Gamesmenship or Bad Etiquette??

We have just come through the rounds of our B and C Grade Pennants. I caddied for my mate in C Grade. Needs a little guidance and confirmation at times, so I thought I'd help out. Anyway, I was talking to the Grade Captain before our first match and we are talking about the games that go on between the teams to put the others off. Well, I hadnt played Pennants for nearly 20 years back when I was a junior, so things were different. He's telling me about one of the guys in the Major Pennant team and the kind of things he does. One of which was to jiggle his keys or some coins in his pocket just as his opponent was about to hit. Not to the point that people on the nearby green could hear, but just enough to cause a mild distraction. This was among other things, but I found this one to be borderline bad etiquette even though he was from our club. Things I find as good gamesmenship are things like lying about the speed of the green when you either bashed it or didnt hit it hard enough, or pulling a certain club from the tee when you are second to hit causing the other player to reconsider his decision, and then changing back once he hits it miles short or long. At what point do you guys consider good gamesmenship becomes poor etiquette and what are the kinds of things you have done to your opponent that have nudged the line or maybe even crossed it.

Personally I think gamesmanship in itself is bad etiquette. I play golf to play the best I can on any given day. If my opponents beat me, good for them. If I beat them, I've had a good day for myself. I don't get into play mind games. There are two guys in my regular rotation of players that talk a lot of trash on the course. I just smile and get to my next shot. Just not my style.

"gamesmanship" is just an excuse to be an *******.

Completely agree.  Gamemanship really has no place on the golf course.  Everyone I know that does play those games are generally a$

I remember when I was simply on fire one day and dropping putts from all over the green. The guy I was playing against would repeatedly position himself so that his shadow would be near my line and in my peripheral line of sight. After about 8 holes I just stopped from my approach and looked up and said "Thank you." in a calm voice. Sank my 8ft putt (I'm so glad that I sank it after opening my mouth finally) and smiled at him. He knew damn well what he was doing but played it off as if he didn't. My buddy walked past and just laughed and said "If he stops doing that, what are you going to aim at?" - loud enough for the guy to hear. That probably burned him up a little.

Honestly, to me, I'm really never distracted. Now, I'm not that great of a golfer, but I'm fairly good. Not to sound conceited or something by saying I'm not distracted by anything. Things just don't really seem to take my attention away when they are not important or helpful in the situation. I actually simply focus harder and block it out. If only I had more years of practice under my belt I'd have both the skill and the mental game! I'm a happy weekend hacker though, so yeah... to end the rant, distract all you want. I'll crack a beer and keep swinging and laugh at you.

Trash talk is trash talk. I dont have time for that crap either, but its not what I would call gamesmanship. Thats just being a d!ck. Gamesmanship is used in just about every sport at both ametuer and professional levels. Its purely a strategy to gain an edge and can be, and should,  be done in the spirit of good sportsmanship. I certainly dont expect anyone would do it to a playing opponent during a stableford round on a Saturday morning during a regular club comp round. Things change when you start competing against other clubs and you dont even need to direct comments to your opponent. In fact, it works better if you talk to yourself or your team mate.

Bingo!!!!  Golf is supposed to be an honorable game, and trying to win by unhinging your opponent is bush league.  To me, such acts are simply an admission that he isn't good enough to win fairly.

The best answer is to just hit a good shot in spite of his actions, then turn and tell him that if he wants to eat those keys, just try that stunt again.

I think the example above of gimme putts is the only sort of gamesmanship that's legitimate.  Gamesmanship is strategy, not being a jerk.  Even pulling a club to try to encourage him to make the wrong selection is on the bogus side of things, IMO.  Play your game, let your opponent play his.  Beat him the right way.

In match play there is a place for gamesmanship I believe.  But gamesmanship is deciding when and when not to concede a putt or maybe changing the speed of play a little to break the rhythm when your opponent is on a roll.  But trash talk and misinformation and intentional distractions (noise, movement, etc.) are poor etiquette in my opinion.

