The most honourable game is not as clean as its

[Gxgolfer]

rulers like to think By Lowrence Donegan

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Cheating in the professional game is an altogether more serious affair, not least because people's livelihoods are involved. Certainly, there have been very few cases of people being thrown out of professional golf for breaking the rules. Vijay Singh was one - he altered his scorecard at an Asian Tour event in the mid-1980s, for which he picked up a two-year ban. David Robertson was another. A hugely talented amateur in Scotland, his professional career ended in disgrace when he was banned for 20 years for moving his ball closer to the hole during an Open Championship qualifying event. This was not his first rules infringement, which explained the harshness of the sentence.

There are a few other names dotted down through the history but what is remarkable is not how many cheats have been exposed but how few. Is this a fair reflection of the level of cheating in the pro game? Who can say for certain? What it is a fair reflection of, however, is that the word "cheat" does not appear anywhere in the Rules of Golf. You don't cheat, according to the R&A, you "infringe the rules".

Do people "infringe the rules" in professional golf? Well, Michelle Wie did. And Colin Montgomerie, by his own admission, was unhappy with his own conduct when he took his now infamous drop after a rain delay in Jakarta, although his only penalty, the donation of his prize money, was self-inflicted. Does this make either Wie or Montgomerie "cheats"? At the risk of sounding like a lawyer, this then becomes an issue of intent. Did either player intend to break the rules? Only the player knows what was in their mind at the time. Wie and Montgomerie have both said they made inadvertent mistakes and we have to take them at their word.

But what we do not have to accept so readily are words of those who claim golf is spotlessly clean. After all if, in the space of a few months, two of the most famous players, with all the media attention and TV coverage they receive, can become embroiled in nasty rules disputes, one wonders what happens when the players are less high-profile, the man from Sports Illustrated isn't hiding in the bushes and television cameras are pointed elsewhere.

[Debit]

Ouch! Although I've heard similar comments and reactions from several guys about muni men's clubs as well as semi-private members' events. Makes you wonder who these people think they are fooling -- most everyone knows who are the sandbaggers and cheaters. After a while, it just gets real old and takes the enjoyment out of what should have been an enjoyable event. While the guys are acting as described in the previous post, the women's clubs tended to be the home of rules Nazis. Participation dropped big time locally in amateur pub linx events when a group of tyrants began making up infractions. It was ridiculous and disgusting and pretty discouraging for less forceful personalities or newbies. The last tournament that I participated in had a list of what is NOT an infraction printed on the local rules sheet.

[raehtz10]

In my golf league, we roll everything. Knock one out of bounds? Go drop one at point of entry and take the strokes. It is up to your competitor to give you any putts they want. It could be a 5 footer, you could be tapping in. It is a very casual league, and we are all out there for fun. It eliminates any animosity between the guys playing. I like the changes, because it allows everyone to enjoy themselves, and you don't have to worry about policing you competitors.

 

As for tournaments, on occasion I have seen guys rolling their ball, and nothing is more infuriating.

[Debit]

In my golf league, we roll everything. Knock one out of bounds? Go drop one at point of entry and take the strokes. It is up to your competitor to give you any putts they want. It could be a 5 footer, you could be tapping in. It is a very casual league, and we are all out there for fun. It eliminates any animosity between the guys playing. I like the changes, because it allows everyone to enjoy themselves, and you don't have to worry about policing you competitors.

 

As for tournaments, on occasion I have seen guys rolling their ball, and nothing is more infuriating.

52927[/snapback]

 

Are you guys posting that garbage for handicap purposes? Course if none of you are all that serious, a handicap is for grins and giggles anyhow.

[gjones77]

Alright, that article to me still seems to neglect one fact.

 

Golf is a game built on personal ethics, and that's part of the reason I love it.

 

Name another sport where you can a penalty on yourself...

 

But the article also fails to mention the time that players DID call the penalty on themlves, or disqualified themselves, like David Toms in the Open Championship this year, or Kevin Stadler recently.

 

There's always going to be those who cheat, you can't help it, but at least in golf more often than not the players are honest and take the penalty to uphold the sport's integrity.

 

Because I know if I was on the tour, and cheated, I could never look men like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in the eye ever again if I cheated, when you cheat in golf you're not just cheating yourself, you're cheating all the great men and women who've played before and won or lost based on integrity.

 

And to me, that's something you could never forget

[cpa49707]

I understand that alot of people go out for a lesiurly game of golf and they are never going to play competitive golf, but to me I still want to play by the rules. The rules state play it where it lies so why not play by the rules.

[Debit]

Assuming that you claim to play in accordance with the Rules of Golf, how personally humiliating and lousy would you feel if you shoot the best round of your life and either didn't play the ball down or didn't follow proper procedure? I suppose you could say, "I shot a 72, but fluffed every lie and didn't worry about OB or margins of hazards." Like you shot an 85. So I'm happy as a clam to break 90 -- but I know that I earned every stroke of that handicap.

[cpa49707]

Assuming that you claim to play in accordance with the Rules of Golf, how personally humiliating and lousy would you feel if you shoot the best round of your life and either didn't play the ball down or didn't follow proper procedure? I suppose you could say, "I shot a 72, but fluffed every lie and didn't worry about OB or margins of hazards." Like you shot an 85. So I'm happy as a clam to break 90 -- but I know that I earned every stroke of that handicap.

53149[/snapback]

 

As you probably already know I am a firm advocate of playing by the rules, However, If someone want's to fluff their lies so they can enjoy the game more and doesn't want to play competitive golf and they are not playing with me. So be it, but don't go around telling everyone your better than me. (even though they may be :drinks: ) I guess to sum it all up, to each his own as far as recreational golfers go.

[JHR]

In my golf league, we roll everything. Knock one out of bounds? Go drop one at point of entry and take the strokes. It is up to your competitor to give you any putts they want. It could be a 5 footer, you could be tapping in. It is a very casual league, and we are all out there for fun. It eliminates any animosity between the guys playing. I like the changes, because it allows everyone to enjoy themselves, and you don't have to worry about policing you competitors.

 

As for tournaments, on occasion I have seen guys rolling their ball, and nothing is more infuriating.

52927[/snapback]

 

i played in a league with similar rules, it was done because it was a family league and most of the players were really bad. it was an effort to speed up play, it did not work, 3 hour 9 hole rounds were the norm.

i would not use my scores for hdcp purposes, i just considered it a practice day and time spent with my wife. I would not play in tourneys at one of my clubs do to bogus hdcp's by members. I think alot of people cheat one way or another, if you take a mulligan on the first hole you are cheating, its all in what you want to get out of the game, and its all about self pride, if it does not bother you then who cares.

[raehtz10]

Nope, the only handicap we used was the one that was a league handicap, where everyone was using the same conditions. There was in no way an official posting of scores. I just saw it as a great way to get out on the course on a regular basis, and spend some quality time with my dad (he's on my team) :drinks:

[nearfall152]

This is why I will not compete at my club in so-called championships, scrambles, best-ball events..Unfortunately most guys (when given a chance for local glory, pro-shop credit, even beers) do this. We instituted a one-club length no closer -no hazard-roll-it-around policy for our club events. The reason given..most people do it anyway..I therefore will not participate.  The true "essence" of the game is to play it as you find it (course and ball), adhere to the rules otherwise. When in doubt give yourself the harshest ruling,you will be right more times than not.JMO

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I agree, there's nothing worse than shooting a solid 75 in afternoon windy conditions only to see some yahoo come in with a 68. I hate to be so negative, but cheating is the main reason why I never joined a club.