Åberg Makes Golf History with a New Rule
In a historic moment for golf, Ludvig Åberg and his caddie, Joe Skovron, became the first to take advantage of a 2026 rules update. This novelty allows for the immediate replacement of a damaged club. The incident occurred on the 18th hole during the third round at Pebble Beach. Åberg, after sending his tee shot out of bounds on the right side of the par 5 hole, noticed a crack in the face of his driver. The update to Local Rule G-9, implemented in early 2025, allowed for replacement in the event of a visible crack. However, players were required to keep the spare driver in the locker room. This year, the PGA Tour requested a modification that would allow players to carry a spare driver head in their bag and change it on the course if the club was damaged.Skovron explained that this rule is especially useful for players with great power and high speeds, who use increasingly thinner club faces. Åberg requested the presence of an official, the crack was approved, and Skovron installed the replacement. If it weren’t for this, Åberg would have had to use his 3-wood on the next tee shot, and the driver could not have been replaced until near the clubhouse. PGA Tour rules official Steve Rintoul called what happened with Åberg a “perfect example of why we pushed to change the local rule.” Rintoul added that the previous method of replacement was “archaic”.They sent changes to the rules at the beginning of the year and one of them was that you no longer had to keep [the replacement] in the locker room. Before, someone had to get it for you. Now you can carry it in the bag, and if your driver is considered damaged, you can put that one in. I had the spare in the bottom of the bag.
Joe Skovron
