too. I saw him Perry in person once and it's pretty obvious he's on the "juice" too.
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