Handicap - whats going on?

[kregan]

I went out again the other day and the same thing happen. I guess it is common place. It really doesn't bother me at all since I am just trying to get better and play my own game.

I did have to move my ball once today. It landed on a system of tree roots that was out of the ground about 1". The ball was actually on some of the knots of the roots and no way was I going to hit off it and risk hurting my arm. I moved the ball back about 4" onto the dirt.

[Avid Golfer]

Whats funny I just realized...

I don't mind new players (who are just learning the game) doing it either.

The other players that are doing it are just shooting themselves in the foot. It will just put them at a disadvantage when they are in offical competiton, and makes it easier for the rest of us to beat them. The players who bother me are the sandbaggers who post higher scores then they should so that they'll have an advantage when money and tournament titles are on the line.

[Dent]

I don't mind new players (who are just learning the game) doing it either.

I've never been a victim of that.

But that seems almost illegal. Almost like a money scam.

[shortgrass lover]

Since I play a lot of tournaments and play high school golf where we have to play the ball as it lies, I never touch or move my ball unless it is on the green and is marked. And if a guy im playing with does that, I stop worrying about his score b/c i know it's not true. I also finish everything, and do not apply the double-par rule. If it's ever needed

[ChinBo]

I did have to move my ball once today. It landed on a system of tree roots that was out of the ground about 1". The ball was actually on some of the knots of the roots and no way was I going to hit off it and risk hurting my arm. I moved the ball back about 4" onto the dirt.

See this I dont mind. If I am playing a social round and someone wants to move his ball off a root, or off a rock etc. sure go ahead, clubs are expensive.

[Lefty731PM]

I do see this a lot but mostly with gimmes(or "short" tap ins) most gimmes that some people ive played with take are like 5 foot testers and then they they put par when they could have made bogey.

There are no gimmes in stroke play. Only match play.

these people can do what they like, but they shouldn't talk about what scores they have.

[Dub]

So this is my first year really playing and tracking scores with Scorecard software.

This really is something that is gonna bite them in the rear. Trust and believe that you are not the first one whose played with them to notice the liberties they take on the course. It simply tarnishes their reputations.

Take confidence in knowing that when you are called on to cover your handicap adjusted score in any type event that you will give a solid showing. These guys are gonna come up short every time because their handicap does not match their true scoring capacity. Also, gimme puts are a dangerous thing. I've seen them hurt guys in a lot of pressure rounds where money was on the line. Later in the round when things got more intense, their opponent quit telling them they were gimmes. The tension mounted for the player over the 3 footers that they were forced to hole out. Keep your game up. Keep scoring yourself righteously and you'll be the better for it.

[Ruari]

I did have to move my ball once today. It landed on a system of tree roots that was out of the ground about 1". The ball was actually on some of the knots of the roots and no way was I going to hit off it and risk hurting my arm. I moved the ball back about 4" onto the dirt.

Have you come across the 'unplayable lie' rule? If you deem your ball unplayable you may, under penalty of one stroke, do any ONE of the following:

1. drop the ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball was lying. 2. Drop the ball as far back as you wish on a line that keeps the spot where the ball was lying between you and the flag. 3. Play another ball from where you played the original shot. Note - there is a one-shot penalty for doing this. If your ball is within tree roots and you reckon you can't hit it without hurting yourself or damaging your clubs it's quite legitimate to declare it unplayable and do one of the three things above. It isn't legitimate to move the ball somewhere more convenient without calling a penalty on yourself. Maybe in a social game, so long as your partners agree - and you have to tell them what you're doing. And no, there is no exemption if no-one else saw it. Golf is a game in which one calls penalties on oneself regardless of what anyone else saw. All this stuff about 4-foot gimmies - i would not play with someone who did that. It's cheating.

