[Bulls9999]

Filey, that is exactly what I got from watching and listening to the discussions this weekend. They were talking about why it was so hard this week....because of the wind, players were not 'grounding their putter' for fear of the ball moving before they putted, then they progressed to that is what's making it hard on putting, that were taken away from their 'normal routine' and have to put with the putter starting up in the air....and anything other than the normal routine takes you out of your comfort putting stroke.

I know 4putt and Atticus feel its a combination of "address and grounding the putter", but from that, I gather that 'addressing the ball' was not the issue, it was only if you grounded your putter. So I think they dispensed with the "addressing the ball" issue. That was a major discussion that lasted about 5 min, not sure if it was on the Golf Channel or the TV broadcast, but several commentators went on at length about that, I think Brandel Chamblee too.

Unless 4putt/Atticus are saying that you need both "Addressing" and "grounding" to get the penalty, and you can address without grounding to free you from penalty?

Originally Posted by Fileygolfer

From watching The Open and seeing what a lot of players did, the R&A may have had a special Local Rule in place.
I saw a number of players address their ball on the green then walk away without marking it. So if the ball moved its a penalty
Would they take this risk?
I doubt it.
The R&A have a Rules Official with every Match at The Open so it would be easy to add a Local Rule "At any other time, except during the act of addressing the ball, if the ball is seen to be moved by the wind and not by the action of a player, no penalty will be incurred".