Worst Cheating Incident you've ever witnessed

[needfasp3ed]

Just read this whole thread. Wow, bad timing considering I am playing in a scramble Saturday. Safe to say I will now be a bit skeptical, I never realized there was this amount of cheating out there.

Edit: And as far as the improving lies in high school golf posted earlier, thats exactly how it was at our high school meets as well here in Iowa.

[arnold palmtree]

[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.

[sui generis]

[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376712548' post='7692210']
[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.
[/quote]

Well, if you're unfamiliar with the Rules, it might seem silly.

[arnold palmtree]

[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376741148' post='7692950']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376712548' post='7692210']
[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.
[/quote]

Well, if you're unfamiliar with the Rules, it might seem silly.
[/quote]

Can you cite the rule and penalty assessed for a making a high quality joke.

Or are you not the pseudo-rule expert you're attempting to pass yourself off as?

[sui generis]

[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376743544' post='7693042']
[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376741148' post='7692950']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376712548' post='7692210']
[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.
[/quote]

Well, if you're unfamiliar with the Rules, it might seem silly.
[/quote]

Can you cite the rule and penalty assessed for a making a high quality joke.

Or are you not the pseudo-rule expert you're attempting to pass yourself off as?
[/quote]

Even "pseudo-rule expert(s)" are acquainted with the Definitions. In this case the definition of a "loose impediment" and Rule 23, which deals with a player's treatment of loose impediments. There were no penalties involved in this proper application of the Rules which seems to have your knickers in a twist.

[arnold palmtree]

[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376785342' post='7695904']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376743544' post='7693042']
[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376741148' post='7692950']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376712548' post='7692210']
[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.
[/quote]

Well, if you're unfamiliar with the Rules, it might seem silly.
[/quote]

Can you cite the rule and penalty assessed for a making a high quality joke.

Or are you not the pseudo-rule expert you're attempting to pass yourself off as?
[/quote]

Even "pseudo-rule expert(s)" are acquainted with the Definitions. In this case the definition of a "loose impediment" and Rule 23, which deals with a player's treatment of loose impediments. There were no penalties involved in this proper application of the Rules which seems to have your knickers in a twist.
[/quote]

It must be a rough life if that joke went over your head.

[Floris]

I caddied a young guy in our National Strokeplay championships. Three guys in the flight, one hit a ball into the woods, must have been at least 30 yards in. After 3-4 minutes of searching his caddy finds it at the edge of the woods. A few holes later he bogeys a hole, ends up a par on his card. Now the young bloke I caddied signed his card before finding out this shaved stroke. He ended up not going back to the commission about it, scared of a DQ himself.

Unfortunately my guy didn't make the cut, the cheater went on to get about the 20th place. Again: national Strokeplay championship! (For amateurs)

Worst I've seen during a match was a guy hitting his ball over a green into a bunker. He walked up to the pin, magically recovered his ball from the cup and quickly wrote down a birdie. I walked up to the back of the green where my ball was, saw his ball in the bunker. Called him out there, disqualified him on the spot and sent him packing. Nobody dares cheat with me, not then, not now. I call you out on it, don't care if you're the King of my little country, a famous actor or John Doe: no cheating in my book!

[JDW3]

I'm playing with a guy I out drive by 5-10 on every hole. I flush a 3 wood up the middle of a slight dog leg left, he hooks a 5 iron into the trees on the left and then claims he found his ball beside the green.

[miket_81]

I once saw 4 guys all hit it out of play in a 4 man scramble on a par 5.. The best shot ended up rolling in a water hazard. They said since we get a club-length we are going to use it to pull back and hit 2 from here.... HUH? We just looked at each other like wow.. It was the second day in champ flight but they hadn't played all that well and were pretty much out of it so we didn't make an issue of it.

