Hideki Matsuyama Disqualified

[LeafOnTheWind]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/golf/hideki-matsuyama-club-disqualification-pga-golf-spt-intl/index.html..

Someone explain this to me. I get that the markings help you line up where you want to hit the ball but you still have to have a good golf swing to achieve where it goes. I could put a million markings on a golf club and never hit it where I want it to go. The ball still goes where it was hit and not where the markings on the club send it.

The markings were applied by one of the Japanese golfers' team to aid with alignment, Rintoul said. While it is not a violation of the rules to add small sharpie marks to help alignment, it is when it is deemed to "unduly affect the performance of a ball," the referee explained.

 

[vireo]

I'm wondering how sharpie marks could unduly affect the performance of the ball. Is it something like a grease ball in baseball, where a pitcher applies a lubricant to the ball to change how it behaves?

 

[Garden Kitty]

I'm not a golfer, so I don't know any of the rules myself, but an article I read said the markings were made with a heavier substance like whiteout that was applied to the face of the club (and not just a pen marking in the grooves) and that the substance could impact the flight of the ball.

 

[Vagabond]

? SHARPIE Marx. The Marx Sister.

 

[Aceon6]

@mpal2 The DQ is because the paint was thick enough to alter the playing characteristics of the club. That made the club non conforming. In this case, the paint even filled in some of the club‘s grooves.

I can put a small Sharpie dot or line on my club to help with alignment, but I can’t add several ounces of paint.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

@Aceon6 Thanks! That makes a lot more sense than just the markings alone.