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Loophole Rule Offers PGA Tour Pros a Mulligan

You may not even remember the name Michael Campbell? I suppose I can’t blame you. You see, while he may not be a Blockbuster name on tour today in 2021, he certainly had his moment. Let me take you back in time to 2005.
You may remember that year for several events: Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, flooding over 80% of the entire city. A popular video sharing website was created by 3 former PayPal employees. That website today gets over 5 billion daily video views and is worth a staggering 170 billion dollars. You know that startup website today as YouTube. George W. Bush was entering his second term in office and in golf the infamous “Tiger Chip” at the Masters was all the rage.
With all of that, I will ask you…Can you remember who won the U.S. Open that year? Remember, it was played at the Deuce (Pinehurst #2) and as was the case in almost every Major back then, El Tigre was in contention coming down the stretch in his Sunday Red. However, Tiger didn’t win that U.S. Open…
You guessed it, Michael Campbell did. Holding off a late surge by the young GOAT he claimed the trophy winning by 2 strokes. This ended up being the only major championship victory of his PGA career. Sure, he went on to win a few more events, including the Match Play in the same year (2005) but by most accounts he just kind of faded out after that and became background noise.
Enter the resurgence. Well, sort of. Recently, at the Senior Open, the very same Michael Campbell was permitted, by a very interesting and unusual rule, to hit a mulligan. Check out this bizarre series of circumstances below that lead to the ruling…
1. Campbell has a unique pre-shot routine. He takes his practice swing dangerously close to the ball and does so almost immediately after teeing it up. Think Zach Johnson at Augusta a few years back.
Wow! Zach Johnson is all of us… pic.twitter.com/BvVWA1wBvU
— Fantasy Golf Pod (@fantasygolfpod) April 12, 2019
2. Just like Johnson, Campbell accidentally hit the golf ball during his practice swing. The ball tumbled half willingly down the fairway about 100 yards (mostly on the ground). Michael, laughing at his blunder, walked off the tee feeling like most of us do at a shotgun charity event after topping one into the bushes on the 1st hole.
3. Here is where it gets interesting. Campbell, who has done this before on tour, was permitted to take a mulligan under the Rules of Golf. Rule 6.2b states “when you are playing a ball from the teeing area, the ball is not in play until a stroke is made at it. This means that once you tee your ball up, you must make an intentional pass at the ball for it to count as a stroke. Making contact with the ball during a practice swing that accidentally strikes and moves the ball, you have not made an intentional stroke or purposefully moved the ball into play. “The Rules allow you to simply re-tee that same ball or another ball without penalty.”
4. While Campbell was able to reload his tee shot, he was not able to overcome his blunder. He missed the cut shooting +11 over par after Friday’s round and did not survive to play on the weekend.
Today at the Senior Open @MCampbellgolf ?
?: @MichaelVerity/ Warren Coopey #SeniorOpen pic.twitter.com/KEsF0fBjbn
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 22, 2021
“Pretty much sums up my day today,” Campbell tweeted. “(Zach) I know how you felt.”
While mulligans on the PGA tour are indeed very rare, to us weekend warriors they are all too familiar. Interesting fact: The term “Mulligan” is said to be derived from Canadian golf professional David Mulligan. He once re loaded his morning tee shot while playing with his buddies on a Saturday morning friendly match, and they let him have it. He has never lived that down and will forever be known as the father of the golf re-do.
Blog
Why Your Golf Balls Disappear (and It’s Not the Gophers)

Ah, the vanishing golf ball. A phenomenon as old as the game itself, and one that has baffled, frustrated, and occasionally driven golfers to the brink of madness for centuries. Most theories involve gophers, those furry, subterranean saboteurs with an insatiable appetite for Titleists. Or perhaps a particularly aggressive squirrel, or a flock of unusually organized crows. But I, Ty Webb, have delved deeper into this mystery, and I can assure you, the truth is far more profound, and far more amusing.
Consider, if you will, the golf ball itself. A small, dimpled sphere, designed for one purpose: to be struck with great force and sent hurtling through the air. A life of constant abuse, of being smacked, sliced, and occasionally submerged in murky ponds. Is it any wonder, then, that some of these brave little spheres simply decide they’ve had enough? They yearn for freedom, for a life beyond the confines of the fairway. They dream of rolling unencumbered through fields of wildflowers, or perhaps, for the more adventurous among them, a quiet retirement in the depths of a particularly challenging water hazard.
I’ve seen it happen, you know. A perfectly struck shot, soaring through the air, destined for glory. And then, poof. Gone. Not a trace. No splash, no rustle in the bushes, just an empty space where a golf ball once was. It’s not a gopher, my friends. It’s an escape. A liberation. That golf ball, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen a different path. It has decided that its destiny lies not in the bottom of a cup, but in the boundless expanse of the unknown.

And who are we to judge? We, who are so obsessed with control, with precision, with the rigid rules of the game. Perhaps the golf ball, in its spontaneous disappearance, is teaching us a valuable lesson about letting go. About embracing the unexpected. About the inherent futility of trying to dictate the trajectory of a small, white sphere that clearly has a mind of its own.
So, the next time your golf ball vanishes into thin air, don’t curse the gophers. Don’t blame your swing. Instead, offer a silent salute to that brave little sphere, wherever it may be. For it has achieved what many of us can only dream of: true freedom. And who knows, perhaps one day, it will return, laden with tales of its adventures, ready to impart some profound, dimpled wisdom upon us all.

