Rules Guy: How is the lie angle on Bryson DeChambeau’s putter legal?

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

Is a putter allowed to have a lie angle more perpendicular than 80 degrees? Bryson DeChambeau’s putter appears to be closer to 90 degrees. —Jim Morrissey, South Bend, Ind.

Please rest assured, Jim, that our reigning national champion does things by the book — especially the cult classic, The Golfing Machine, by Homer Kelley. BDC is an innovator but not a scofflaw; there’s no question his equipment hews to the relevant standards.

For your edification, the pertinent portion of the Equipment Rules, Part 2, 1d, reads: “(i) the projection of the straight part of the shaft on to the vertical plane through the toe and heel must diverge from the vertical by at least 10 degrees…. If the overall design of the club is such that the player can effectively use the club in a vertical or close-to vertical position, the shaft may be required to diverge from the vertical in this plane by as much as 25 degrees.”

Rules

For more putter-conformance guidance from our guru, read on …

I have an old TaylorMade Spider putter but didn’t like the white line on the black clubhead, so I stuck a piece of white tape on the head and drew a red line with a Sharpie. Is this legal? —Vince Zachetti, via email

A confession, Vince: Over the past half-century, Rules Guy’s father, Tinker Guy, has butchered untold number of putters in his basement workshop, a.k.a. “The Lair,” including sawing off the toe of a Scotty Cameron. Blowtorches to the hosel, Wite-Out dabbed on the topline, chair glides stuck to the sole, ball bearings shoved down the grip and into the shaft: We have seen flatsticks suffer all manner of dubious plastic surgery through the years.

Never once did Tinker Guy ask if he was violating the Rules, and in filial deference, nor was this information imposed upon him. Now it can be told: Tape affixed to the putter is a nonconforming external attachment and renders the club nonconforming. Under Rule 4.1a, once you make a stroke with said club, you are disqualified.

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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.