Explanation of “grounding a club”
NOT a PGA pro
The PGA Championship finished yesterday evening in dramatic fashion, and the result has been the big story on talk radio this morning. Before you make it to lunch, you should know the situation.
Dustin Johnson was penalized two strokes for “grounding his club” in a hazard on the 18th, likely costing him the victory. Johnson hit a ball in a patch that he thought was simply part of the rough, NOT a bunker or hazard. Because the area was considered a hazard, Johnson was subject to Rule 13-4b, which states that the player must NOT
Touch the ground in the hazard or water in the water hazard with his hand or a club;1
“Grounding the club” means just what you’d think: placing the club on the ground before swinging either to test the ground or begin a practice swing. Johnson did just that, thinking he was dealing with a normal lie, and the result cost him a major title. Think of a normal bunker situation and you’ll remember that golfers always take a practice swing in the air – in other words, they’re not hacking up the sand because they’re not allowed to. This is the process Johnson should have used, but the error was made not because of a blatant mental error but rather because of a vague interpretation of what is or isn’t a hazard on the course.
There is plenty of debate whether a field official could have or should have alerted him and whether he should have requested a ruling. The reality is that Johnson didn’t think it was a hazard so he didn’t think there was a need to ask anyone anything. Also, because of the inordinate amount of bunkers on the course (Whistling Straits), a specific set of supplementary rules was distributed and even posted in the locker room to avoid this exact confusion.
It’s an unfortunate ending but a very intriguing story that will be talked about for a while, and now you know enough details to “drive” your point home and explain what grounding a club means.
Read on:
GolfDigest.com – What rule did Dustin Johnson violate?
GolfBlogger.com – Grounding Your Club In A Hazard
FanHouse.com – Dustin Johnson Penalized Two Shots, Misses Playoff
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