John Paramor, the European Tour's chief referee, talks to Steve Carroll about the 2019 Rules of Golf – and why we'll just have to put up with divots
Which of the changes do you like and which will have an impact in your role on Tour?
The tapping down of spike marks is a big one. That’s something we were allowed to do by agreement with The R&A some years ago and it was not really a problem.
People said players were going to make their own lie and it was going to take hours to play but it didn’t.
For the most part, everyone just did what they were expected to do – tapped down a couple of spike marks if they were on their line and continued to putt on.
Now they look and study it and think, ‘Is that a spike mark? Is that a ball mark?’ A lot of time is wasted with players deciding whether they can repair it or not.
Thankfully, under the new Rules, there won’t be any of that. You just tap it down and get going.
The removal of loose impediments in a hazard is quite something. That was quite a big step for me, with my traditionalist’s hat on, but I think it is right.
I have had too many occasions where it is unfair. You play golf at Valderrama – with all the acorns falling from the trees – and you are in a sand bunker. That’s supposed to be the hazard, not the fact your ball is surrounded by 50 acorns and will prevent you from getting any proper strike and, therefore, nulling any chance of showing your skill. Now, you will be able to remove those and play a proper shot, which kind of makes sense.
I’m fully behind the three-minute search (reduced from five minutes to find a ball).
When the spike mark rule was revealed, the usual question was asked: ‘Why can’t we take our ball out of a divot on the fairway?’ What’s your view?
You do feel sorry for someone whose ball has rolled into a divot. There are many people who would ask what would be the harm in someone preferring their lie in a very short distance from the original position, if they’ve met the test which the course designer has set – which is to hit the fairway? Why should you end up in someone else’s divot hole? Why should you have to pay the penalty for that?
I suppose there are still enough people who believe the traditions of the game are that you play the ball as it lies, and the course as you find it. They are two pretty strong points that have held this game together for a long time.
What do I feel? I’d probably have to stick with the traditionalists and say I prefer players not to touch the ball if we can avoid it in those circumstances.
For the second part of Paramor’s interview, where he talks about his famous Seve ruling and the time he caught a cheat, click here.
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