USGA Under Fire for Disqualifying 17-Year-Old Golfer Over Bizarre Rules Incident at U.S. Junior Amateur

July 2025 promised to be a dreamy month for Banks Steele, an amateur who had started playing golf only two years earlier. But that didn’t pan out. At all. Steele was disqualified from the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship because his caddie twice used an artificial object – his hat – to gauge the wind direction, violating Rule 4.3a(2). The rule says players and their caddies cannot use “an artificial object to get other wind-related information,” including items like powder, handkerchiefs, or ribbons to gauge wind direction.

However, Banks Steele mentioned that neither he, his caddie, nor his playing partners knew about the rule. They thought tossing a hat to check the wind was harmless, similar to using blades of grass. However, Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf were still in disbelief over the entire situation, more specifically about the USGA ruling.

Although Porath slammed the caddie for using his hat to gauge the wind, Johnson asked, “How come you can throw grass but not a hat?” Porath agreed and replied, “I was—well, I was wondering that. It seems kind of like a bullsh*t rule if we’re being honest.” Johnson added, “And secondly, why is the caddie throwing a hat instead of grass?” Porath argued, “That’s like,” but Johnson chimed in and added, “it seems like grass would be way more effective than a hat.”

As valid as Johnson’s comments are, the USGA has often faced backlash over its bizarre rulings, even in the amateur circuits. At the 2020 U.S. Amateur, Segundo Oliva Pinto from Argentina lost his match on the 18th hole after his caddie was caught on camera testing the sand with his hand, costing Pinto the hole against eventual winner Ty Strafaci. The violated rule, 12.2b, states that a player or caddie must not “deliberately touch sand in the bunker with a hand, club, rake or other object to test the condition of the sand to learn information for the next stroke.”

However, Banks Steele chose to defend his caddie, despite the criticism following the disqualification. “I definitely do not want to blame my caddie whatsoever,” Banks Steele told NBC’s Brentley Romine. “Everyone makes mistakes, everything happens for a reason, and I don’t want to hold anything against anybody.” And though Steele admitted the situation was “very hard on him,” he is still hopeful about his golf career in the upcoming months.

Banks Steele says he is going to use this setback as “as pure motivation.”

Banks Steele, a rising high-school senior, is looking forward to more opportunities in golf. “I’m just going to use this as pure motivation to keep going while understanding that golf is a tough game with a lot of different rules,” Banks Steele told NBC, reflecting on his recent disqualification from the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. “Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again, but I can’t worry about it. I’m going to be back at practice tomorrow, trying to get better.”

Steele’s golf journey began just two years ago when he gave up travel soccer to pursue the sport. He qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur through a 7-for-3 playoff, an impressive feat considering his relatively short time playing golf. Despite that, Banks Steele has already made a name for himself, winning the HV3 Invitational earlier this year. With several college coaches following him in Dallas, he’s on the verge of playing NCAA Division I golf.

Despite his first-ever DQ, Steele defended his caddie, who was devastated by the mistake and even asked not to be paid. Steele disagreed, saying, “That would not have been right.” Before parting ways, Steele and his caddie agreed that the experience would only make Steele’s story stronger: “This is just going to make my story that much better.”

Regardless, lessons have been learnt and no hard feelings remain between the two — despite USGA’s “bullsh*t rule.”