Oregon High School golfers, Oregon State Championship

The black-and-white nature of the Rules make certain decisions feel grossly unfair. That was certainly the case when 12 high-school golfers competing in May at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks, Ore., were disqualified after the first round because of bad information they had been given from a course volunteer. Players on teams from Rogue River, Columbia Christian and Grant Union were the first to reach the par-3 13th hole. They saw a blue tee, the official marker for the tournament, but it was 40 yards farther from the hole than the listed distance of 172 yards on their scorecards. The players asked an assistant coach for Rogue River, who then went to a person he thought was any official for clarification. The official told the golfers to play from a shorter red tee that was closer to the listed distance. The next three threesomes played the reds as well, two of the three saying they were specifically directed by the official to do so. Turns out the official was actually a volunteer, and when a different marshal arrived, the rest of the field was specifically told to make sure to play the blue tee on that hole. As for the first 12 players, the rules committee disqualified them, even after it came to light that they had been told to play the incorrect tee by a person they believed was a rules official (who several coaches and players say denied he told them to play from the red tees when asked after the round). “The issue they came down to, by the time we figured what had happened, the kids had already moved on to the next hole,” Pete Weber, Oregon School Activities Association executive director, told GolfDigest.com, “and the rules are clear in how that should be handled.” Perhaps, but it doesn’t make the decision any less incredulous.