Fitzpatrick was aghast. “This is outrageous. It’s an absolute joke,” he said to the official who denied his request. He continued, “There’s an obvious crack there, that’s causing a defect of the ball flight… So, I’m going to have to use 3-wood the rest of the day?”

Fitzpatrick’s displeasure was understandable. But was the call correct under the rules?

Here is where the subjectivity of Model Local Rule G-9 comes in. It reads as follows:

If a player’s club is “broken or significantly damaged” during the round by the player or caddie, except in cases of abuse, the player may replace the club with any club under Rule 4.1b(4).

When replacing a club, the player must immediately take the broken or significantly damaged club out of play, using the procedure in Rule 4.1c(1).

For the purposes of this Local Rule:

A club is “broken or significantly damaged” when:

The shaft breaks into pieces, splinters or is bent (but not when the shaft is only dented);
The club face impact area is visibly deformed (but not when the club face is only scratched);
The clubhead is visibly and significantly deformed;
The clubhead is detached or loose from the shaft; or
The grip is loose.

Exception: A club face or clubhead is not “broken or significantly damaged” solely because it is cracked.

That’s a pretty notable exception, and one PGA Tour chief referee Stephen Cox leaned on:

“In our assessment, not only with the first official but also a couple of others including myself, that threshold of being significantly damaged hadn’t been met,” Cox said. “Although there was a small crack in the face, there was no separation in the metals, and on that basis, that threshold wasn’t met, so his only choice in that case was to continue using that club. Now, if that club were to get worse, then we would obviously continue to reassess, and at that point he may have been able to have taken it out, but in his case, I think he chose not to continue to use it and proceeded with his 3-wood from then on.”

In other words, whether or not Fitzpatrick was wronged depends on interpretation. Feel free to make your own.

MORE EQUIPMENT QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

High-lofted fairway woods have their place, but don’t I need a 3-wood for off the tee?

Can you use a shaft over and over again?

Is the shaft the engine of the golf club? Not really

Does clubfitting really work?

Can I put my old driver shaft in my new driver?

Beware when shopping for new irons: All specs are not the same

How do I determine which golf ball is right for me?

7-woods are all the rage for good reason. Should the 9-wood be next?