Tough thing to do.. JP Hayes DQ'd

[slickpitt]

ESPN - Golfer J.P. Hayes turns himself in for using wrong ball, loses shot at '09 tour

J.P. Hayes says anyone else on the PGA Tour in his situation "would have done the same thing."
During the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week in Texas, Hayes discovered that on two shots on one hole, he had unwittingly used a prototype golf ball not approved for competition by the United States Golf Association.

No one would have known. And a full-time spot on the PGA Tour in 2009 was on the line. But Hayes, honoring the tradition of a game where the players police themselves, turned himself in and was disqualified.
"It's extremely disappointing," Hayes said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and this is going to be a bad nightmare." It happened a week ago, at Deerwood Country Club in McKinney, Texas. On his 12th hole of the first round, Hayes' caddie reached into his golf bag and tossed a ball to Hayes, who played two shots -- a tee and a chip onto the green -- and marked his ball. At that point he realized the ball he was playing was not the same model with which he started the round -- by rule, a two-stroke penalty. "I realized there was a penalty and I called an official over," Hayes said, according to the newspaper. "He said the penalty was two shots and that I had to finish the hole with that ball and then change back to the original ball." Hayes shot a 74 Wednesday and a 71 on Thursday, putting him in good shape to finish in the top 20 and advance to the final qualifying stage in December.
But on Thursday night in his hotel room, Hayes realized that the errant golf ball might not have been on the approved list. "It was a Titleist prototype, and somehow it had gotten into my bag," he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. "It had been four weeks since Titleist gave me some prototype balls and I tested them. I have no idea how or why it was still in there." Hayes had a choice: He could have said nothing and kept playing, with no one aware of his mistake. Or he could turn himself in and let his mistake cost him a 2009 PGA Tour card. He chose the latter. "I called an official in Houston that night and said, 'I think I may have a problem,' " Hayes said. "He said they'd call Titleist the next day. I pretty much knew at that point I was going to be disqualified." As for his decision to turn himself in? "I would say everybody out here [on the PGA Tour] would have done the same thing," Hayes said, according to the report. Hayes, 43, is refusing to blame his caddie for the error, saying he should have spotted the errant ball because it did not have a model name on the seam. "[The caddie] kind of wanted to take some of the blame, but he knows I'm anal about my equipment," Hayes said, according to the report. "I go through my bag every night. I want to know what's in there. It's almost therapeutic for me." According to the report, Hayes said that if the hole had been a par-4 or a par-5, he would have known he had the wrong ball right away, because he uses the label to help him align his driver on tee shots. "But it was a par-3 and I don't use the label to line up on par-3s," he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. "It was my mistake. I had no choice but to take my medicine." Hayes has two career PGA Tour victories, his last coming in 2002. He was playing in the second stage of the tour's Q-school tourney because he finished outside of the top 150 on the money list in 2008. He earned $312,152 this season, making just seven cuts in 26 events. He was 176th on the money list -- the worst showing of his career. But Hayes has more than $7 million in career earnings. He expects he still will be able to play 10 to 12 lesser tournaments in 2009, thanks to his status as a veteran player and past tourney champion, as well as sponsors' exemptions, according to the report. "I'm kind of at a point in my career where if I have a light year, it might be a good thing," he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. "I'm looking forward to playing less and spending more time with my family. "It's not the end of the world. It will be fine. It is fine."

[eclark53520]

its nice to know there are still some good honest people out there.

[ClairefromClare]

Tough call, but he did the right thing. And now he can live with himself.

[ezra76]

That's pretty darn honest. I can't say I wouldn't have just tossed the ball into a pond and gone on with the 2 stroke penalty. Then again, if I were a tour player, I'd probably empty out my balls every round, sign them and give them away. Then start each round with a brand new box of ProV's in the bag.

[Eracer]

The best part is his statement that every other tour player would have done the same thing. I'm not sure that's necessarily true, but it says so much about the nature of the game.

I'm betting JP gets some pretty good sponsor's exemptions next year.

[MCDavis]

Rules are rules. I admire him for his decision, and yes I'd have done the same thing.

On the selfish side, he'll get some good PR out of this and like Eracer said, he'll get to play.

[WMitch6]

A tough poll to question to answer. I would like to think that I would have done the same, but until you are in exactly the same position, who can know for sure.

[Skiddlydiddly]

Call me a cynic, but $7 million in career earnings probably makes it easier to do the right thing.

