Goosen's Goof Illustrates Importance of Knowing the Rules

All golfers can use refresher courses - or first-time courses - in the Rules of Golf. Even the best in the world. Case in point: Retief Goosen.

Goosen was leading the South African Open by three strokes in the first round when he reached the 17th hole. Then, a couple bad shots and one bad drop later, Goosen scored an 11 on the hole and the lead was well gone.

Here's what happened: Goosen put his drive into the bushes, so he hit a provisional. Then he hooked the provisional into the bushes, too. He found the second ball, took an unplayable and dropped within two club lengths.

His ball rolled outside the two-club-lengths. Goosen, thinking he had to re-drop, did just that - he picked the ball up and dropped again. The problem was that there was no problem with his first drop. Goosen was confused on the rule, thinking a re-drop was required because the ball had rolled outside the originally measured two-club-lengths area.

Sunshine Tour official Andy McPhee explained:

"(Goosen) took an unplayable ball drop, so he had two club-lengths from where the ball lay. He has to drop the ball within those two club-lengths, which he did. It then rolled just outside the two clubs-lengths, and he was under the impression he had to re- drop the ball.

"But you only re-drop the ball if it rolls more than two club-lengths from where it strikes the ground. The ball didn't do that and it didn't roll nearer the hole, so the ball was in play. Effectively when it is in play, he has no authority to touch it or pick it up. If he only picked it up, it's a one-stroke penalty. But because he didn't replace it, it was a two-shot penalty."

An on-site official had, in fact, told Goosen the ball was in play after the first drop, but alas, Retief didn't hear him, and went ahead with the erroneous second drop.

He still would have had a 9 on the hole, but 9 is better than 11.

You know what to do: go page through the Rules of Golf. Or at least those sections where you've always been a little shaky.