Breaking Tradition

I would like to consider myself to be an "old school" sports fan. I love the old, historic venues, like Lambeau field and Joe Louis Arena, as much as the next guy, but there are some traditions that just need to be abolished. One of the more obvious cases for the evolution of rules and tradition is professional golf, and more specifically, the travesty that occurred with Dustin Johnson.

For those of you who missed the event, Johnson was assessed a two-stroke penalty on the 18th hole, which prevented him from competing in the playoff for the PGA championship. What dastardly act could have possibly been worthy of such a steep penalty on the last hole of an event? Before taking his second shot, Johnson indented the bunker his ball had landed in, with the head of his club. That's it. That move cost Johnson two strokes and a shot at a major. He may as well have cold-clocked another golfer, because maybe that would actually be an act deserving a two-stroke penalty.

What may have been even more ridiculous than the actual penalty, was the state of the "bunker" that Johnson's ball landed in. The spot in question looked more like Hulk Hogan's bald spot than a PGA-groomed bunker. Having read the rules on bunkers from the PGA rulebook, I do concede that the spot was "technically" a bunker, but in all actuality, it was a worn down spot of dirt with fifteen spectators trampling all over it. Now, if that spot were in fact a bunker, shouldn't somebody get those people out of there? It's not as if you see girls in bikinis sunbathing in the sand traps at Augusta. Not only did the PGA drop the ball on course security, but they also failed in how they dealt with Johnson. One would think that when a man is lining up for a shot that could help him win a major championship, a PGA official may just want to go over to him and say "Hey, Dustin, I know there were just twenty people doing keg-stands next to your ball, but that is technically a bunker, so watch where you tap your club." Not only would such a gesture be common courtesy, it would also be the right thing to do. While watching football I constantly hear referees yelling at offensive linemen to stop holding, before they throw a flag. The same can be said for officiating physical post play in the NBA, and questionable low blows in boxing and/or MMA. The point is that these players are given warnings, and a chance to correct their mistakes before being penalized. Dustin Johnson was never given that chance.

I understand that PGA officials were simply following the letter of the law, but I believe they should have considered intent. Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France victory because the steroids he used gave him an unfair advantage over his fellow cyclists. Sammy Sosa was suspended because the corked bat he used in a game gave him the ability to hit a ball farther than players with regulation bats. Hockey players with too much curve on the blades of their sticks are assessed penalties, and could have goals disallowed, because the added angle gives them far greater puck control over their rule-abiding counterparts.

So let me just ask this question: What advantage did Dustin Johnson get from placing his clubhead on a patch of dirt?