[Tcdmb36]

My good friend is one of the worst cheaters I've seen...granted he only cheats himself. We started golfing regularly last year..this year the big goal of the summer is to break 90 as we both shot low 90s. First round after probably 5 mullys (3 on one hole) he announces an 87! I don't say anything because I know the way he is...finds every ball in the woods...misses a putt and says "not counting it wasn't really trying." So what I started doing is helping him cheat...I watch him every hole and after 2 drops and a mully I'll be the first to yell out what did you get a 5...and he always agrees! It's comical now especially since I've started shooting 80s consistently..it bothered me when I didn't.

His other move is golfing alone....always has an amazing round. Last weekend he shot a "40" on the front and went birdie, par, par before it got too dark. Frist, his game isn't that good..second if you're on that pace you finish..third reason I know its a lie...he asked me to come to the course at 1:30!!!!! No way it got dark lol

[spiffdogxl]

This thread is quite depressing.

[ratdg1]

[quote name='Tcdmb36' timestamp='1377213518' post='7728208']

His other move is golfing alone....always has an amazing round.
[/quote]

To be fair, I've played some of my best rounds when I've been alone and the course has been mostly empty. Not having to wait for my partners to take their shots and not having any conversations or other people around really let me get into a rhythm.

[TheDarkOne]

Anyone who has been around long enough and played in enough Club Championships, Scrambles (worst happens here), High School Tournaments, and even College golf has seen an ample amount of cheating.

The old I found the ball by the edge of woods is one of the most typical. Grounding in the bunker happens constantly.
Not that I saw mentioned but at the higher levels you start to notice spike marks surprisingly in the path to the hole where most people tend to want to put from, and I ain't talking about little ones. People coughing and sneezing at curious times. Guys trying to not find a ball etc.

Cheating at golf has been and will always be rampant.

[spiffdogxl]

[quote name='TheDarkOne' timestamp='1378320432' post='7797105']
Anyone who has been around long enough and played in enough Club Championships, Scrambles (worst happens here), High School Tournaments, and even College golf has seen an ample amount of cheating.

The old I found the ball by the edge of woods is one of the most typical. Grounding in the bunker happens constantly.
Not that I saw mentioned but at the higher levels you start to notice spike marks surprisingly in the path to the hole where most people tend to want to put from, and I ain't talking about little ones. People coughing and sneezing at curious times. Guys trying to not find a ball etc.

Cheating at golf has been and will always be rampant.
[/quote]

Yeah the grounding in the bunker is so hard to call too because all evidence is wiped clean in less than a second. When I was playing in high school just about every player did that.

[leet793]

[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376793748' post='7696660']
[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376785342' post='7695904']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376743544' post='7693042']
[quote name='sui generis' timestamp='1376741148' post='7692950']
[quote name='Eye2+' timestamp='1376712548' post='7692210']
[quote name='Desert Golf' timestamp='1340776789' post='5175692']
You guys won't believe this one. It was 1999 in Phoenix and I witnessed a dozen guys out of the gallery move a HUGE boulder out of the way for a pro and they called it a "loose impediment". LOL
[/quote]

The most criminal thing in this thread is that this post took more than two weeks to get a like.
[/quote]

Well, if you're unfamiliar with the Rules, it might seem silly.
[/quote]

Can you cite the rule and penalty assessed for a making a high quality joke.

Or are you not the pseudo-rule expert you're attempting to pass yourself off as?
[/quote]

Even "pseudo-rule expert(s)" are acquainted with the Definitions. In this case the definition of a "loose impediment" and Rule 23, which deals with a player's treatment of loose impediments. There were no penalties involved in this proper application of the Rules which seems to have your knickers in a twist.
[/quote]

It must be a rough life if that joke went over your head.
[/quote]
He must be used to it by now.

[middie8]

[quote name='Colum' timestamp='1340745813' post='5172822']
[quote name='pssywgn' timestamp='1340743965' post='5172644']
1. Playing in a junior golf camp in probably 1996 a kid on the 9th hole hit it probably 30 yards OB into the woods on the right. We all look till the limit. He 'finds' it. I then watched him toss it by hand into the fairway from an impossible scenario. Of course being a junior golf camp, they refused to do anything about the kid. Little brat grew up to be a cheater too. With his dad, in every tournament they were together in, they won their flight. Imagine that?

