Backstopping Incident At Championship Event Creates Reaction On Social Media

The Rules of Golf can be confusing at the best of times, and it's often difficult to remember them all...

At the 2024 IHSAA Boys State Finals at Prairie View Golf Club, though, an incident occurred that caused some reaction on social media, with a moment on the 18th leading to accusations of 'backstopping'.

In the video, we see one player put his chip to within a few feet of the hole, with Andrew Wall, who finished fifth in the individual tournament, then striking his own shot. Although unclear, it appears that the player doesn't have time to mark his chip before Wall strikes his, and the ball makes contact with the golf ball that is next to the flag.

As mentioned, we must stress that we can't confirm if the the player asked for the ball to be marked or not, but what we do know is that some on social media did call the video out for 'backstopping'.

For those who don't know what backstopping is, it is where a player, without agreement, leaves their golf ball in a place near, or close, to the hole where the other player, who is about to play, might benefit if the ball was struck. Essentially, they use it as a brake to get the ball close. 

Below, we have attached a video that explains the rule further, with 'backstopping' explained at the 2.15 mark.

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So, what is the ruling for backstopping? Well, "Rule 15.3a applies only to a ball at rest on the putting green, not anywhere else on the course. If a player reasonably believes that a ball on the putting green might help anyone’s play (such as by serving as a possible backstop near the hole), the player may, in stroke play only: Mark the spot of the ball and lift it under Rule 13.1b if it is their own ball, or if the ball belongs to another player, request the other player to mark the spot and lift the ball (see Rule 14.1)

"The lifted ball must be replaced on its original spot (see Rule 14.2). A player who is required to lift a ball may play first instead, and If two or more players agree to leave a ball in place to help any player, and that player then makes a stroke with the helping ball left in place, each player who made the agreement gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes)."

Amongst those who commented, one user wrote: "If he was good enough to intentionally hit the ball, why wouldn't he have aimed for the hole?" Whilst others didn't seem to have issue with the incident, with some praising the "ready golf" nature of the clip.

In the tournament itself, it was Brayden Miller who claimed the victory, as rounds of 68 and 71 gave him a five-under total and four shot victory over Aidan Gutierrez, Justin Hicks and Jake Cesare.