Still a little steamed....

tylerv · April 30, 2006

Rules about starting times

Well I just got back from a tournament I should have played... but was turned around b/c I was 5 minutes late. Now thats ok if it was totally my fault (slept in for example). However, the reason I was late is that I went to the wrong address (THE ADDRESS GIVEN TO ME BY THE ORGANIZERS OF THE TOURNAMENT). When I couldnt find the course I asked around and did the whole thing you do when looking for something. I decided to call the course and they were like "Oh no, we're like 1/2 an hour from there." Well needless to say I am still a little upset and I think that if it is their fault maybe they could bend the rules.. maybe just wishful thinking and back luck. It was a qualifier after all..

Anything like this ever happened to you?

Had to vent...
thanks

golfernut78 · April 30, 2006

i use to do a lot of mountain bike and road bike races and always had it figured out where i was going, and would also get there extra early to warm up even if i was late. you've got a complaint with the wrong address, but with today's technology its easy to confirm addresses.

MBuckler · April 30, 2006

really only your fault...

were you really planning on getting there only 30min early...to a play in qualifier...at a course you'd never played at before? come on, you're not gonna get much sympathy.

crew_138 · April 30, 2006

Didn't this just happen to someone at the Nationwide tournement?

300_yard_drives · April 30, 2006

that happened to me 5 years ago in a junior tournament and they assessed me a 2 stroke penalty and i tok an 8 on the first hole with 4 penalty strokes. i was pissed at the tournament director for not knowing how to put comas in the right space for tournament directions. I cussed out the tournament director afterwards and he was like its not my fault u havent been here before

rhnh7063 · April 30, 2006

Sounds to me like you learned a valuable lesson. Life will throw curves at you, you need to be prepared in advance. Always verify addresses for anything important, and if you have an important appointment make SURE you know where it is/how to get there. You never know when this will save you from blowing a job interview, showing up at your wedding on time, etc...

bogeyk · April 30, 2006

When I go on vacation I always go to the course I am going to play the day before and take down how long it took. I just hit balls there so it's not a wasted trip. I feel bad for you, but to cut it that close is risky.

kmrev · May 1, 2006

What Tournament, what Tour is this?

arkstorm · May 1, 2006

I'm going to take the other side of the argument from most posters here because nothing in tylerv's original post makes it clearly his fault...

Its not his responsibility to double check the directions given to him by the tournament directors. He didn't recieve these directions from a disinterested 3rd party, but from those in charge of putting on the tournament. Their mistake creates a conflict of interest in deciding to exclude him for being late when his tardiness was clearly their fault.

Furthermore, he has no specific duty to show up early in order to make sure the directions to the course were correct. While that may be a safe thing to do, he certainly is not obligated to do so.

On the other hand, the tournament directors do have a duty, that if they supply directions, to supply correct directions.

Hypothetical: Suppose tylerv is the player to beat but the tournament director's son is clearly the second best golfer in the field...would you still conclude it was tylerv's duty to double check the directions if the director purposely gave bad directions knowing that it would increase the chance that tylerv would not make it on time and be disqualified?

In my mind this situation raises some questions regarding fundamental fairness. The rules of golf specifically address lateness to the tee and give the committee the choice to add 2 penalty strokes. That would have been closer to fair in this situation. However, the truly fair solution would have been to allow tylerv to play without a penalty due to the totality of the circumstances including, but not limited to, the fact that he was only late because of faulty directions given to him by the tournament director and he was only five minutes late, at that. In my mind, finishing the day five minutes later is a good value in exchange for doing the fair thing.

alcap26 · May 1, 2006

It is ultimately the players responsibility that they arrive at the course on time...no matter the directions given. I always double check directions if I am getting them from someone I do not know. I hate it that it happened but the rules are the rules and in the game of golf you have to follow them. If they let you go late then they have set a precedant and anyone can go off late.

KingOAces · May 1, 2006

well.....I was at a tournament once and was waiting to tee off at the first tee 20 min before my tee time was. There was a rain delay on the first green and my tee time came and went and i began to get worried. I made a comment on how were gonna finish so late to a friend of mine and he says " Ya and those people teeing off at 10 are gonna be one our heels all day." My jaw dropped to the ground. Weel to make a long story short, they wouldn't let me play. Still a little po'ed about that.

KinG

MBuckler · May 2, 2006

Its not his responsibility to double check the directions given to him by the tournament directors.

he wasnt given directions by the tournament directors, he was given an address, which, unfortunate as it may be, was incorrect. ultimately only he is responsible for getting himself to the course in time for his tee time.

arkstorm · May 2, 2006

Its not his responsibility to double check the directions given to him by the tournament directors.

he wasnt given directions by the tournament directors, he was given an address, which, unfortunate as it may be, was incorrect. ultimately only he is responsible for getting himself to the course in time for his tee time.

What a perfectly coarse response...spoken like a true philistine!

The tournament directors provided an address that was the wrong address. He showed up 30 minutes in advance (at the wrong address)...plenty of time to warm up and get to the tee! But not enough time to get to the right address.

Kind of reminds me of those old stories about how southern states used to prevent African Americans from entering the legal bar, they would give them the wrong address for the location of the bar exam!

A lesson from history: When "rules" are used to excuse inequity the rules are being misapplied.

But hey, the rules are the rules, right?

NPVWhiz · May 2, 2006

that happened to me 5 years ago in a junior tournament and they assessed me a 2 stroke penalty and i tok an 8 on the first hole with 4 penalty strokes. i was pissed at the tournament director for not knowing how to put comas in the right space for tournament directions. I cussed out the tournament director afterwards and he was like its not my fault u havent been here before

I'm curious. Did you end up playing that tournament again?

I have reservations about whether or not the tournament director actually wrote the instructions, but the larger point I'd like to make is that nobody makes a dime off of a junior event.

Think about that for a minute. The AJGA, and other event series organizers are not in it for the money.

Most of these people are donating their time, at the expense of time with their own families, and the idea that as a tournament director (when I've spent dozens of hours that I could otherwise be using to actually play golf or spend time with my family), I'd have to suffer some teenager standing in front of me spewing profanity is just too much.

This is just a gentle bit of advice for the juniors on the board. Think about the consequences before doing something like this.

At best, a very forgiving tournament director is going to show some compassion and say (I've been there, I'll cut him a break).

But if you run afoul of someone with slightly higher standards, here's what could happen.

1. You'll be suspended from the event in the future.

2. The tournament director will call other tournament directors or the series organizer and have you removed from eligibility.

3. The tournament director might actually go to the lengths of calling his other tournament director friends, his contacts in the college recruiting arena, etc.

Think before you unleash that temper toward people who are volunteering their time for you.