World No. 1 Jordan Spieth says he has a Rules question no one can seem to answer. In an article posted recently on golfchannel.com, Spieth explained that when greens get “shiny,” his Scotty Cameron putter has a tendency to slip on the ground. So when he practices, Spieth says he wets the bottom of the putter for added traction, either with a towel or by licking his thumb and rubbing it on the bottom of the putter. Emphasis on the word “practice.”
During Saturday’s 3rd round at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, when Spieth asked an official whether the Rules permitted such an action, no one could give him a straight answer.
“I’ve spoken to commentators, players, and nobody knew the answer,” says Spieth. “I didn’t know if it was legal, so I’ve never done it on the golf course [during a tournament round].”
Spieth approached a Rules Official on the 3rd hole at Doral Saturday, and by the 8th hole, the answer came back as for and against, in effect a split decision. The official told Spieth he could use the towel to clean his club and that if it was wet, it wasn’t a violation. But he also advised Spieth not to lick his thumb and apply it to the bottom of his putter.
“They [the USGA] are going to talk about it, but we’ve all kind of said, ‘no,'” says Tour Vice President of Rules and Competition Slugger White. “The intent was there.” White cited Rule 4-2a (Playing Characteristics Changed and Foreign Material).
“His intent was to keep the putter from moving around.”
At the Golf Academy of America, we have our own resident Rules expert, Dr. Robin Farran. Dr. Farran teaches Advanced Rules at the Academy and is widely regarded as one of the top USGA Rules Officials in the country, so I thought I would engage him on the subject. Here was his email reply:
“Not sure, based on my information, that the USGA Rules Staff had been contacted when the article was written. My friend Slugger White told Jordan that he believed Rule 4-2a applied, advised not to wet the club for that purpose, and he would confirm his understanding with the USGA.”
Dr. Farran went on to say that, in his opinion, Rule 4-2a would apply since the playing characteristics of a club cannot be changed. While you could consider a wet towel or saliva to be a “foreign material,” Rule 4-2b references the club face specifically.
Says Dr. Farran, “One could conclude that the Rule is similar enough to the question and that ‘equity’ would apply and not permit Jordan’s action.”
That said, if I were Jordan Spieth, I wouldn’t wet the bottom of my putter in competition any time soon.