2. I refuse to play in any 4-man superball tournaments ever again. None. When you get to play with your own group, with no outsiders to record score, you're gonna get some "59" and "58" scores for 18 holes from guys that between them couldn't do better than 110 for 18 holes. That's just not fun competition when you know a third of the field is cheating as hard as they can.
[/quote]

I never knew the cheating had become so widespread in my region either until the last few years. I only retook the game recently and reported cheating at least was relatively rare with everyone trusting everyone else, but its quite bad now apparently. One 4 index player told me his work colleagues who are hackers and knew to the game invited him to play in a team event so he agreed as he gets business off them. On the first hole he said one of the group, the guy paying for it, hit his ball into the rough and from the fairway he couldn't see the ball, then just before he hits the shot he sees the white ball sitting up nicely in the rough, so 4index asks him what is going on, he says "I don't play golf like that, anymore of this and I am walking off". He says the guy protested innocence first, then apologised, on the the second hole he said the exact same thing happened and continued right up until the end. He is a fine player himself and with the other 3 cheating they had a very good score, the 4 index told me during the round he used his subtetly to manouvre the marking off the card from the guy who had it from the start. When they walked off the 18th he says to the others, thanks very much and was heading for his car to drive home even though there was a meal included, and one of them says "hold on, we must add up the scores and sign the card first, we have a good score here" and 4 index replies to them, the card is in the bin and don't ever ask me to play with you again!!!
[/quote]

now that is a good story. good for him

[Largechris1]

Lots of good stories, but still a very depressing thread....

What I have done when playing with a cheat is make two scoring columns - his real score that I have witnessed, and his claimed score.

Problem is policing someone take a bit of concentration as you keep track of was it 2 or 3 oob and can affect your own game.

[middie8]

[quote name='Joey76' timestamp='1376503994' post='7676268']
Not so much an inccident but a continuation of cheating.

I play a guy my club who is alway sandbagging his HDCP.. His HDCP is 14 yet on tournaments he regularly shoots 10 or under... this isnt just for one or two tourny's but all of them...I refuse to play in my club tounraments anymore...
I play to win and dont mind losing only if it is fair.... that for me is the lowest form of person that is so desperate to win they will cheat at all costs.
[/quote]

Report him to the handicap committee if you have one at your club. if not maybe the USGA/GHIN website has this as a topic. They will look at his non tournament scores versus his tournament scores and there is an equation that will literally tell you whether he is sandbagging or not. I've see it happen to another sandbagger. The club went to him and said "from now on your tournament handicap will be x" and it was based on a calculation.

[Largechris1]

[quote name='Emjayh' timestamp='1343525813' post='5371216']
The majority of these stories are almost inbelievable and yet at the same everyones own personal experiences make them totally credible.

Most appear crudely blatant and almost laughable at what you are expected to believe from these cheaters............but also be aware of the subtle cheat.
You'll know the type of action I mean, you look at something and think did I just see him do 'xyz' or did I imagine it.. it all happens too quickly.

His ball is in 4" rough and to check it's his, slams his size 12 Footjoy right behind it and flattens out the rough or he lines it up with a driver first to flatten things out and then goes with his 7 iron.

The ones who when you're in the left rough and they're in the right rough suddenly tell you I'm just gonna mark and lift to check it's mine and replace it out of the divot. Yes, you should have the opportunity to observe the lifting but do we really want to run over 40 yards to check?

"I'll just take relief from this casual water" he's on the other fairway and relief just happens to take the trees out of his line of play. You've already done 14 holes without any casual water...do I really want to shoot over and check.

However, let's look at the positives........

