Partners Who Cheat on Scorecards

[saevel25]

25 minutes ago, wakefield724 said:

Yea I think his situation is he got us all into golf and was better than us because he played years before. Now we all practice multiple times per week and take it seriously, and he is lowering his scores to keep up since he does not practice nor improve. Not only does he cheat on the scorecard, he drops balls when he loses them and says he found his, picks up putts that roll past the pin 8 feet and counts it, and admittedly told me he says things to get into our heads to mess up our round such as "You are swinging weird today" or "Why are you standing so close to the ball."

I am sure I am ranting at this point. Just honestly the most annoying person you can play a round of golf with.  

Yea, If your matches are by the rules of golf, then call him out. Its his job and your job to uphold the rules. 

If he makes those comments, just say, "Nah, it's fine" and walk on. Just being confident is good enough to shut most people up. 

It sucks, but at some point someone needs to be upfront with him about the BS. 

[ChetlovesMer]

[Vinsk]

Pretty simple really:

’Put me down for a 5’

No…tee shot, skull, 3 over the green, on in 4 and you 2-putted for a six.

‘No…no…it’s a five.’

Shut the f*** up.

Six stays.

[TourSpoon]

I would definitely call him out. Either by recanting his shots at each hole or when he says he beat you then say you really shot a 72 using his counting method. If you really want to shut him up, play a $20 nassau under the rules of golf. 

[ShawnSum]

21 hours ago, wakefield724 said:

Our group normally would not care but this guy literally rubs it in our faces if he scores lower. 

I feel like if this is going on then it's absolutely okay to be as big of a rules aficionado as possible and while you're doing this be as loud and blatant as possible to let the entire group know how much a total idiot the guy is being. 1 of 2 things will happen. They will own up and start playing correctly or they'll just stop playing with you guys, probably make up some excuse of how he isn't enjoying the game anymore or some BS.

[wakefield724]

23 hours ago, iacas said:

You have four choices, really, in order of most aggressive to least:

• Wager an almost uncomfortable amount of money ($250?) on a round. Or play a $100 Nassau or something. Insist on playing by the Rules of Golf.
• Keep track of his actual score, call him on his bullshit, and put an end to it. Point out that you'll still play with him if he shoots his actual 105 because you're buddies, but he's being a dick to you guys when he claims to have beaten you.
• Write him a letter or an email. Keep a copy of it in case he just deletes it or needs reminded of it now and then. Be polite but tell him that he is a cheat and you'd prefer it to stop, or you may want to find other people to play with or whatever.
• Decide not to care, then stop caring. Just let him cheat.

Do whatever suits your personality and relationship the best.

I am going to take your advice and choose the first option. Give him 10 strokes and bet $100 as long as we count our strokes and take penalty strokes. 

It is frustrating. We have been legit best friends since middle school. The amount of cheating every week would mess with anyone. Not only does he cheat on scorecards, he admitted to purposely saying things to our partners to mess with their rounds such as "your swing looks really weird today" or "Why are you standing so close to the ball". Just small things he knows will get in our heads. Like most of you, I just want to enjoy a round with my friends and watch everyone improve. This kind of golf makes it not as enjoyable. 

[iacas]

Good luck. Report back!

[Missouri Swede]

3 hours ago, wakefield724 said:

Not only does he cheat on scorecards, he admitted to purposely saying things to our partners to mess with their rounds such as "your swing looks really weird today" or "Why are you standing so close to the ball". Just small things he knows will get in our heads.

Sounds like you have to come up with your own things to say to/ask him. Or learn to ignore it. "Do you inhale or exhale on the backswing? Are you sure?"--over-used, I know.

[caton160]

On 6/8/2021 at 3:51 PM, wakefield724 said:

Anyone else play with people who obviously cheat on the scorecards? How do you address the issue? One of our weekend partners now progressed to the point of taking 15+ strokes off his score per round. Example: We count 9 strokes on a par 4. He says he shot a 6.

