PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – For his final eight holes Thursday at The Honda Classic, defending champion Justin Thomas had just 13 working clubs in his bag. The non-useable 14th club was a 9-iron he damaged while hitting a tree with his second shot at the par-4 10th. Under Rule 4.1 that went into effect at the start of the year, he could not replace it. Despite being shorthanded, Thomas managed to shoot a 2-under 68 that left him four shots off the lead held by Jhonattan Vegas. It also left him shaking his head about another new golf rule that he doesn’t understand. “You can just add that one to the list of rules that don’t make any sense,� Thomas said. It all started after an errant tee shot at the 10th left him in the right rough behind a tree, 183 yards from the pin. As he considered his next shot, he thought there was a chance the 9-iron might not stay intact. “I thought the way the club was going to hit the tree, it was just going to break,� said Thomas, who lives in nearby Jupiter. “… But it didn’t break. It kind of hit near the hosel and just kind of sent a little shock up my arm.� Thomas said it was enough of a shock to force him to ice his wrist overnight, although he doesn’t expect it to impact him the remainder of the week. The bigger issue at that moment was being unable to use the club, which had hit the tree with enough force to rake away some bark. Under the previous rules, Thomas could have replaced it with another club if the damaged club had been considered “unfit for play.� But with the revised rules, the “unfit to play� distinction was eliminated, with the USGA explaining that it required “a technical judgment that few players have the depth of understanding to make, and even referees can find it challenging to make such judgments quickly and consistently on the course.� Thomas said, “If you bend break or bend the club in play, I don’t see where the harm is in replacing it. Obviously, you can’t break a club in anger and replace it, but if you hit a shot and you hit a tree and it breaks or bends like that, if you have a spare – I don’t understand.� Among the reasons for the rules change, according to the USGA: Although there will be times when a damaged club is unusable and cannot be readily repaired on the course (such as when a driver head comes off), the practical ability to get a replacement club is seldom present other than at some elite levels of golf. This potential downside from a player’s perspective is outweighed by the ability to use or repair any damaged club, as well as by the significant simplification that results. This change will be consistent with the overall philosophy that a player normally should play the entire round with only the clubs that he or she started with or added during the round to get to the 14-club limit. Had he been able to replace it, Thomas said he had a spare 9-iron at his house in Jupiter, and someone theoretically could have retrieved it. But without that option, he was left with the damaged club, one he did not want to use because he was unsure of the loft. He said the club looked a bit flatter. “It’s definitely not a 9-iron.� On the very next hole, the par-4 11th, Thomas had an approach shot from the fairway, 159 yards to the pin over water. “A perfect 9-iron,� he said. Instead, he hit a wedge as hard as possible – and finished inside 15 feet for an easy two-putt par. His approach shot at the 12th was 153 yards, another possible 9-iron. Again, he opted for wedge. “It was a little easier on 12 because I didn’t have water in front of the greens,� he said. Thomas suffered a double-bogey at the par-3 15th and a bogey at the 16th but didn’t blame the lack of a 9-iron for either of those stumbles. Two birdies to finish his round left him in a better mood about the club issue. “Now that I think about it,� he said, “it doesn’t really make a big difference.�
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