WRX Forum Buzzz
Forum Thread of the Day: “Rickie Fowler’s improper drop”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from geoff, who began the topic concerning Rickie Fowler’s improper drop at the WGC-Mexico Championship. During Friday’s day of play, Fowler was penalised for taking a drop from shoulder height, violating the new rule which states that drops must now be made from knee height, and our members have been discussing the penalty, and rule, at length.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Krt22: “Silly rule indeed, they should have allowed for anywhere between shoulder and knee height. The knee height alone is idiotic since you need to bend over to get there and thus move the actual knee height.”
- yuraway22: “It just shouldn’t matter how you drop it, as long as you drop it, it falls through the air and strikes the ground and remains in the relief area. The R&A and the USGA need to reengage and clean up this mess. Why does it matter? Shoulder height, head height, knee height, thigh height, ankle high, get real! I think they want the ball dropped lower to ensure the ball stays within the relief area, keeping players from placing the ball after two drops. The LPGA backstopping infraction today is just another one of many examples of not enforcing the Rules. Here the Rule is enforced properly for a poorly thought out process. Backstopping is wrong, but the wording is poor at best and only describes what would occur if two payers agreed. If you carefully observe, few players drop the ball at knee height or lower. Most are slightly above the knee.”
- Matt J: “Should be knee high or higher. I’d have strong words for my caddie. This is exactly how he earns his keep.”
- ParfiveoverWater: “Yesterday I thought knee high drops were weird and silly… but after pondering and hearing several arguments from both sides… I like and accept the rule and can’t wait for the snow to melt so I can chunk an approach in a pond and experience it fully.”
Entire Thread: “Rickie Fowler’s improper drop”
Equipment
I’m a 31 year-old male and I turned my apartment living room into a driving range stall – GolfWRXers react
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a post from ‘GolferTodd’ who has turned their apartment living room into a driving range stall. ‘GolferTodd’ produced the following photo in our forums with the caption:
“To the exclusion of furniture. Bachelor life.”
And our members have been reacting to the post in our forums.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- MtlJeff: “This is amazing……When i was 28 i lived in an apartment that had my winter tires in the kitchen, i only had one plate and 1 set of knives and forks, and i cooked pasta in a witches cauldron from 1835. And i still convinced a woman to marry me. So i am all for this. In fact this is way better than what i had to offer.”
- TiScape: “Love it Todd. Go Dodgers!!”
- imkirby34: “Based on the view out the window, it looks like you’re on the first floor, which is probably a good thing because I’d hate to live below you, even if you have an extremely shallow AoA. Haha.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing classic irons. WRXer ‘DonaldDunes’ has caught the vintage club bug, and wants to know other members’ favorite iron models that “have stood the test of time or were the top performers for their day.”
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Maine Golfer: “I love a lot of clubs but ’69 Wilson Staff’s are an all time favorite. Easy to hit in relative terms and they look amazing.”
- Wilsonian: “No surprise from me, but the Wilson K-28 irons, specifically blades with the glide thru sole. I grew up playing Ram clubs, but got away from them as I got older. My return to vintage was with the Wilsons, and my first set of hickories were the Wilson Plus Success irons. You’ll try a lot of sets, but I think it’s a matter of what feels best in your hands, specifically your 7 iron which is the best indicator imo.”
- Hawkeye777: “Hogan Redlines. Macgregor Nicklaus Muirfield 20th. Wilson Staff Tour Blade. Those are mine, don’t play any of them these days (no real reason to) and didn’t really “collect” them. The Wilsons I played with for years.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing how much wear is too much wear when purchasing used irons. WRXer ‘con_mon2’ is interested in a used set of iron and kicks off the thread, asking:
“Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this! How much wear are you comfortable with?
I found a set of irons on eBay that I am very interested in buying, but they have a bit more wear than I’m comfortable with. I have attached a few pictures showing especially the wear on the sweet spot on the PW and 9 iron. Maybe you can convince me that I’m being too picky and I should just buy them? Or maybe I should be concerned about the wear? I’m not really sure. They are Ping i230s which came out in 2022 so they aren’t that old. And the seller had this to say about the condition: ‘Good: Normal wear for their age. Excellent playing condition but they have cosmetic wear on faces and soles. Sweetspot wear is visible.’
Beyond the cosmetic, I’d really like to know this: At what point do you start to worry about the grooves being so worn that they have a substantial effect on the shots you’re hitting?”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in response.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- rsballer10: “The term you are looking for is “browning” and these irons have some of that going on. They are completely playable, but I’d say they’ve reached their half-life.”
- Nessism: “Those heads are stainless steel. The “browning” that some people reference, is really the yellow shade of the nickel layer under the chrome. When forged carbon steel heads wear through the chrome, the “brown” is RUST. These heads will never rust. People applaud the old Ping irons as being “indestructible”. Those heads had no chrome. These heads, even if the chrome is beginning to wear through, on one head, are miles more durable than the older unplated “indestructible” Ping’s. And even further ahead of any forged club.”
- phizzy30: “Hard pass for me. I would rather get a new set of DTC irons and would be glad to spend the extra couple to few hundred.”
Entire Thread: “When buying used irons: How much wear is too much? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Tiger Noods
Feb 26, 2019 at 5:34 am
Straight arm, from 12 inches above the ground, up to a player’s shoulder height. Or waist height if you prefer.
Gee, that was difficult. Can we fix this and move on? The USGA really made a mess of it. They were totally off their rockers when they were originally going to say 1 inch, but this is not a simplification. It’s an unnecessary complication for something they intended to make easier.
If I did that at my job, I’d be fired.
Brad
Feb 25, 2019 at 5:16 pm
There is a simple solution to this. The PGA simply needs to tell the USGA to jump off a cliff and go write their own rule book for the “rules of golf”.
Every other professional sport decides what the rules of their sport will be, and doesn’t allow themselves to be dictated by a poorly run and archaic organisation. Why should the PGA be any different?
DL
Feb 25, 2019 at 4:51 pm
From what I could tell they originally wanted it to be any height as long as the ball fell through the air. But that seemed to close to placing it. The shoulder height drop was too far because often the ball would end up rolling outside of the intended drop area (for all the people who have had to drop twice then place their ball). So they agreed upon the knee height rule. To be fair I think it’s also ridiculous and feel awkward every time I bend over to take a drop.