Playing Partners that Cheat - long

[Garnet Haze]

My regular golfing buddy gets very liberal with the rules of golf. I usually don't mind, since we aren't playing for money, and I typically beat him by about 10 strokes. However, every now and then our scores are much closer.

Those that play with us will give him grief for his interpretations of the rules, and he'll get very defensive. For example, declaring that an area is "ground under repair" (when the area is not marked and is definitely not under repair) and moving his ball without penalty. Or not taking a penalty stroke for losing his ball when he deems that it definitely landed somewhere in play and therefore he shouldn't have to take the penalty. Or constantly improving his lie on almost every shot. Even on the green, he'll move his ball if he doesn't like the path to the hole. My favorite is when he'll have a blow up hole and score a 9 or something and be proud of the fact that he didn't cheat - that he scored an honest 9. Which is kinda like bragging that you didn't rob a bank that day.

I've played with plenty of different golfers and most people cheat to one degree or another - either unintentional (miscounting your score for a hole) or intentional (using the old foot wedge). But my buddy takes things to new levels. I've joked with him about it, even joked about getting him a rules book as a gift. But again, he gets very defensive about it.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not a stickler for the rules. We'll give short putts inside the leather, etc. I mainly let my buddy get away with this because we're out there to have fun. But when our rounds get close and more competitive, it does bother me that he declares at the end of the round that we tied. When during the round he pulled his ball out of the bunker because it had some water in it and hit his shot from the edge of the green - without penalty. Plus improving his lie whenever he can.

I guess my point is (other than just venting) is that his cheating really only bothers me when he beats me, which fortunately for us both doesn't happen that often.

[jmontgo3]

I would say worry about your own game. You know how well you're playing, and how well he's playing. If you're not playing for money or anything important, then don't worry about it. Golf is supposed to be fun, let it be.

[dave s]

Hmmm ... we have the exact same friend to play with. Moves it all over the course so he always has a shot, rolls it up everywhere, underreports hole scores ... then BRAGS to the other guys that the only reason I beat him by 2 was because he had a couple of triples!

My response to this guy is always the same: How about we go $10 a hole, you keep my score and I keep YOURS?!!!

That usually shuts him up in a hurry!

dave

[Vintage]

I know many won't like this... but my rule of thumb is this: if it gives my partner more pleasure to cheat than my pleasure for them to follow the rules; let 'em cheat.

It only hurts them...

(And I am talking about regular play here).


Only if money is on the line, will I demand absolute sticking to the rules...

But even then..... eh. Example: my buddy and I had a bet on a round. Loser bought lunch. We both launch our tee shots. Someone is coming up our fairway. We are probably 100 yards out from his ball, which is in OUR fairway. The guy walks up, picks up my friend's ball, pockets it....then walks off. We couldn't believe it. I was told the "proper" way to handle this is to count a penalty for a "loss" ball. But that hardly seemed fair. We both knew it was his ball, we saw it hit the fairway (and stay in the fairway....and saw it the entire walk to his ball, upon it being stolen).

Since it was a friendly wager between two good friends, I told him to replace the ball in the area it was at with no penatly. Golf rules be damned here; I am not penalizing my friend for someone's elses blatant stupidity when we have a friendly wager going on.





For tournaments, stick to whatever the tournament says... there is no bending of rules there...

[bogeyhitter25]

I hear you on that. One of my golfing buds cheats regularly. For example, if he completely loses his ball into the next area code, he doesn't take any penalty's and says he's shooting his first off the tee. He'll have his scorecard (to mark himself), and I'll have mine (to mark myself). Usually I'll score what he'd really be shooting, and he'd shoot about 5 strokes higher than he said he did. (Even still, I beat him by 4 or 5 strokes.)

[ks8829]

Golf certainly brings out the true character of a person.

[ERC7.5]

When I'm out with a buddy or my brother (none of which play competitively or religiously) I encourage them to improve their lie or to take another tee shot if they hit a poor one. I want to make sure they come back out to play another round with me and they're much happier when the "play well". But if they do it in a sneaky manner....I let them know. When I'm out with friends....it's all fun.

Also, when they tell me to hit another one or improve my lie, I tell them "No thanks. I'm playing it down and by the rules. I'm not going to get better if I don't." Hoping to drive home the fact that when they cheat, their cheating themselves.

[Billiam]

My regular golfing buddy gets very liberal with the rules of golf.

Haha that sounds like my friend that I always golf with... only I think he doesn't cheat... well if he is he's getting away with it

[Garnet Haze]

When I'm out with a buddy or my brother (none of which play competitively or religiously) I encourage them to improve their lie or to take another tee shot if they hit a poor one. I want to make sure they come back out to play another round with me and they're much happier when the "play well". But if they do it in a sneaky manner....I let them know. When I'm out with friends....it's all fun.

