The last two majors of 2026 have not passed without controversy, with Wyndham Clark and Bryson DeChambeau both involved in contentious incidents that have divided opinion.
Clark won the US Open at Shinnecock Hills after a sublime performance over the first three days.
He just about managed to hold on during the final round. But some on social media felt that Clark should have faced a penalty after he was seen practicing from various places on the ninth hole before chipping out of the rough and onto the green.
What action, if any, should be taken against Bryson DeChambeau over his behaviour at The Open?
He even reportedly threatened to call the President…
At one stage, Clark could be seen stepping forward to practice from a particular spot. The camera angle certainly gave the impression that he planted his foot somewhere near his ball.
It did not look good when you consider that the 32-year-old did not even complete the practice swing before moving back across.
Clark escaped any punishment. Bryson DeChambeau was not so fortunate at The Open Championship this past week.
The rule change that needs to be made after controversies involving Wyndham Clark and Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau was handed a two-shot penalty during the second round at Royal Birkdale after stepping around his ball while in the thick rough on the fifth hole.
The R&A deemed that DeChambeau had unintentionally improved the lie around his ball with how he moved through the grass.
It was a contentious decision. And it was certainly a decision that DeChambeau was far from happy with.
There is arguably too much of a grey area right now. The evidence against DeChambeau – based on what everyone saw on television – was not exactly conclusive.
Meanwhile, some will never be convinced that Clark did nothing wrong, despite there also being a camera zoomed in on the ball. While the television producers cut away, you would imagine that there would be footage somewhere if Clark did anything worthy of a penalty.
With that, the R&A and the USGA should consider introducing a rule that bans practice swings from being taken when a player’s ball is in the rough.
They should also not allow players to ground their club until they are ready to address the ball.
That would have certainly prevented the incident involving Clark. And while practice swings were not the problem for DeChambeau, he would have surely been much more careful in the long grass – if he was indeed not intending to bend the rules – if he knew that he had to treat his approach much more like a bunker shot.
Once the player begins to address the ball, and makes any contact with long grass with their club, that club selection should be locked in, even if the lie turns out to be much worse than they anticipated.
It would be a brave call to ban practice swings and the grounding of a club in the rough. Players will obviously feel aggrieved when they have only just missed the fairway.
But it may turn out to be a better alternative to the golf ball rollback.
A ban on practice swings may be a better move than the golf ball rollback
Of course, the rollback is currently in doubt after the governing bodies delayed the change coming into the professional game.
But many have expressed doubts about how impactful the rollback will even be, particularly after Cameron Young won the Cadillac Championship with what was reportedly a conforming golf ball.
Players will surely prioritise accuracy much more if they know that they cannot take practice swings in the rough, and they cannot even place a club down to help assess the lie until they are about to hit.
Hitting from the rough would become much more of a lottery. So using the driver everywhere would be much more of a risk.
Admittedly, there would still be the potential for incidents similar to the one involving DeChambeau in Southport. In fact, players will probably be even more reliant on what their feet are telling them.
But there would be much less reason to take so many steps around the ball when you cannot take a practice swing or ground the club until you are hitting the shot.
Something has to change after questions were raised about Clark’s victory at the US Open, and DeChambeau brought chaos to The Open Championship.
Perhaps it is time that there was a much more severe penalty for missing the fairway.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
