Rory, Jordan, Bryson claim KNEE-HIGH DROP RULE needs amending ASAP...
Place it, back to the shoulder drop, or are you happy with the new rule - what do you reckon should happen?
Golf rules have changed as of this year, and while the consensus is that the majority of them are a move in the right direction in a bid to help speed up the game, there is one glaring rule that many professional and amateur golfers are calling for a quick amendment - and that involves the KNEE-HIGH drop.
In case you're unaware of the new drop rule that was installed by golf's governing bodies from January 1, 2019, golfers are required to drop their golf ball from knee height as opposed to the traditional method from shoulder height.
Knee height means the height from the ground to your knee when in a standing position, but since coming into effect, a number of PGA Tour stars such as Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau have questioned the move.
RELATED: NEW GOLF RULES INCLUDE SOME HUGE CHANGES!
"One I don't really understand necessarily is the drop," said Spieth.
"You drop it knee height, but like, what's the advantage of dropping it shoulder height? It's actually probably a disadvantage, so why can't you still do that?
"You should be able to drop it from shoulder to knee in my opinion.
"It doesn't do any good and honestly, it's like, a frustrating asterisk that I have to re-pick it up and re-drop from your knee."
DeChambeau might clearly be a fan of putting with the flagstick in - one of golf's most notable new rules - but he isn't buying into the new drop rule either.
"That you have to drop it from knee height is a bit absurd, unfortunately," said DeChambeau, who very much sided with Spieth's take on the subject.
"I think you should be able to go from knee height to shoulder height. There should be no issue with that, whatever you want to do, honestly."
Rory McIlroy went as far to say that the shorter players have a bigger advantage when it comes to the new drop.
"We're saying that Brian Harman has got a big advantage, he can basically place it," said McIlroy.
"Where you've got someone like Tony Finau who is dropping it probably from like waist high for me."
According to the new 2019 Rules of Golf, here's a quick checklist to ensure you're all set to take a correct drop...
> the player must drop the ball
> it must be dropped from knee height
> the player must not give it any spin etc
> the ball MUST NOT be dropped from shoulder height - if that is the case, the ball must be re-dropped from knee height before taking the stroke
> before the ball hits the ground, it must not touch any part of the player or the player's equipment
> the ball must be dropped in the relief area - defined in the rule you are relief under - and it must first touch the ground inside the relief area when dropped
> if any of the above is not fulfilled, you are not considered to have dropped correctly, and you must re-drop until you have dropped correctly (without any limit to the number of re-drops).
> should the player play a ball that is not dropped correctly, there is a one-stroke penalty if the ball was played inside the relief area, and a two-stroke penalty if the ball was played outside the relief area (or lose of hole in match play).
Another interesting change for the rules in 2019 is that there will no longer be a 'two-club length rule'.