For me, it entirely depends on if

A) they mean it

B) we're playing for something

C) they're better than me lol

And if we're playing for something and they fluff their ball up, I'll definitely say something

[Sean_D]

Keep two score cards.

On the first score card, record your actual score.

On the second card, keep your score for your competition with him. If he shaves two strokes off his score, shave two off yours. Repeat for each hole. and at the end give him your "adjusted" score. 

Turnabout is fair play.

[PeaceFrogg]

Just use a friendly match play, no money has to be involved. If we have a foursome, it's team best ball, threesome it's skins and twosome it's singles. That way you need his score and can call him out after every hole. He'll fall in line very quickly. Our group never has to call out anybody. You have a clear winner/loser, so who cares what he puts on his scorecard after that? If he's reporting a handicap, he's only hurting himself.

Edited June 21, 2021 by PeaceFrogg

[Esox]

Filling in on a league I watched the other twosome in out 4 some give each other putts,and some were very doubtful. This league pays all different kinds of ways, but there is no payout for best score modification. I mentioned the putts to my partner and he said it was wrong but didn't want to make waves. Being a sort of guest, I just shut up and remembered to never wager against these two......

[Shindig]

4 hours ago, Esox said:

Filling in on a league I watched the other twosome in out 4 some give each other putts,and some were very doubtful. This league pays all different kinds of ways, but there is no payout for best score modification. I mentioned the putts to my partner and he said it was wrong but didn't want to make waves. Being a sort of guest, I just shut up and remembered to never wager against these two......

Or wager against them, but watch them closely and play strict rules.  After all, their handicaps are probably treating their concessions as sunk.

Three players in my club's match play qualifier were DQ'd for taking gimmes during the qualifier.  Those are a no-no when it's medal play for a match play qualifier. 

[pganapathy]

You really need to call out your cheating partner.  Never allow it to continue.  Otherwise you will either get bitter about it or refuse to play with him.

[mcanadiens]

11 hours ago, Esox said:

Filling in on a league I watched the other twosome in out 4 some give each other putts,and some were very doubtful. This league pays all different kinds of ways, but there is no payout for best score modification. I mentioned the putts to my partner and he said it was wrong but didn't want to make waves. Being a sort of guest, I just shut up and remembered to never wager against these two......

In these kind of situations, it is often the message from the top or lack of it that sets the tone.

The head of the league, outing or other event needs to make it clear the rules are to be followed and if there are any conditions outside the ordinary.

You'll always have cheaters, but failing to make expectations clear allows Joe Amateur to use his imagination.

[ChetlovesMer]

12 hours ago, Esox said:

Filling in on a league I watched the other twosome in our 4 some give each other putts, and some were very doubtful. 

Oh my God. I've never seen that before. That's actually kind of hilarious. 2 feet away. "Pick it up." ... 8 feet away. "Pick it up." ... Barely on the green. "Pick it up." ... On the teebox. "Pick it up." 

I really think I would have said something. "Come on, guys. You cannot concede a putt to your playing partner." 

Those guys must have some serious cojones to even try that. 

[Vinsk]

14 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Those guys must have some serious cojones to even try that. 

And the ones who say nothing, are lacking them.

[Elmer]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Oh my God. I've never seen that before. That's actually kind of hilarious. 2 feet away. "Pick it up." ... 8 feet away. "Pick it up." ... Barely on the green. "Pick it up." ... On the teebox. "Pick it up." 

I really think I would have said something. "Come on, guys. You cannot concede a putt to your playing partner." 

Those guys must have some serious cojones to even try that. 

In my league we concede or give putts all the time. It is up to player and to maintain a pace of play (some guys are super slow causing 3 hour to play 9. I am the one behind those players).

Giving a putt is at your opponents discretion. It is usually within a foot or 2, or if you are 4 putting for a 10 (since Ghin will wipe that score down anyway).
I have never seen someone give an 8 foot or 30 foot gimmie.