I was playing match play my opponent is on the apron of a par 4 for 2 and I'm on the green 2' from the pin for 3 [and he's giving me a stoke]. His turn to go, he addresses the ball and then picks it up. I say what are you doing " the ball moved after I addressed it your hole" ....I saw nothing.

Another time [stroke play] a player scrambles down and plays his shot from the water hazard onto the green, [ I cannot see him] As we walk to the green he says that's an extra 2 for me. He said to get into hazard I had to step over this big branch so I tossed it to one side..wasn't till I was walking back out I realised it was actually partly in the hazard.
[/quote]

To which for both examples your correct response is:

Thanks for telling me, you are correct, now please replace the ball and continue playing the hole without penalty as you have gained no advantage and I enjoy playing my matches in the best spirit possible.

[HitEmTrue]

[quote name='Largechris1' timestamp='1378999680' post='7838177']
To which for both examples your correct response is:

Thanks for telling me, you are correct, now please replace the ball and continue playing the hole without penalty as you have gained no advantage and I enjoy playing my matches in the best spirit possible.
[/quote]

As good as that sounds, you will get a lot of disagreement here for that response....being that we are in a rules forum, and that response can lead to DQ.

[DDNorCal]

We had a member who was a multi-club member and happened to also be the handicap director at his other club. Guy was winning everything in sight for awhile and we couldn't figure out how he was doing it (I was Handicap Chairman). We looked, looked, looked, did spreadsheets, compared everything we could get our hands on. Finally caught him. He was changing his scores in the GHIN system from the computer of his other club! This was when the GHIN system only notified you of record changes in a paper report they mailed every month or so. Unfortunately, we were not watching that report very carefully. Plus it always had legit stuff on it, new members, address changes, etc. When confronted he said he was changing his scores because he couldn't play to an 11. So whenever his handicap went below X, he modified the scores! He was sent packing...LOL!

[Ca3l]

Heh, what a depressing thread is right. Not many surprise me though!

Had a tourney this past weekend after an incredible amount of rain on a course that just doesn't drain well. Due to the water or course (should've just cancelled tourney but I digress) players were given ability to move ball and drop no closer to hole if they were plugged in the rough, or clean and drop their ball if they landed anywhere in fairway.

Well, it is safe to say that I encountered a great deal of cheating in my Sat pairing and on my Sun pairing.
Most notable was the 12th hole - a dogleg right. This kid rips his drive way left, and it's really obviously deep in the trees - trouble is, I'm the only one who watched this kid drive and he knows it. I ask if he's gonna hit a provisional and he says "why would I?" OK, buddy.
Everyone tees, and we walk up to our balls. The left side is quite wet and quite tall, admittedly. The kid looks in the rough for a few minutes and professes that his ball has plugged and is unfindable, therefore he can take a free drop where he thinks it landed. The other two guys in our group shrug their shoulders and let him play on, hitting two from the left side like no big deal. Come on!

The same kid also hit one directly behind a tree, called it standing water, and dropped his ball right next to fairway. What a cheater.

I play in college and there's almost always a cheater in the group. Some guys will mark their ball to the side or stick it directly underneath the ball, and then replace it 1/2-1" ahead of the marker when it's their turn to putt! One kid got DQ'ed for being caught using a foot wedge by a rules official. Trust me, there is much more going on out there than you think.

[Cwing]

When playing around I lost a ball. 2 holes later a guy in my group was putting with a TM tp with green sharpie line and 2 dots. My ball really wasn't gone, guess who had it. Same guy also marks n front of ball and then returns ball in front of mark and gains about 6". I don't play with him anymore.

[bruinsPATSirish]

Taking my PAT for the first time last year, watched the most blatant and ridiculous cheat I've seen. The kid tees off on a dogleg right and tries to cut the corner with driver over trees. Clearly hits the trees and doesn't make the corner and falls down into some gnarly thorns and crud, CLEAR AS DAY. Other gentleman in my group pulls his left just into the tree line. I was riding with him so we go left and search for his ball. While we are looking the other dink yells, "FOUND IT!" Standing in the middle of the fairway 50 yards out... We both look at each other and say what???