I guess you could also call me a lying cheat while you're at it. rop:

[JEFF4i]

Problem with cynics is that they love to point out the gray area, or negative. Sure, there is in every situation, but c'mon, this guy did a good thing.

I'd like to think I'd have done the same thing, but who knows?

[mont86]

I would have called it on myself..Not worth getting caught
over then having to face everyone.

[Wi-Golfer]

2 ways to look at it: One is the die hard "rules are rules" way & that being said, yes he did the right thing. However I think the rules, in fact a lot of the rules are archaic & need to be either eliminated or changed in some way. Michelle Wies disqualification earlier this year for that ridiculous signing of the score card deal is one such rule.

What harm & or advantage did Hayes gain by using the wrong ball for 2 shots? He took the penalty at the time which is harsh in & of itself. I just fail to comprehend exactly what the goal of some of these rules actually are.

How many of us when forced with a large/tough forced carry over water or other obstacle, will pull out a cheap ball & put the $4 ProV1 in the pocket? I know the answer already as everyone is going to claim "not me, I would never do that", even though I have seen it done by plenty of people. Including folks who post here as well as myself, do we then penalize ourselves for not playing the same brand of ball the entire rd? Not a chance of that happening.

[ClairefromClare]

Rules are rules. I admire him for his decision, and yes I'd have done the same thing.

On the selfish side, he'll get some good PR out of this and like Eracer said, he'll get to play.

Rules are rules. I admire him for his decision, and yes I'd have done the same thing.

On the selfish side, he'll get some good PR out of this and like Eracer said, he'll get to play.

MC, you're repeating yourself again! Gosh, give the guy a promotion and he never shuts up.

[limpalong]

2 ways to look at it: One is the die hard "rules are rules" way & that being said, yes he did the right thing. However I think the rules, in fact a lot of the rules are archaic & need to be either eliminated or changed in some way. Michelle Wies disqualification earlier this year for that ridiculous signing of the score card deal is one such rule.

What harm & or advantage did Hayes gain by using the wrong ball for 2 shots? He took the penalty at the time which is harsh in & of itself. I just fail to comprehend exactly what the goal of some of these rules actually are.

How many of us when forced with a large/tough forced carry over water or other obstacle, will pull out a cheap ball & put the $4 ProV1 in the pocket? I know the answer already as everyone is going to claim "not me, I would never do that", even though I have seen it done by plenty of people. Including folks who post here as well as myself, do we then penalize ourselves for not playing the same brand of ball the entire rd? Not a chance of that happening.

I feel there are distinct differences between the rule broken by Hayes and the rule broken by Wie. There ARE many archaic rules that could/should be changed/modified/deleted. The scorecard issue with Wie is one! In fact, I would support doing away with scorecards altogether on tour. With the technology available today, scores could be recorded electronically. But, that's an entire different issue.

The use of a prototype ball... a non USGA tested/approved ball... is a much larger offense. (Greg Norman was disqualified some years back in a similar non-USGA-listed ball use.) If that rule was not enforced, the money on the line could see some really exotic balls appear in players' bags. On par 5's, one could use a ball with a special center core that would guarantee significantly longer distance. There are ball speed parameters in the USGA approval testing process. We just could not see balls begin to be used on tour that were not required to meet the requirements of the Rules of Golf.

As far as your example of we amateurs who change balls from hole to hole (using a "water ball") we ARE in violation of the Rules of Golf and should NOT post scores for handicap purposes. I've played with those who will use a Top Rock off the tee and then trade it out for a Pro V for their approach shot. Nope! Not permissible under the Rules of Golf. For recreational purposes... for scrambles... use what you want. For handicap purposes... for tourneys... use the same brand/model of ball for the entire round.

As far as Hayes... few sports are as self-policing as is the game of golf. Few professional sports have the... insist upon... exist because of the integrity of the players themselves. When you get to the level of these pros, you have developed a mindset of counting each and every stroke and playing COMPLETELY by the Rules of Golf.

[MCDavis]

MC, you're repeating yourself again! Gosh, give the guy a promotion and he never shuts up.

I don't know why that keeps happening.

[Wi-Golfer]

When you get to the level of these pros, you have developed a mindset of counting each and every stroke and playing COMPLETELY by the Rules of Golf.

I agree with this completely & it's one of the reasons the pro's could walk all over us out on the course. How many of us hackers actually follow every single rule to the letter?