A whole new rules rollout, Tiger Woods’ 15th major title, two epic international events and so much more. Here’s a look back at some of the best moments of 2019.
Best of 2019: The Rules, for better and worse
This time last year, we at GOLF headquarters eagerly awaited the turning of the calendar, knowing what strangeness lay ahead as the new Rules of Golf dropped. Bryson DeChambeau had teased he’d be putting with the pin in, and there were plenty of questions about who might follow his lead. There was related intrigue focused on who might run afoul of the changes first, and in what manner. It all seems like a million years ago. That may be a testament to just how much we’ve talked about the Rules of Golf since; they quite literally ruled golf in 2019, for better and worse.
Let’s start with the good: The changes themselves. Change is hard, and change in golf is especially so, but the USGA’s rules were a positive development overall. Not without growing pains, of course: The pin-in thing took some getting used to, and penalizing some of the game’s best players is never an ideal situation. But one year in, most players have developed a flagstick ethos and know when and where they’ll want the pin in. After some protestations (some more graphic than others) we all adjusted to the knee-high drop rule. The three-minute search rule still seems harsh for amateurs on unfamiliar courses (lacking spotters and galleries) but it speeds things up, for sure. Once the kinks had been worked out, this was a two-thumbs-up success.
