Michaux: Augusta National doesn’t make the rules, but what if it did?

Augusta National Golf Club is really good at making and enforcing rules.

Running and cellphones are strictly forbidden – the latter incurring a lifetime ban. It created its own terminology, so heaven help the broadcaster who calls patrons “fans” or the second nine the “back.”

Yet so far, the Masters Tournament has resisted creating its own rules of golf.

“As you know, we are not a governing body,” said Fred Ridley, the former USGA president who is now chairman of the Masters rules and competition committees. “We follow the Rules of Golf that are promulgated by the governing bodies.”

While the Masters will follow the rules, it’s not averse to influencing the rulemakers. This subject came up Wednesday in club Chairman Billy Payne’s news conference thanks to a controversial ruling Sunday that sullied the conclusion of the LPGA’s first major of the year.

A viewer called in questioning tournament leader Lexi Thompson’s ball mark replacement, and it retroactively cost her four strokes and the victory.

“It was certainly very unfortunate,” Ridley said. “It broke our hearts, as it did golf fans watching all over the country.”

Ridley, however, made it quite clear that he supports a change to the system where television viewer call-ins can affect penalties as golf’s governing bodies are considering a large-scale overhaul of the rules to avoid headaches and black eyes in the modern world.

“We are encouraged to know that this issue is something that is being considered as part of the rules modernization effort that’s going on right now, and we understand that there is a proposal that’s being discussed that would limit the use of video evidence,” Ridley said. “So we hope very much that … an appropriate solution to this would be reached. We would be very supportive in that, and we hope that that will happen sooner rather than later.”

It’s no surprise that Ridley would like to see that kind of change. He was at the center of a ruling snafu during the 2013 Masters when Tiger Woods was found to have made an improper drop in the second round after his wedge shot into No. 15 hit the pin and caromed into the pond.

Ridley had to dig deep into the rule book to find a face-saving option that kept Woods from being disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after a two-stroke penalty was assessed the next morning. It was the right call to make, considering that Woods was not aware of all the facts at the time he signed what was believed to be a correct scorecard.

The LPGA chose not to apply the same kind of Socratic method to its handling of the Thompson situation, causing plenty of worldwide outrage.

“I think it should be reversed,” Phil Mickelson said Tuesday of the additional two strokes Thompson received for signing a card she believed was correct at the time. “I think that she should be given the trophy.”

Augusta has a long history of applying the rules in ways that generally give the players the benefit of the doubt – Roberto de Vicenzo (scorecard), Dow Finsterwald (practice putting) and 14-year-old Tianlang Guan (slow play) excepted.

Arnold Palmer got the ruling he wanted on his disputed interpretation of his embedded ball in 1958. Ernie Els got relief from “greenskeeper rubbish” in the middle of the trees on No. 11 when he appealed in 2004.

Still, Augusta has remained aligned with the rules makers. Perhaps the closest the club ever came to suggesting a deviation from the governing bodies was when former Chairman Hootie Johnson tossed out the idea of developing a “Masters ball” to defend the course against advancing technology.

Instead, the club repeatedly lengthened its course. Payne has no plans to revisit the concept – though he didn’t entirely rule out the possibility in the future if the USGA and R&A can’t effectively rein in technology.

“They are working together to ensure that it does not become a problem, and as is always the case, we have great confidence in their ability to forge a solution,” Payne said. “But of course, as you would imagine, we always reserve the right to do whatever we have to do to preserve the integrity of our golf course. But I don’t think that will ever happen.”

Perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst idea if Augusta National forced the issue by stepping out on its own. It might not want the power to make the rules, but it possesses the power to influence them.

Creating a “Masters ball” could be the tipping point to forcing bifurcation of the rules between pros and amateurs so that courses that are landlocked or don’t have the unlimited purse strings of Augusta National won’t become bankrupt or obsolete in the professional game.

Applying its own restrictions or deadlines to replay reviews could have just as profound an effect on which direction the Rules of Golf go on the subject. Enforcing slow play penalties could go further in growing the game than all its endorsed worldwide amateur championships and the Drive, Chip and Putt competition combined.

History has shown that when the Masters sets down the rules, the world is more than willing to follow.