Unforced Errors in Golf

Golf is a genteel sport where the players are historically on the “honor system” for calling errors.  In the recently completed PGA tournament for 2010, the final golf major for the year, however, it was a player not being totally familiar with all the course rules that led to a two stroke penalty.

Dustin Johnson was assessed the two stroke penalty for “grounding” his club in a “sand trap” that wasn’t an obvious sand trap.  This penalty resulted in a lot of back and forth and pro and con discussion all across the sports media and internet.  Some folks take the position “The rules are the rules and he should have known better.”  Others are “Enforcing this rule is a cop-out by the PGA because they didn’t want to have to deal with the necessary clean-up.”

However people feel about the rule and the enforcement of it, the two stroke penalty kept Johnson from a three way tie for first place and a three- hole playoff after seventy-two holes of golf over the weekend.

But even with that, the two stroke penalty Johnson received that cost him a place in the playoff is most likely not the most heartbreaking ending to a major golf tournament.  That “honor” probably goes to Roberto De Vicenzo of Argentina who at the end of the 1968 Masters Tournament, signed his scorecard without checking and his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, had inadvertently entered a four for the score on the 17th hole rather than the three (birdie) that De Vicenzo had actually scored.  By signing the card with the higher score, the score stood and it cost De Vicenzo a tie and an 18- hole playoff the next day.   De Vencnezo was later honored with the “Bob Jones Award” for distinguished sportsmanship for 1970.

Now most times the pros are not going to react the same way as Joe Weekend Duffer reacts.  If Joe Weekend Duffer is assessed a two stroke penalty on the last hole of the local country club championship or inadvertently signs his scorecard with a wrong score on it, he is as likely to go home and destroy a couple of his clubs by pounding on the garage door in frustration and anger.  And maybe he tees up the automatic garage door opener and sends it out of sight (or causes it to disintegrate on impact).  Of course, when he has calmed down and seen what he has done, he also now has to call his local garage door repairman to come out and repair the damaged garage door (and replace the automatic garage door opener if that was also destroyed).

Then he has to call the local club pro and replace the clubs he destroyed.  He may not admit how the clubs got destroyed though.