We called him out on it and he was an asshat about it, we had to bring the Committee out to rule. He ruled that the ball was in because he identified it as his and we couldn't find his ACTUAL ball. We didn't speak another word to him for the whole 36 holes on the day. It didn't end up mattering because he missed the target score by like 20 strokes anyways.

[rmofo83]

[quote name='isaacbm' timestamp='1340743464' post='5172602']
Sadly, I could fill a whole thread but 2 stand out the most

1. Notorius cheater hits a white titleist balata with his name " doodles" on the ball into a thick forest with under brush.. Comes out with a orange kroflight. I realize I just dated myself but this one really stood out. I was a teenager in one of my first city events and I just looked at him sideways thinking " is this idiot kidding here or what?" He wasn't kidding. I told the committee and at first they didn't believe me. Why would they, it was so stupid they thought I was kidding. When they confronted him, he said, " I didn't want to play tomorrow anyway and quietly left. The next event he was back like nothing ever happened. Weird.

2 One of our buddies always "finds" his ball in a nice lie on the edge of the trees right after he hit it deep into the under growth. So one time I found his ball and put it in my pocket to see what he would do. He "found" his ball 60 yards up in a perfect lie with no branches blocking his swing. I said " is that really your ball? I mean I thought it went in way back here somewhere..." " must have got a good bounce."

Another time I parked the cart on his ball in the rough and he found it 90 yards ahead of where I was parked. He marks his ball with one of those plastic half moons that leave red lines all over his pro v's so there no mistaking his ball. I can identify it from 25 yards away.

Trouble is if I actually call him on it, that will be the end of us being golf buddies. what do you do?
[/quote]

Maybe if you didn't keep on hiding his ball he wouldn't need to cheat??? I'm pretty sure there is a rule relating to interfering with your fellow golfer's balls

[isaacbm]

[quote name='rmofo83' timestamp='1379502881' post='7870365']
[quote name='isaacbm' timestamp='1340743464' post='5172602']
Sadly, I could fill a whole thread but 2 stand out the most

1. Notorius cheater hits a white titleist balata with his name " doodles" on the ball into a thick forest with under brush.. Comes out with a orange kroflight. I realize I just dated myself but this one really stood out. I was a teenager in one of my first city events and I just looked at him sideways thinking " is this idiot kidding here or what?" He wasn't kidding. I told the committee and at first they didn't believe me. Why would they, it was so stupid they thought I was kidding. When they confronted him, he said, " I didn't want to play tomorrow anyway and quietly left. The next event he was back like nothing ever happened. Weird.

2 One of our buddies always "finds" his ball in a nice lie on the edge of the trees right after he hit it deep into the under growth. So one time I found his ball and put it in my pocket to see what he would do. He "found" his ball 60 yards up in a perfect lie with no branches blocking his swing. I said " is that really your ball? I mean I thought it went in way back here somewhere..." " must have got a good bounce."

Another time I parked the cart on his ball in the rough and he found it 90 yards ahead of where I was parked. He marks his ball with one of those plastic half moons that leave red lines all over his pro v's so there no mistaking his ball. I can identify it from 25 yards away.

Trouble is if I actually call him on it, that will be the end of us being golf buddies. what do you do?
[/quote]

Maybe if you didn't keep on hiding his ball he wouldn't need to cheat??? I'm pretty sure there is a rule relating to interfering with your fellow golfer's balls
[/quote] I hope you're kidding with this? Can't tell....

[dlygrisse]

[quote name='WildDog06' timestamp='1340728089' post='5170582']
[quote name='MarkFromTheUK' timestamp='1340727106' post='5170456']
The worst case of cheating I ever witnessed was at Stoke Poges Golf Club in 1964. A rather portly businessman had hit his ball in to the left rough, and his Korean, bowler hat wearing caddy rolled a ball down his trouser leg. The other player, a Scotsman knew he had cheated because he was standing on the original ball.