I feel that gamesmanship is a game between frends who have agreed that that gamesmanship is the game today and not really golf.  It can be fun and entertaining if all agree.  But too often the people who dish it out cannot take it and friendships and even families are seriously damaged.  Also most people cannot agree where the line you don't cross is located.  Digs about wives and husbands cheating, and digs about special needs or terminally ill children are obvious taboos.  But you don't know where your friends buttons and achillies heels are hidden.  And a friendly dig can easily turn into a knife through the heart.

In competition to mess with another competitors equipment "his driver or brain" is a sign of a loser who is afraid to be beaten by a better player.

In my opinion, I will not play that dangerous game.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but when I am on the course with my pals we tend to go the exact opposite direction. Even if we're playing a buck a hole, we tend to help each other and be supportive. None of us are very low handicappers and pretty evenly matched. We seem to be genuinely happy for one another when the other guy plays a hole, a shot, a round well. I guess we just favor good sportsmanship rather than gamesmanship.....

Me and my friends do the same during our regular Saturday comp, even social rounds. I think people are forgetting the fact that my example was during Pennants (Im not sure what you guys would call it) and I was hoping to get an idea into other peoples experiences. I certainly do no not endorse this kind of thing outside of this form of competition. It just comes with the territory when you are playing people from other clubs during Pennants. We are talking about scratch players here, not weekend warriors like the rest of us. Love it or hate, its a part of sport. Remind me not to play poker with some of you guys .

Sorry to me the game of golf should not have the same sort of Gamesmenship as other sports like Baseball were you steal signs. To me Golf is special because you play that game with the intent of taking the high road. Golfers who call penalties on themselves. Being courtious of all other golfers. This idea of little things to upset the other person's game is not meant for the game of golf.

I'm sure it's hard to enforce, but I looked it up and rule 33-7 says that the committee may disqualify someone for a serious breach of etiquette, and one of only two examples in the extra info I could find of what qualifies as a "serious breach" is intentionally distracting a player.

In other words, if the rules committee members of the tournament were doing their job and your opponent was jingling his keys during your buddy's backswing in order to distract him, then the committee should disqualify him.  No penalty, DQ!  That sounds absolutely right to me.

Plain and simple - Golf is supposed to be the gentleman's game.

I'm not going to mess with anyone that is playing me seriously. In a casual round with friends, I know who I can mess with, how to mess with them and most importantly, how to make the casual round of golf fun .

When I'm out with my buddies, we'll mess with each other and have our fun. I'll miss a putt and my buddy will get me on the next hole's green when I pull out my putter. He'll walk over, grab my putter and shove it back in my bag and say "Try your purse this time, sally!" and we'll all laugh. When he chilly dips his next chip, I'll tell him to readjust his thong or ask him if his husband golfs.

If we're in a tournament though, the only thing you'll hear from me is a "nice shot" or encouragement, if that. I want that person to be on their best so that I know that if I lose, they had my number. If I win, they played well but I played better.

Making intentional noise while your opponent is playing is just bad etiquette but probably the kind of bad etiquette that would need an independent official to make a decision on.

For me the decision on whether I give a putt or don't is the nearest I get, generally I won't give anything but a tap in to win a hole anyway, but I wouldn't expect to be given one anyway. I play at my own pace, and I get frustrated if my partner is slower even in competition I might say something like "we need to try to keep up with the game ahead" if somebody is playing slowly but that's as far as I'll take it and there's no spirit of gamesmanship to it.

On the other side, I once had my bag fall over when my opponent was playing a chip which he miss hit and left himself a 25 footer, I gave him the putt and he might not have got up and down anyway.

Funniest gamesmanship I saw was an old guy I was playing in a winter league match, he had very bad legs so he used a single person ride on buggy. At the 10th he offered a sausage roll warmed on the engine of his buggy to me which was welcome it was very cold, but he didn't have a serviette for me only for himself :) as a result I got grease on my driver grip which didn't quite clear up the whole rest of the round...