This has always been my philosophy. Although my buddy cheats, I can count on him to play twice a week with me. It's not always easy to find consistent playing partners, and I know I can count on him to play. So I want to continue this by not getting on him too much about the rules. I want our rounds to be fun since they usually aren't that competitive.

[DJYoshi]

I had a similar situation on Saturday. The guy kept on BLATANTLY taking his club saying: I have to move it, I landed in a divot (in the fairway). He'd switch balls from a pure distance ball to a softer ball when we got onto the green.
Instead of hitting 3 off of the tee on lost drives, he'd call it a mulligan...ummm mulligans in $ play?
best one though - mid hole mulligan that he skulled his approach shot into the woods..dropped another ball and said: I'm taking a mid hole mulligan.

he claimed: he didn't know what playing for junk meant....

I'd have to say: marking his ball on the fringe was pretty awesome... like WTF are you doing?

I feel your pain my friend...I feel it... best thing to do...even though he's your boy
BEAT HIM HARD when he cheats..then point it out: you know you can't or shouldn't do this. and if he complains, i'd say ask someone else to intervene that isn't a part of the match. but the printed rule book would be awesome....

[ERC7.5]

I had a similar situation on Saturday. The guy kept on BLATANTLY taking his club saying: I have to move it, I landed in a divot (in the fairway). He'd switch balls from a pure distance ball to a softer ball when we got onto the green.

That whole story was funny but:

I'm taking a mid hole mulligan...

Nice!

Always handy to keep one of these in your back pocket! Geez!!!!

[Smallville]

Tee box mulligan, mid-hole mulligan, around the green mulligan . . . doesn't really matter; who says you can only get a freebie off the tee when it's not in the rules anyway? Is it more against the rules if it's on your 2nd or 3rd shot than if it's off the tee box?

[Garnet Haze]

Mulligans are something else that I forgot to mention. We have our understood exceptions at the beginning of our round - two off the first tee, anything inside the leather is good, no distance penalty on o.b. shots. But if my buddy hits a good first shot on the first tee, he'll save the second shot for later in the round as a mulligan. I'll usually let it slide, but I'll give him a little grief about it also. "When have we ever carried over that two shots off the first tee to other holes". He mainly just uses that excuse to justify his mulligan.

Now, a mid-hole mulligan is something he hasn't tried yet. However, if my buddy and another playing partner of ours both hit a shot into water or o.b., he'll convince both of them to take a mulligan. Kinda like cheating by collusion.

I've tried to be diplomatic before in telling him that cheating the rules of golf won't help him get any better. But I'm not really sure he considers it cheating. He just feels some rules aren't fair...according to him.

[tulefog]

We both launch our tee shots. Someone is coming up our fairway. We are probably 100 yards out from his ball, which is in OUR fairway. The guy walks up, picks up my friend's ball, pockets it....then walks off. We couldn't believe it. I was told the "proper" way to handle this is to count a penalty for a "loss" ball. But that hardly seemed fair. We both knew it was his ball, we saw it hit the fairway (and stay in the fairway....and saw it the entire walk to his ball, upon it being stolen).

I can't claim to be a rules expert, but I believe the other person taking the ball was movement by an outside agency. Accordingly, under the rules of golf your friend was entitled to replace the ball without penalty - in other words I think you followed the rules. Someone please tell me if I am wrong. Thanks!

[tulefog]

I think a lot of people, when they start this game, bend the rules. It makes the game less frustrating, not to mention that the rules are complicated. I play with several people who bend the rules. I won't play for money unless we are all playing by the same rules. Otherwise, if someone wants to say they beat you, and they have taken some liberties, who cares??? Doesn't bother me in the least. We are playing two different games...

[GolfGirl]

I golf with a friend that "forgets" to count a stroke if ball goes in the water, or has to drop a ball because her's is lost in the bushes and is not playable.

I keep track of what I do, and count those strokes. It just erks me, because at the end of the game, she claims to have a better score

I don't say anything because she is the only female friend I have that golfs, if I upset her, I may not have anyone ..... not worth it!

[Spectrums]

I can't claim to be a rules expert, but I believe the other person taking the ball was movement by an outside agency. Accordingly, under the rules of golf your friend was entitled to replace the ball without penalty - in other words I think you followed the rules. Someone please tell me if I am wrong. Thanks!

Correct. It's an outside agency.

[Billiam]

If you play with someone who likes to cheat, bring alone one of those clicker things that keeps track of strokes... I do that when I play with my dad because he gets like 10 on every hole and then likes to say he just three putted for six. Just say "I'll keep track of your score for you" and click after every shot and cheat that they think they are getting away with