With so much going on the week of the Masters, I decided to hold off on the revision to Rule 33-7 until after the tournament when things died down a bit.

On Thursday morning, before the first competitors teed off to begin the 2011 Masters, golf’s two governing bodies, the USGA and R&A, announced a new interpretation under the Rules of Golf that would penalize players for score card errors detected using new video technology instead of disqualifying them from the tournament.

In 2010, there were more than a few rules controversies, two in particular that led the USGA and R&A’s change to Rule 33-7.

This revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 addresses the situation where a player is not aware he has breached a Rule because of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card. Under this revised decision and at the discretion of the Committee, the player still receives the penalty associated with the breach of the underlying Rule, but is not disqualified.

The timing of the announcement of the rule was crucial. Some believed it was ignorant to announce the rule just before the beginning of the first major of the year, but in fact, it was smart. With the Masters being broadcast on everything except for your microwave, there was a perfect opportunity for a over-zealous fan to call and report a rules violation that could occur on Augusta National’s slippery greens.

Having the revision of the rule in place gave the Masters the opportunity to use the new interpretation should anything have happened, which it didn’t.

The new rule seems to point out two specific rules violations from last year: Padraig Harrington at Abu Dhabi and Camilo Villegas at Kapalua.

For Harrington, this special decision was implemented:

A competitor moves his ball on the putting green with his finger in the act of removing his ball-marker. The competitor sees the ball move slightly forward but is certain that it has returned to the original spot, and he plays the ball as it lies. After the competitor signs and returns his score card, video footage is brought to the attention of the Committee that reveals that the ball did not precisely return to its original spot. When questioned by the Committee, the competitor cites the fact that the position of the logo on the ball appeared to be in exactly the same position as it was when he replaced the ball and this was the reason for him believing that the ball returned to the original spot. As it was reasonable in these circumstances for the player to have no doubt that the ball had returned to the original spot, and because the player could not himself have reasonably discovered otherwise prior to signing and returning his score card, it would be appropriate for the Committee to waive  the disqualification penalty. The two-stroke penalty under Rule 20-3a for playing from a wrong place would, however, be applied to the player’s score at the hole in question.

However, in Camilo’s case, he would still be disqualified because he potentially improved his lie. Although he did so unknowingly, it would be his responsibility to know the rule and as a result, he would still be disqualified.

As a player’s ball is in motion, he moves several loose impediments in the area in which the ball will likely come to rest.  Unaware that this action is a breach of Rule 23-1, the player fails to include the two-stroke penalty in his score for the hole.  As the player was aware of the facts that resulted in his breaching the Rules, he should be disqualified under Rule 6-6d for failing to include the two-stroke penalty under Rule 23-1.

It has long been lobbied for by members of the Tours as well as the golfing press that score card errors that are not realized by the players on the course should be enforced after the round instead of disqualification. The change to the Rules of Golf is a logical next step as video technology becomes more advanced. Now, when a fan witnesses a rules infraction from his or her couch and phones in the breach, a player will only be docked a two-stroke penalty instead of being disqualified from the tournament.

It seems as if the USGA, R&A and PGA Tour are doing their best to integrate themselves into the modern era. Instituting the Furyk Rule earlier this year and now the new decisions affecting Rule 33-7, it seems that common sense is prevailing over out-dated rules, which is a good thing for the players and the governing bodies.

(To see the full revision of the rule, click here.)