Anthony Kim Was Disqualified From the HSBC For Altering His Driver

In golf, rules are rules, even if they are very, very dumb. Lucky for us Anthony Kim had a situation that reminded us how truly out there they really are.

At the HSBC Champions in Shanghi, Kim was swinging his driver around as he walked down a fairway and hit the toe of the club to a sprinkler. While nothing was initially seen as wrong, Kim pulled out his driver on the 8th hole and hit it a whopping 150 yards and out of bounds, something obviously bizarre for a long bomber like Kim.

At the eighth, he hit his first drive only 150 yards, and out of bounds. He then hit a second provisional shot - also poorly. He took a triple-bogey 8 on the hole and played two more before he found a rules official, who told him he must disqualify himself for playing with an altered club.

Kim was disqualified under rule 4-3b, said Andy McFee, European tour referee.

Yeah, that is stupid and all but golf rules are golf rules for a reason. Like I've mentioned before, when I used to play on the American Junior Golf Association the officials would carry around this dictionary sized situation book for all the possible scenarios one might encounter in a round of golf. While the rules of golf are thorough, they do not exactly make each situation crystal clear and this is obviously one of them.

While adding improper weight or a laser beam in the putter face might be illegal for obvious reasons, a ding on the driver that hindered the golfer shouldn't be a penalty or a disqualification.

This is the obvious time where I point, with much hesitation, to that old Rick Reilly column about the caddy error. Enjoy.