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1 Like 
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A Wisconsin 17 year old won an event that he was in, received his fist place metal and in his excitement rushed back to his home course to show and tell.
When Zack Nash got in the presence of the club pro, he noticed that young Zack had 15 clubs in his bag. The pro then asked Zack if he had made any changes to his bag and when he answered that he had not, the pro then informed him of the 15 clubs. Zack, in disbelief, looked through his bag and saw that he had a club in his bag that wasn't his. A friend's club. He was asked what was he going to do. Knowing the rules of the game, he said that there was only one option. So he made a call to the tourney directors and informed them that he had to DQ himself for playing the round with 15 clubs. I know it had to have been a very deflating moment for that young man after being so excited over his win. But after seeing how he took the news and how he handled and is handling it. I know he will be ALRIGHT ...... Personally it would bother me for a few weeks with a couple kicks to my backside for not being more aware of what's it the bag ...... |
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| # 1 9/2/2010 5:57:44 PM |
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He had already won, BIG, in life.
A trophy or a medal in itself is of very little value. This young man had proven to himself that (1) he has the game to win (2) he will do fine in life keeping on track. Most of all,he had crossed the line between the good and the excellent. No matter if he decided to play competitive golf later in life or not, he's a winner already. I would tell him not to feel bad for one second. He and his parents and couch should be very proud of him. |
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| # 2 9/2/2010 6:18:01 PM |
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Too bad he didn't realize this before he signed his card. The maximum penalty would have been four strokes. Not sure how many he won by (he shot 77). |
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| # 3 9/2/2010 6:23:26 PM |
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Too bad it happened that way but a great perspective for us all. Thanks for sharing.
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| # 4 9/2/2010 6:23:54 PM |
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He makes me look bad. No chance I would have done that. I'm sure I would have tried to get away with it. Good for him though. He's a winner in everyone's mind now.
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| # 5 9/2/2010 7:12:02 PM |
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Good for him - shows a lot of integrity at such a young age. Next time I'm sure he'll count his clubs before he starts - it's a shame it wasn't even his club!
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| # 6 9/2/2010 9:28:18 PM |
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Hang on... I thought it didn't matter how many clubs were in the bag, only how many you USED.... I always thought 15 clubs in the bag is okay as long as you use no more than 14.... now I have to go look that up.... Shaun, Rule 4-4. |
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| # 7 9/2/2010 9:37:59 PM |
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Honesty is what this game is about and this young man will reap the rewards for his honesty. Glad to see his parents raised him right. Great job young man!
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| # 8 9/2/2010 11:15:13 PM |
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wonder if the outcome would have been different if there was some money on the line. honesty is good and this is a nice story but really for all intents and purposes he won the event sort of like when that tiger's pitcher threw the perfect game but the call was blown. we all know it was a perfect game just like this kid knows he won the tournament.
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| # 9 9/3/2010 12:37:33 AM |
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what the kid did was cool. i wonder how the club got in his bag, if he teed of with it in there or if somebody stuck it in there.
if he teed off with it in his bag, then he definitely needed to DQ himself. it takes less than a minute to count your clubs. too bad he had to learn how to do this the hard way. and, no, you can't carry 15 clubs. the ruling everybody's talking about is AFTER you've found out you've broken the rule. nobody would carry 15 clubs in anything resembling a tournament round, and if you step on the first tee box with 15 clubs, you've broken the 14-club rule. |
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| # 10 9/3/2010 3:33:51 AM |
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Hang on... I thought it didn't matter how many clubs were in the bag, only how many you USED.... I always thought 15 clubs in the bag is okay as long as you use no more than 14.... now I have to go look that up.... Shaun, Rule 4-4. Thanks Mike! However, when I looked it back up... << 4-4.c. says: •c. Excess Club Declared Out of Play Any club or clubs carried or used in breach of Rule 4-3a(iii) or Rule 4-4 must be declared out of play by the player to his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play immediately upon discovery that a breach has occurred. The player must not use the club or clubs for the remainder of the stipulated round. >> This leads me to believe that you STILL can have more than 14 clubs, BUT they must be declared as "out of play" and thus the youngster's DQ is NOT for having more than 14 clubs, but because he didn't declare them "out of play". Great topic, though... I'm glad itbez brought it up... Shaun Shaun, Robert's response above is correct. If you carry more than 14 clubs, you are in violation and subject to a penalty of two strokes per hole, max. of four strokes. The rule you are citing (4-4c) has to do with the replacement of a damaged club during a round. If a player damages a club and puts another into play, he must declare it to his playing competitors, and that "excess club" (15th club) must be declared out of play. It'd like hitting a provisional ball. If you don't declare you are hitting a provisional, you are in violation and subject to penalty. But you can't show up on the first tee with 15 clubs and announce one of them is not in play, unless there is another rule with which I'm not familiar. |
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| # 11 9/3/2010 7:27:07 AM |
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The kid did the right thing, DQing himself after he found out that he had 15 clubs in his bag.
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| # 12 9/3/2010 8:03:05 AM |
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Zack Nash,did the right thing.DQing himself.not to many people would have done the right thing.but Zack,knows the rules.
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| # 13 9/3/2010 8:09:56 AM |
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Mike, it doesn't say that it is in respect to a replacement. It just says that when the breach is discovered, which would in my opinion, allow even at the 1st tee. Whether that's the spirit or letter of the rule is debatable. I have always carried 14 and no more, but that's the way I've always interpreted that subsection. Obviously, those of you that follow professional golf have probably seen these rulings applied and would know the topic better than I would. I just go by semantics. Though that does remind me that I need to buy a new copy of the rulebook next time I'm at King Par, since my last one got too wet and the pages are like glued together now. LOL Thanks! :-) Shaun Shaun, you cannot start a round with more than 14 clubs without penalty, even if you declare the club(s) will not be used. As I indicated, if a club is damaged during a round and taken out of play, or if a 15th club is discovered during play, it must be declared as "excess" and not used. From the USGA, Decisions on the Rules of Golf: 4-4c/1 Excess Club Declared Out of Play Before Round and Placed on Floor of Golf Cart Q. Before the start of a round, a player discovers that there are 15 clubs in his golf bag. He declares one of the clubs out of play, removes it from his bag, places it on the floor of his golf cart and begins the round. Is the player subject to penalty? A. Yes, for starting the round with more than 14 clubs. Rule 4-4c has to do with declaring an excess club out of play on discovery of a breach after a round has started. There is nothing in the Rules to permit carrying, during a round, an excess club declared out of play before the round. BTW, if you are going to buy a new rules book, don't buy the rules of golf, purchase Decisions on the Rules of Golf. It will cost you about $20, but it is well worth it. |
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| # 14 9/3/2010 12:22:54 PM |
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A huge lesson learned for him! With character like that he will go far in life! Congrats for his win in life!
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