[jfrain2004]

Played a match play there last week against a good 12 handicapper, on the first tee I figured this guy has played before and he smoked it every time, beating me for distance on each of the first 9 holes. I gave him a few 3 footer pressies along the way. Then on 10 he had a 1 1/2 footer on a slight down hill slope. I was 3 down and I could see he was waiting for me to tell him to lift it but I just stood there. He took his putter out and proceeded to shave it past the hole and ended up 5 ft away and he was RIPPING. I could see he was always giving himself gimmes from that distance and so couldn't hack it when the pressure was on. His game fell apart fro the back 9. I beat him 4 and 3 lol. Motto, alway putt out even when your on your own from all distances, it becomes second nature.

[Dub]

Played a match play there last week against a good 12 handicapper, on the first tee I figured this guy has played before and he smoked it every time, beating me for distance on each of the first 9 holes. I gave him a few 3 footer pressies along the way. Then on 10 he had a 1 1/2 footer on a slight down hill slope. I was 3 down and I could see he was waiting for me to tell him to lift it but I just stood there. He took his putter out and proceeded to shave it past the hole and ended up 5 ft away and he was RIPPING. I could see he was always giving himself gimmes from that distance and so couldn't hack it when the pressure was on. His game fell apart fro the back 9. I beat him 4 and 3 lol. Motto, alway putt out even when your on your own from all distances, it becomes second nature.

Excellent outcome!!!!!!

[kregan]

That is a shame, I didn't know that would be a penalty. You could tell the root system has been exposed for years because it has bark on it! ;) and it is a good 4 feet all around the tree. The tree is pretty close to the fairway and they really should add soil around it or call it GUR.

Owell, I will go back and add a stroke to that hole in my scorecard.

Have you come across the 'unplayable lie' rule? If you deem your ball unplayable you may, under penalty of one stroke, do any ONE of the following:

[jasongst]

I am not trying to be snobby or anything and I never say anything to the others I am playing with I just wonder if you guys see this a lot?

Are you kidding? It's as much a part of golf as the golf club. Of course, it's the loud obnoxious cousin most people wish wouldn't come to the golf family reunion, but it's never going away. The people you play with probably aren't playing for the competition, rather just the satisfaction of hitting a good shot every now and then. Sure you get the bragging duffers every once in a blue moon who actually think they are better than they really are, but for the most part people are just out there to have fun, and for whatever reason that sometimes means moving the ball to a more convenient spot. Just ignore the loudmouths.

Myself, I do not partake of this activity, but that's only because I usually want to know how good I really am, not how good I would have been if I had avoided trouble. But if someone in my group feels like playing like an uncivilized hacker, it doesn't bother me one bit. Heck, I can sympathize. But of course it's taboo if you're actually trying to compete. I'll never understand people who cheat just to win something they don't deserve.

[jasongst]

All this stuff about 4-foot gimmies - i would not play with someone who did that. It's cheating.

You must be betting money every time you go out to play. Otherwise what difference does it make what your playing partners do? If I were that picky about who I played with I'd always be playing alone. Playing nearly every day, I already do plenty of solo play as it is.

[Jack_2251]

In australia, the only way your handicap can be changed is in a competition round.
All players have official AGU handicaps who are members of clubs.
If you do anything like take a gimme, or move your ball and touch it when you are not supposed to, you are automatically DQ and can be banned from playing comp golf.

[Ruari]

You must be betting money every time you go out to play. Otherwise what difference does it make what your playing partners do? If I were that picky about who I played with I'd always be playing alone. Playing nearly every day, I already do plenty of solo play as it is.

No, I'm not betting money every time i play. Yes, I also play plenty of practice holes solo and retake shots i've messed up - that's what practice is about. If a playing partner gives someone a short shot, that's quite legitimate; if a player takes an eminently missable putt as gimme, that's something else entirely. The posts above my original comment were talking about self-gimmes, not real ones.

But yes, I do play a lot for small stakes - who buys the beer, £1 a hole, whatever. And I stand by my comment - I wouldn't play with someone who habitually gives themselves missable putts.