One of golf's harshest rules exits

Those changes are among amendments to nine of golf 's 34 playing TaylorMade R11 Driver
announced this week by the Joint Rules Committee, comprised of the game's governing bodies - the Royal & Ancient (of St. Andrews) Rules Limited, United States Golf Association and Royal Canadian Golf Association (Golf Canada).
The changes come after "an exhaustive" four-year review of the Rules of Golf for the purpose of improving clarity and ensuring penalties are proportionate. They will come into effect on Jan. 1.
Rule 18-2b - or ball moving after address - now comes with an exception that "exonerates the player from penalty if their ball moves after it (has) been addressed when it is known or virtually certain that they did not cause the ball to move."
The example given: If it is a gust of wind that moves the ball after it has been addressed, there is no penalty and the ball is played TaylorMade R11 Driver
from its new position.
As it was, the rule was one of the harshest in the game, and was in the spotlight several times this season with U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy and Webb Simpson, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, notable victims.
McIlroy was penalized in the final round of the British Open at Royal St. George's, and while it wasn't a factor in his 25th-place finish, it was a much bigger issue for Simpson. Simpson held a one-shot lead in the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in May when his ball moved on the 15th green. He was hit with a one-shot penalty and went on to lose to Bubba Watson in a playoff.
Last Sunday, Simpson lost the PGA Tour money title to Luke Donald, the world's No. 1-ranked player, by a margin of TaylorMade R11 Driver
. The difference between first and second at the Zurich Classic was $460,000.
Padraig Harrington penalized himself one stroke during the Masters in 2008 because his ball moved after he addressed it, even though the wind caused the movement.
"That's probably the biggest change to this code," Brent Mc-Laughlin, Golf Canada's director of rules, competitions and amateur status, told The Gazette. "But the term 'it must be known or virtually certain' that something else caused it to move, well there's still that question."
In Simpson's case, there still could be uncertainty, and the fact he grounded his TaylorMade R11 Driver
could have been enough to cause the ball to move, in which case, the penalty would still apply.
"In Padraig's situation, he clearly didn't do anything to cause that ball to move," McLaughlin said. "It was a huge gust of wind that moved that ball. The fact that he grounded his club had nothing to do with it.
"When it is known or virtually certain that something caused it to move, you're off the hook," Mc-Laughlin added. "I think it's good, but it's still going to leave it up to the rules people on-site, people watching (on TV) at home, the committees, and everybody else to determine what caused that ball to move."