Outgoing R&A official recalls memorable rulings—and, no surprise, one involves Jordan Spieth

TROON, Scotland — In golf, the best rules officials are the ones you never see. Anonymity is their idea of a perfect working day. Even when circumstances do provoke an on-course appearance, a low profile is a high priority. Throw in a complete lack of outward emotion and you get the complete picture.

Still, that last bit is going to be difficult for David Rickman to achieve this week at Royal Troon. In what is going to be his 28th as Chief Referee at the Open Championship, the soon-to-be 60-year-old is two months or so away from retirement. It is a personal landmark he has prepared for with his usual quiet efficiency.

“I’m happiest when no one knows I’m even here,” confirms the St. Andrews native. “That is success. If I go out on the golf course, I am inevitably in the wrong place. So I tend to stay in headquarters. I’ve got television screens in front of me. I’ve got a computer. I’ve got radio in my ear.

“We do a lot of preparation in the build-up to the championship, trying to set the stage. The aim is not to be surprised by anything. I don’t like surprises. But I am also realistic. Golf courses cover large pieces of land, so funny things can happen. It’s not a comfortable feeling when I have to think, ‘I’m not sure what’s over there.’”

Asked to rank his three most memorable rules book moments, Rickman doesn’t hesitate.

Eventual champion Jordan Spieth’s infamous detour onto the Royal Birkdale practice ground during the final round of the 2017 Open takes his gold medal. It was a convoluted incident, one that took everyone by surprise—Rickman included—but all concerned displayed a commendable level of aplomb.

“We had the late [European Tour chief referee] John Paramor shadowing that group,” recalls Rickman. “Which wasn’t by accident. We didn’t anticipate that the practice ground was in play. And even though Jordan didn’t hit his ball there, it was where he was going to want to drop. John asked me if I wanted Jordan to drop his ball in amongst the equipment trucks. I did not. We knew what was going to happen; he was going to have to take relief from wherever that drop would be. So we kept going to the obvious conclusion, Jordan able to hit eventually from a spot on the range.”

Spieth eventually saved a remarkable bogey and won The Open.

Rickman’s second choice had a less-than-happy ending. When Mark Roe and Jesper Parnevik failed to swap cards on the first tee before the third round of the 2003 Open at Royal St. George’s, the mistake wasn’t spotted. The end result was Roe’s disqualification from an event he had a life-changing chance of winning the following day.

“That was very upsetting,” admits Rickman. “But the error was sufficiently bad that we changed the rule. Sometimes it takes a case like that to highlight a need for change. But it also helps us in our rules-making role to be closely involved in the Open. There is no substitute for being involved at the sharp end of things.”

And the bronze medal? It is the seemingly never-ending 2015 Open at St. Andrews. A storm system ran through North-East Fife and the high winds meant the players had to be taken off the course.

“The 11th green was the biggest problem, but we had balls moving on maybe five greens,” says Rickman. “So it was time to stop play. That wasn’t a nice feeling.”

More intimately, the conversations that ensue between referee and player before a ruling can be made ask much of the officials. Not only must they make an accurate and fair assessment of the situation and declare the solution, they often have to act as amateur psychologists in what can be high-pressure situations.

“One of the difficult calls we have to make is the assessment of what is reasonable or unreasonable when a player describes the shot he is trying to play,” says Rickman. “I would always hope to see the ball buried in the bush so that there was no question about what shots are playable. With the player’s help you have to, in effect, assess their skill level. It’s not easy to tell an elite player you don’t think they can hit the shot they are describing.

“In that situation, I always ask what the player would do if the obstruction was not there,” he continues. “I used that line with Rory [McIlroy] in a tournament at Wentworth. He was in bushes left of the 16th hole, close to an obstruction. I asked him the question. His response was that he would have to declare his ball unplayable. Which answered the question. I remember that only because his response is not often the answer I get.”

As for this week, Rickman isn’t likely to make many public appearances. In his role he is the third line of reference when it comes to rules decisions. Initial rulings will be made by the walking referee, with one following every group over the four days of the championship. If necessary, that decision can then be rubber-stamped by one of the “roving refs,” who are almost exclusively professionals employed by the world’s tours. Only if no resolution can be found subsequent to those two opinions will Rickman get involved.

Whatever the circumstances, however, the identity of the player involved in any ruling is, for Rickman and his colleagues, irrelevant.

“I’ve always tried to ignore the personality or stature of the player asking for the ruling,” he says. “He is merely a golfer. His name or status in the game is neither here nor there. But yes, before ruling on something for a player with a big reputation, you do have to take a deep breath. That said, none have ever been anything other than highly professional. I’ve never been threatened. I take the view that, while I am answering a question from the player in front of me, whomever that may be, I am representing everyone else in the competition. So I try to divorce the player from the situation.”

Sometimes, of course, that is easier said than done.

“I like to remind our referees that, when they are giving a ruling, it is probably because a player has hit his ball into a place he didn’t want it to go,” Rickman says with a smile. “He might have been unlucky. He might be feeling acute stress. So he is perhaps not in the best frame of mind during a chat with a referee. They would prefer to be playing golf. So we need to understand that we are there to help them with how to proceed, then get out asap. We need to be empathetic and understanding.”

October 9 is Rickman’s last day at the R&A, the organization he has served since 1988. And in his last Open, one he hopes will pass uneventfully, his name never mentioned. David who?

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