In the end the Scotsman won through. However, the Korean caddy was furious, and went on a statue decapitating and ball crushing rampage.
[/quote]

Caddying seems like an odd job for someone of that temperament.
[/quote]Was it a Slazenger 1 or a Slazenger 7?

[taporsnap17]

[quote name='ratdg1' timestamp='1378312641' post='7796441']
[quote name='Tcdmb36' timestamp='1377213518' post='7728208']
His other move is golfing alone....always has an amazing round.
[/quote]

To be fair, I've played some of my best rounds when I've been alone and the course has been mostly empty. Not having to wait for my partners to take their shots and not having any conversations or other people around really let me get into a rhythm.
[/quote]

For sure. But it goes both ways... Thankfully there's no one to witness a club throwing rage. However, as a rank hacker, it's kinda depressing when there's no one to verify that I stuck a shot to with 2 ft for birdie. No one would ever believe me!

[6thFairway]

[quote name='isaacbm' timestamp='1350098383' post='5788057']
[quote name='Quasimoto' timestamp='1350095045' post='5787847']
[quote name='isaacbm' timestamp='1349442625' post='5754091']
[quote name='Veng' timestamp='1349383011' post='5751183']
[quote name='gambit' timestamp='1349373740' post='5750267']
So here's a question, and maybe it's stupid. What's the point of cheating? Is it just bragging rights and maybe a few gifts when cheaters know that they really didn't win? Has a cheater ever explained this to anyone here...I'm really really curious. I thought about cheating once when I was 14 because my legs were really tight on a mile race through a hillside trail and when I came to a turn off that would shorten my run I just ran past it. The closer I got to that turn off the sicker I got as I thought about cheating. I'd rather lose than win as a cheat, and I can't rob anyone who deserves to win. I just don't get it.
[/quote]
The problem is you have morals. Remove the morals, or increase the reward and you'll get it. Would you steal a pack of gum from a store if I would give you a billion dollars? Would you steal a billion dollars for a pack of gum? Most every moral delima falls somewhere inbetween. Everyone has thier own point on the scale where they'd do it. And despite what some might claim, everyone would steal a pack of gum for a billion dollars if actually presented with the opportunity.
[/quote]


Drunk man to woman:" would you sleep with me for 10 million dollars?"
woman " Well I supposed I would, yes... "
man " how about for $100? "
Woman " Why I never! What kind of woman do you think I am?!! "
Man: " We've already established what kind of woman you are, now we're just haggling over price...."
[/quote]

This I believe, is from Winston Churchill engaging a socialite at a party.
[/quote]

Good catch!

There was another one where he called her fat or ugly or something and she says" Sir, you're drunk!" And he says " yes but I'll be sober in the morning and you'll still be ugly!"

Would have loved to party with Winston Churchill!
[/quote]

Not to further sidetrack this thread but I think it was Lady Astor.

Famously, she once said "If you were my husband, I'd poison your drink!" to Churchill. He replied, "If I were your husband, I'd drink it." Boom.

[Hardluckster]

If you are playing casual rounds where 'fun' is the only requirement I see no problem with people taking whatever liberties with the rules that you want. In a competition situation, however, if I witness a player break a rule, record an incorrect score, or take any other liberties on the course I will let him know about it. Unless it is an obvious act of cheating, I will at first assume that the infraction was made without intent. If I observe the infraction before it is made, I will always try to advise the player before he takes the incorrect action, but I will tell him nonetheless. I try to always be as judicial as possible, but I believe that the rules should be followed and policed by every player.

Usually, people who blatantly cheat think that they are simply so stealth that nobody else realizes they cheat. What is actually much more common is that almost everyone realizes that the player cheats but just won't confront him. As for blatant cheating, I will always let the player know that I am aware that he was dishonest. I feel that "if it doesn't bother a player to cheat, It doesn't bother me to let that player know that I am aware that he cheated".