Quote:
Originally Posted by footballking732  Now they should give Cink something in return for that rules bs. While the book kinda said that, that ruling is simply unjust. He shouldnt have been DQ'd for helping other players. He knew that he wouldnt have liked it if his ball came to rest in a foot imprint of another players. |
The ruling was correct. The announcement does not "vindicate" anyone, it simply clarifies an inequity in the Rules. At the time of the incident, the rule (Rule 13-4) superseded any point of etiquette (Care of the Course). This new position by the JRC allows the point of etiquette to take precedence in this situation. But at the time of the ruling, the official had no choice but to rule as he did. The incident which occurred was something that the rules simply did not anticipate.
Kudos to the JRC for prompt action and a good decision on this for future incidents. I actually had a similar situation yesterday myself... I was standing in a fairway bunker hitting my ball which was in the rough outside of the hazard. In my case, the shot ended up 2 feet short of the greenside bunker, or I'd have faced the same dilemma, only I hadn't yet seen the ruling at that time.