The constant bickering about the new Rules of Golf by media, fans, players and even the governing bodies has resulted in one of the most powerful people in golf requesting a sense of decorum from his constiuents, who just so happen to be the most public-facing players in the game.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan released a memo to the PGA Tour membership that diplomatically warned the players from lashing out against the USGA and R&A for their perceived slights within the rules.
GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard obtained and published the memo Monahan sent out on Monday of Arnold Palmer Invitational week, which encouraged players to use their voices constructively.
Memo from Tour commissioner to players on Monday re: this year’s rule changes. “This is a collaborative process, one the PGA Tour has been a part of from the beginning, along with all organizations in the world,” the memo reads. pic.twitter.com/pTa17UuQCC
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) March 5, 2019
“This is a collaborative process, one the PGA Tour has been a part of from the beginning, along with all organizations in the world,” Monahan wrote. “During the process, we put forward a lengthy list of recommendations to improve the rules in many ways, including the removal of numerous penalties, and virtually all our suggestions were incorporated. We also had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed rules prior to implementation, which resulted in modifications for the final version.”
After explaining how involved and influential the PGA Tour has been and continues to be in the implementation of these new rules, Monahan made it clear that he hopes this information will make players think twice before going to social media to relay their frustrations with the USGA.
Instead, he encouraged them to use the proper channels that have been set up and agreed upon.
“I encourage you to continue to use your voice constructively during this process,” he wrote. “I also ask that you trust that the PGA Tour has your best interest in mind and has since the very beginning.
“We believe the game is best served when all of the industry partners in the game are working together, and we intend to continue to approach this issue in that manner. I am committed to ensuring these changes benefit the game as a whole without negatively impacting the PGA Tour, its players or our fans’ enjoyment of our sport.”
