Even at the highest level, not even an army of referees and TV cameras could detect every little infringement among 120 competitors, across 200 acres of land.
It becomes even more important at lower levels – when your playing partner draws a bad lie and realises nobody is looking – or disappears into the woods unattended and suddenly finds their lost ball.
But while golfers are generally expected to have a detailed understanding of the rules and hold each other to account, they do have their own version of VAR, too.
In professional tournaments, rules officials are on hand to help players avoid controversy and offer guidance in difficult situations.
It is usually a pretty quiet day at the office. But for Orlando Pope, working at the Phoenix Open in 1999, it was anything but.
He gave Tiger Woods a ruling which was discussed on that year’s Super Bowl broadcast – and it still gets widely circulated on social media, 25 years later.
You could say it rocked the golf world – quite literally – because the ruling involved a 2,000lb boulder.
It all started when Woods – playing in the final group on Sunday alongside Rocco Mediate – pulled a tee shot into the Scottsdale desert on the 13th hole.
His ball cannoned off a giant rock and came to rest a short distance behind it.
There was no way to advance the ball forwards – even for the greatest golfer of all-time – but Woods quickly thought up a bizarre escape plan.
Golfers are allowed to move ‘loose impediments’ – any object that is not attached to the golf course and not in direct contact with the ball.
It is usually used to get rid of twigs and leaves around the golf ball, but Woods applied it to a one-ton boulder.
Reflecting on the situation in a 2023 interview, rules official Pope said: “I pulled up in my cart and asked about the situation. Tiger Woods pointed to this boulder and said it is just lying there. I asked him, ‘What do you mean … it’s just lying there?’
“Tiger said he thought it was decorative and it wasn’t attached, it was a loose impediment. I’ve got to give him credit. Looking back I would have never thought about asking for that ruling.
“Tiger then asked if he could move it and I said yes.
“Tiger thought for a moment, then asked if he could have help. I responded, ‘You can have all the help you want.'”
Then, in a totally unprecedented scene, Woods’ caddie Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan called over about a dozen fans to move the boulder.
At first, the men were unable to shift it, before they all coordinated their efforts to a ‘count of three’.
Woods smiled as his army of labourers heaved the boulder out of his way, and when one of them asked if that was sufficient, he replied: “Do it again.”
They obliged – and suddenly Woods had a clear route to the green.
The American shook hands with each helper, ripped his second shot into a greenside bunker, then got up-and-down for the most remarkable birdie.
Woods would finish three shots adrift of Mediate, who won the tournament on 11-under-par, but that did not stop the chaotic incident gaining widespread attention.
Ken Venturi, tour veteran and broadcaster, was adamant on TV commentary that Woods should not have been given the ruling.
Pope added: “I had no idea it would be as big as it was.
“I went into the clubhouse and Ben Nelson of our team asked me if I was sure about the ruling. I said I was 100% sure.
“The Super Bowl was telecast by CBS right after the final round. It was brought up during that broadcast.”
Pope, who is now senior director of TV rules and video analyst for the PGA Tour, revealed he still gets pestered about the ruling to this day.
“A couple of times the ruling has come up for discussion,” he added.
“One is at the PGA Tour rules seminar. I get attacked with questions on why I made the ruling I did.
“Second, when we bring in new staff, they ask about it during orientation, because it is usually included in one of the slides.
“The biggest question asked is about the pace of play, since Woods and Mediate got behind on the clock.
“My answer has always been the same: ‘It takes a long time to move a 2,000-pound rock.’”
Woods, who was 23 at the time, was already becoming one of the most famous athletes in the world – but the boulder also claimed its place in history.
It can still be found at Scottsdale, with a commemorative plaque on its side, which reads: “1999 Phoenix Open: On January 31, during the fourth round, Tiger Woods’ tee shot came to rest in proximity to this 1-ton boulder. After being ruled a ‘loose impediment,’ a group of spectators moved the boulder, allowing Woods to birdie the hole.”