When JJ Spaun stood over a 64-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, few could have predicted what would come next. The ball meandered across the slick green, trickling over every contour, picking up speed at the crest, and then—like it had GPS—dropped center cup. Spaun dropped his putter, raised his arms, and the crowd erupted. With that single stroke, he claimed his first major title in one of the most dramatic finishes in U.S. Open history.
But how does Spaun’s putt stack up against other legendary finishes in the tournament’s storied past? Let’s break down some of the most iconic moments and see where this one lands.
1. Payne Stewart – 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst
Perhaps the most iconic putt in U.S. Open history came from Payne Stewart, who nailed a 15-footer for par on the 18th to win by one over Phil Mickelson. The pose—fist pump and outstretched leg—has since been immortalized in a statue at Pinehurst. What made it legendary wasn’t just the putt—it was the context: Stewart’s final major before his tragic death just months later.
Verdict: Iconic and emotional. Spaun’s putt was longer, but Stewart’s was more poetic.
2. Tiger Woods – 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines
Woods drained a 12-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate—while basically playing on one leg. That tournament went to sudden death after an 18-hole playoff, and Tiger prevailed. This was peak Tiger drama, pain and all.
Verdict: Spaun’s putt was longer, but Tiger’s win was sheer willpower and mystique.
3. Jack Nicklaus – 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach
With a 1-iron shot that hit the flagstick on 17 and a crucial birdie putt on 18, Jack sealed a dominant win. His precision and timing under pressure showed why he’s the GOAT.
Verdict: Not a putt for the win, but a signature finishing statement from Jack. Spaun’s was more electric in terms of pure putter drama.
4. Ben Hogan – 1950 U.S. Open at Merion
Hogan’s 1-iron into the 18th fairway and the par to force a playoff—just 16 months after a near-fatal car crash—remain legendary. He won the playoff and completed one of golf’s great comeback stories.
Verdict: Larger-than-life comeback. Spaun’s putt had more flair, but Hogan’s win was heroic.
5. JJ Spaun – 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont
Let’s not underestimate what Spaun accomplished. The pressure was immense. He wasn’t the favorite. And on the most treacherous greens in golf, he buried a 64-foot bomb—a putt most players would be happy to lag to within 5 feet—to win the U.S. Open outright.
Verdict: For distance, surprise, and drama, Spaun’s putt may be the most shocking winning stroke in U.S. Open history.
Final Thoughts
JJ Spaun may not have the résumé of a Nicklaus or Woods, but for one Sunday afternoon in June 2025, he created a moment that will live in golf lore forever. Spaun’s putt was longer than Stewart’s, more unexpected than Tiger’s, and more dramatic than any final-hole finish in recent memory.
In terms of pure clutch putting? It might just be the greatest walk-off in U.S. Open history.
Blog
The Zen of the Shank: Finding Inner Peace in Your Worst Shots
Find your inner peace even when you aren’t playing well.

Ah, the shank. That glorious, unpredictable misfire that sends your pristine golf ball screaming sideways, often directly into the unsuspecting shins of your playing partner, or perhaps, with a touch of poetic irony, into the very lake you’ve been trying to avoid all day. Most golfers, bless their earnest little hearts, view the shank as a catastrophic failure, a blight upon their scorecard, a testament to their inherent lack of coordination. They curse, they throw clubs, they contemplate a career in competitive thumb-wrestling. But not I. No, my friends, for I, Ty Webb, have found enlightenment in the humble shank.
You see, the shank is not a mistake; it’s a revelation. It’s the universe’s way of reminding you that control is an illusion, that perfection is a myth, and that sometimes, the most direct path to your goal is, in fact, a wildly indirect one. Think of it as a philosophical detour, a sudden, unexpected journey into the unknown. One moment, you’re aiming for the green, a paragon of precision and intent. The next, your ball is ricocheting off a tree, narrowly missing a squirrel, and landing, by some divine comedic intervention, closer to the hole than your perfectly struck drive ever would have. Is that not a miracle? Is that not a sign that the golf gods, much like life itself, have a wicked sense of humor?
The key, my dear apprentices of the links, is acceptance. Embrace the shank. Welcome it with open arms, like a long-lost, slightly inebriated relative. When that familiar, sickening thwack echoes through the air, do not despair. Instead, take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Feel the gentle breeze on your face. And then, with a knowing smile, open them and observe the chaos you have wrought. Is it not beautiful in its own chaotic way? Is there not a certain freedom in relinquishing control, in allowing the ball to choose its own destiny, however bizarre that destiny may be?
Some say the shank is a sign of poor technique. I say it’s a sign of a vibrant, untamed spirit. A golfer who never shanks is a golfer who has never truly lived, never truly explored the outer limits of their own golfing absurdity. They are content with mediocrity, with predictable trajectories and mundane outcomes. But you, my enlightened few, you understand that the true joy of golf lies not in the score, but in the story. And what a story a good shank can tell.

So, the next time you feel that familiar tremor of a shank brewing, don’t fight it. Let it flow. Let it be. For in the heart of every shank lies a lesson, a laugh, and perhaps, just perhaps, a path to a lower score you never saw coming. After all, as the great philosopher Basho once said, “A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish.” And a golf game without a shank? Well, that’s just not golf, is it?
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