by Ed Mate, Executive Director of the Colorado Golf Association

Serena Williams’ latest display at the U.S. Open was… (blank). You tell me. As I watched this bizarre finish to a grand slam tennis final unfold, I know several adjectives came to mind. Rather than defending or criticizing her behavior in this forum, I would rather look at what this incident says about today’s athletes and the broader attitude toward referees in our culture. And as executive director of the Colorado Golf Association and a student of the rules of golf, I am interested in looking at how the uniqueness of the rules of golf are more and more at odds with our “modern” attitude toward sport and specifically toward the enforcement of rules.

For the past several weeks the Colorado Golf Association has been releasing a series of videos highlighting the upcoming changes to the rules of golf that will take effect on January 1, 2019. The rules of golf have been completely rewritten in the past six years and the much-anticipated 2019 rule book has been released. This project was the most far-reaching and ambitious rules project ever undertaken at one time by the United States Golf Association and Scotland’s Royal and Ancient in the many years the two organizations have co-authored the rules. The moniker that has been attached to this project has been “Rules Modernization.”

The term “modernization” was not the first choice to label this top-to-bottom rewrite of golf’s ancient code. The term emerged during the process as a reaction to the first choice of “simplification.” As the project unfolded it became very clear that the end result would not produce a “simple” rule book. The game of golf is played on the most varied and complex “court/field / arena” in all of sport. No two golf courses are the same, all circumnavigate hundreds of acres and are cut through forests, deserts, sand dunes and any other natural topographical features that lend themselves to chasing a white ball. As a result, the rules have to accommodate for infinite nuance and eventualities that can come into play when a ball is turned loose and allowed/required (unless you are Phil Mickelson — see 2018 U.S. Open — but that is another story) to come to rest with only the forces of nature and fate determining its final resting place. So, since simple was not possible, the term modern was chosen — and it stuck.

Personally, I think “modern” is the perfect word to describe the new rule book, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. For most, the first meaning that comes to mind for the word “modern” is “in step with the times,” “relevant to today’s world,” “up-to-date.” Unless you are a stick-in-the-mud “modern” is good … right? When you look at the changes to the 2019 rules of golf you will find a kinder and gentler game of golf. Many one-stroke penalties have been eliminated in the name of “fairness” and “equity.” This is most certainly a “modern” concept. The word “unfair” has come to mean “anything that happens to me that I don’t like.” I have had many conversations over the past two decades with my two children who have certainly grown up with this notion. Taking responsibility for your actions and accepting the results of tough situations is as en vogue today as churning your own butter. Call me a curmudgeon, but there is a lot to be learned from accepting what life hands us with dignity and resiliency. Despite the softening of this concept in the 2019 rules of golf, I believe the game continues to test us in this manner better than any other sport. The simple fact that in golf we have to allow a ball to come to rest without intervening (see helicopter parents) is a great metaphor for life. And most importantly, golf is the one sport where you call penalties on yourself. There is no referee looking over your shoulder to throw a flag or blow a whistle.

Which brings us back to Serena. If you listen to her tirade (I am sorry that is what it was) the one word she used over and over was “unfair.” Was it? Was it “unfair” that an umpire enforced a rule based on his observations from the chair, a job he was doing to make sure the skill of the players determined the winner? Based on the reaction of the N.Y. fans, it seemed clear to me that most of us “modern” folk are on Serena’s side. Oh well, I’ll leave it there — I have some butter to churn.

Ed Mate served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee for the past three years as a member of the committee who helped develop the updated and revised rules of golf that will become effective on January 1, 2019.

Share This