Caught one of my teammates cheating today..

[alf174]

I've been playing in this event all year, and this is the first time I've seen someone blatantly cheat - there have been a few instances where someone made an incorrect interpretation of the rules (totally different, IMO, as there was no malicious intent involved). I would not discourage anyone in Tidewater from playing in the event - in fact, come on out, I enjoy playing when there's a full house

I think you misunderstood what I said. I think its a good thing to keep it as honest as possible. Yes, we rely on self-policing but some players need a little oversight. It sounds like you really love playing this event and it would be shame to see it go the wayside because cheating is not heavily discouraged.

[MiniMoe]

part of your job in a tournament is to protect the field. This week it did not matter, but what about next week? You have to let the guy know it's not OK to do that kind of thing. If he loses his ball, he is out of the hole. If he wants to just drop one and play in, he has to mention it to someone so they know his ball does not count. If you don't teach them, they may never know.

[Kingfisher]

Interesting story, and quite a predicament you found yourself in. I have to say I admire your restraint in not grilling him in front of everybody.

A question for you:

Do you think your response (to realising he cheated) would have been the same if he hadn't been on your team? Let's say you were playing a different format, he's not on your team - would you have handled things differently?

[cougar978]

Interesting story, and quite a predicament you found yourself in. I have to say I admire your restraint in not grilling him in front of everybody.

Yes. Had it been individual competition and I was his marker, I would have DQ'ed his ass right then and there.

[kfowler]

Interesting situation.

I have a large group that goes on a golf outing every year. It's Ryder Cup style with two teams playing four rounds over three days. It's pretty light hearted but there's some money involved.

Last year I was in partner match play against another two-some. We were up by three or four holes and were about to close the guys out. The hole was a hard dog leg right. A player on the other team tried to cut the corner and hit it straight into the woods. He tried to say he could drop it on the other side near the hole and only take a one stroke penalty because that's where it was headed. My partner and I looked at each other and laughed because it was so outrageous. We let him do it because we knew we had them beat.

Looking back on it now I regret it. I should have made him drop it where he went in and taken the penalty. Kind of set a bad precedence.

[Dugie]

tough spot...maybe he would have said something himself had it been worth money to the team, I would try to give him the benifit of the doubt but I'd watch him a little closer. Bad situation.... I would tell him I don't put up with that, make sure he knew how uncomfortable you were with the situation. Hopefully that would be enough to "help" him along.

[cougar978]

I called the pro that runs the tournament we all play in this morning and reported the guy - he tells me the guy has a reputation of cheating and actually was previously caught running ahead of everyone else, picking up his ball, and placing his mark closer to the hole.

How this previous action didn't warrant a ban from this event is beyond me. Perhaps he was given a second chance, and now he's out for good - who knows?

My statement to the pro was this: 'When this guy cheats, he pisses on the effort that I give every week (and all the other captains and B players) - hitting the range twice, wedges until it gets dark, an hour on the putting green three times, two miles on the incline treadmill three days - and I take that as a personal affront.' I know I may get blasted for being over the top on what I had to say, but it's just how I feel.

I hope they ban him from this event, and every reputable local event should consider doing the same thing.

[wannabe]

the guy has a reputation of cheating and actually was previously caught running ahead of everyone else, picking up his ball, and placing his mark closer to the hole.

that's just terrible. wonder what motivates a guy like that?