SURGE SAYS: The 2009 Masters'¦Kenny Perry, Mud on his Ball in the Middle of the Fairway'¦We Need a Rules Change.
Kenny Perry, with a two shot lead, had one arm in the sleeve of his Masters jacket standing on the 17th tee. He bogeyed 17, and then 18 and they jerked the jacket off as it could soon belong to someone else, namely Angel Cabrera.
There's been much talk of how Kenny Perry lost the Masters with what looked like hitting poor shots on the final two holes of regulation, and certainly on his second shot on #10 in the playoff, that might include the C (choke) word. Nothing could be farther from the truth, especially when I read a Masters wrap up article in Golfweek Magazine, 'A Little Luck Goes a Long Way,' about good and bad breaks in the tournament the next week.
It starts by pointing out how Cabrera's hitting a tree trying to hit out of the right woods on 18 in the first playoff hole and the ball bounced out into the middle of the fairway from where he made par to tie. The next paragraph states, 'One hole later, Perry hit a perfect drive down 10 only to get mud caked onto his golf ball.' We all saw the rest of the story of him hitting a high pull hook left of the green, short siding himself, failing to get it up and down, and Cabrera gets to slide his arms into the Green jacket. More power to Cabrera and congratulations. But '¦
That pull hook on 18 is what started the big talk about him possibly folding under the heat. The point is mud on his ball in the middle of the fairway did him in. It cost him a Masters, a victory #14. With a year or so left before turning 50, a few more PGA Tour wins, and then wins on the Champions Tour, Kenny Perry would have a chance at getting into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He still has that chance, but by today's standards he will have to win a PGA Tour Major to qualify.
Kenny Perry is a great guy, as Golfweek Magazine stated in the next article a page later titled, 'Golf Needs More Kenny Perrys.' He is and lives everything by the Boy Scout slogan of 'do a good turn daily.'
Now, let me get to the point of discussing the 'Mud on the ball' rule change I propose. We all know when you have mud on your ball; only heaven knows where it will go. It is a big penalty to pay for a good drive down the middle of the fairway. Oh yeah, we know the rule, mud on the right side, and ball goes left, as happened to KP on #10. But we all have had that rule backfire on us and do something contrary to that prediction. We all know when we see mud on the ball, we breathe hard, sweat bullets and pray. I know that golf is a fair game that at times can throw a bad break. But why can't we at least try to keep it fair and level as regards mud on a ball hit in the middle of the fairway or around the green?
The USGA and the R & A make the rules. Their stance is that allowing us to Lift, Clean and Place (LCP) our ball in the fairway opens the door to say, stretching the rules, misdeeds and even cheating. Heck, many times when LCP is put in play in tournaments the press, announcers and even players say Lift, CHEAT and Place. Why is Cheat said? Is not golf the most honorable sport played, and played by ladies and gentlemen who even call penalties on themselves? I profess here and now that LCP never has the word Cheat as part of that phrase from this day forward. Let's look at some logic to changing the rule.
The Rules of Golf allow golfers to LCP their ball on the green to clean grass, dirt and mud off it to putt. If they, the USGA and the R & A and all fellow competitors TRUST everyone to mark their ball and to replace it back exactly in the same spot on the green, why is there no TRUST to do it in the fairway? Are golfers only honest on the green? I don't think so! Honesty is a character trait that is exemplified all the time and everywhere. But, to add a carrot to LCP in the fairway to remove mud, I would offer, and I believe all golfers would agree to it, that you have to ask permission of a fellow competitor, and that they would have to watch you to verify accuracy and honesty. I would bet that all golfers would gladly walk across the fairway to oversee a competitor, knowing that everyone would be forever rid of the nemesis of having to play a shot from the fairway with mud on their ball.
Come on USGA and R & A. Let's increase some decency and fairness in the game and allow LCP to clean mud off our golf balls when we are in the fairway. Using the 'can't trust us players' or 'it slows the pace of play' excuse is bogus. The 'can't trust' issue is an insult to all golfers. If we have the trust on the green to LCP, then we surely should still have it in the fairway.
The Surge!
P.S. Maybe it's time to change your swing. Click here!