Golf's Governing Bodies Introduce Local Rule

By ESPN

Golf's governing bodies have responded to Dustin Johnson's penalty at the U.S. Open by introducing a local rule that will waive the one-shot penalty if a ball moves on the putting green by accident.

The local rule, effective in January, applies only to accidental movement on the putting green of the golf ball and a ball marker.

Johnson was lining up a par putt on the fifth hole of the final round at Oakmont when his ball moved slightly and he backed away. He said he didn't make the ball move, but after the USGA studied video and consulted the rulebook, he eventually was given a one-shot penalty because it was ruled that his actions caused the ball to move. Even with the penalty, he closed with a 69 and won by three shots.

The local rule was not a reaction to that one incident at Oakmont. Golf's leading experts have been meeting the past five years on a rules modernization project. Thomas Pagel, the USGA's senior rules director, said they had determined even before the U.S. Open that the rule for such accidental movement needed to be changed.

The Johnson ruling only sped up the process.

"This has been talked about for quite some time," Pagel said. "The Dustin Johnson ruling was the last of many uncomfortable rulings we've had with balls or ball markers that moved on a putting green. We had identified a solution and language as the broader rules modernization. This motivated us to say it's in the best interest of the game as opposed to waiting for the next set of revisions."

The Rules of Golf are revised once every four years, with the next revision due in 2020. Pagel could not say when the entire rules modernization project will be completed, though a rough draft is likely to be released in the spring, followed by a lengthy period of feedback.

For now, any accidental movement of the ball or ball marker on the putting green will require the player to replace it, but without a penalty shot. A local rule is an option for tournaments to use, though the USGA and R&A said it has been welcomed by the major tours worldwide, the PGA of America and the Masters.