Vaseline and the driver!

[LBlack14]

Now I'm puzzled. So in money game you accept use of vaseline even though it is against the Rules? Do you also accept use of chalk on iron clubheads to increase spin? How about kicking the ball in the grass? Any other Rules violations you accept when playing for money? Throwing your ball out of an unplayable llie with no penalty?

Where is the line drawn?

These guys are full of sh*t and make no damn sense whatsoever. They must play with a bunch of hoods and hooligans because that's the dumbest 2 responses to CHEATING I've ever heard. Guess it's OK to cheat at poker, lie, steal and the like too? Around here you get caught cheatin' in a "big money game" and you get your nuts cut off. :-X

[zipazoid]

What part of play it down, hole all putts do you not understand?

Yeah, I've played in some semi-serious cash games in my time. Don't know if my opponents were hoods or hooligans, but they were pretty serious. If you lost you better pay up, like now. And I can tell you that these guys only had two requirements - play it down, hole all putts. They really didn't care if you put K-Y Freekin Jelly on the face of your driver or carried 25 clubs. They weren't the type to whip out the rules on you - if the ball was a half-inch in front of the markers they wouldn't gig you 2 strokes, for example. They knew if you play the ball down, no rules worth worrying about were going to be broken.

Now just think this thru for a moment - if you're playing the ball down, that means you ain't touching it. Ever. So uhhhh noooo...there was no kicking it into a better lie or rolling it. If the ball was hit near OB, they would say 'Better play a provisional' and would check to see if your ball was in or out. It was their money on the line too, ya know.

So no. I'm not full of sh*t. Just been thru a lot of cash games & telling you what I experienced. Feel free to tell us your experiences in playing cash games. I just gave you mine.

[LBlack14]

You don't use it on an iron shot. It flat takes side spin off the driver, period. It's cheatin'. I reckon y'all know all about green lifesavers too?

[sean_miller]

I'm gonna put mud on my ball for hdcp rounds.

[Fozcycle]

HE IS A CHEAT!

[Kobey]

I can see what Zip is saying.  It isn't much different from barroom pool.  I've never been in a place that played by official 8 ball rules.  They use house rules and sometimes people play for big money.  It wouldn't be very wise to walk in the place and call them all cheaters.

[DaSportsGuy]

Originally Posted by act0fgod

How would you get the ball on the lifesaver in a high school match without being seen and quickly called out on? This one seems kind of weird.

I was wondering the same thing...what kind of rules do they play by? Lift, clean, and place?

A kid on my high school golf team pours his extra gatorade and powerade on his wedges to make them tackier and spin more. When he told me about it I busted his chops about it the rest of the year.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Kobey

I can see what Zip is saying.  It isn't much different from barroom pool.  I've never been in a place that played by official 8 ball rules.  They use house rules and sometimes people play for big money.  It wouldn't be very wise to walk in the place and call them all cheaters.

Bar room pool is a good analogy. Reminds me of a story that I'll hide since it's off topic, but if anyone's interested:

I used to play a lot of 8-ball in bars for $ with my step brother as my partner. We were playing these guys one night where we were down to the 8-ball and it was our shot but one of their balls was between the cue ball and the 8. We didn't have a shot at pocketing the 8, so my step-bro, whose turn it was, was just going to lag the cue ball somewhere defensively. But on hearing that, the other team says if we don't hit the 8 it's a table scratch, and since it's a scratch on the 8-ball we'd lose. (For those who don't know, a table scratch is when you fail to hit the object ball with the cue ball.)  While that's a legitimate rule of billiards, not once in decades of playing in bars have I ever seen or heard of the rule being enforced.

So we argued for quite some time on this point until finally, while I was still engaged in the argument with our opponents, before I know it my step-bro steps up and takes his shot, hits the 8 by banking the cue ball off the cushion, and says to the other guys, "It don't matter now. Your shot". We went on to win, taking $20 off the clowns.

I hate to think what would've happened if my step-bro had table scratched and they tried to claim a win. It might have got ugly, but he was a bad ass so I was probably safe. (Actually, since it was only for $20 and my step-bro was underage in a 21-and-over bar, we likely would've just paid 'em to avoid a scene.)

[LBlack14]

You have to drive either the object ball or the cue ball to a rail and make contact with said object ball. That's a rule. Ever play in a league or tourney? What your BIL was goin' to do, we call some other form of pool that shall remain nameless. I've played alot of pool and alot of different games. My Dad was a professional for alot of years.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by LBlack14

You have to drive either the object ball or the cue ball to a rail. That's a rule. Ever play in a league or tourney? What your BIL was goin' to do, we call some other form of pool that shall remain nameless. I've played alot of pool and alot of different games. My Dad was a professional for alot of years.

Yep, I know the rule. The point is it's never enforced in non-league, bar room pick-up games. Just like not all the rules of golf necessarily have to be enforced in money games, as long as all agree beforehand.

And it was my step-brother, not my BIL. My BIL sucks at pool.

And my dad was a pretty good pool player too.

[zipazoid]

I appreciate Kobey having my back...at least he understood what I was trying to say. And it's this -

Is it cheating? Sure. Gonna get called on it in a money game? Probably not. Chances are the other guy's driver is greased too.

Again - I'm not talking a Saturday $2 Nassau here. Try $50 Nassaus with automatic presses two down. You bet your as guys are gonna try to get an edge.

[LBlack14]

I agree that if it's agreed on and legal for all then so be it, pool or golf. BUT....who the hell asks in a cash game of golf, "Yo! You guys mind if I grease my driver face? I can't hit my driver for sh*t, but if I grease it, it takes the side spin off and I can hit every fairway". THEN....who the hell is dumb enough to say "Sure, go ahead, I don't mind losing my money to a cheat". FWIW, some of the guys I play in $$$ games have a standing rule that you can roll your ball over in your own fwy. I NEVER partake of this rule unless we're playing lift, clean and place due to weather conditions. No hard feelin's here, I just don't get it is all, ESPECIALLY if you're playin' for $$$.

[LBlack14]

I appreciate Kobey having my back...at least he understood what I was trying to say. And it's this -

Is it cheating? Sure. Gonna get called on it in a money game? Probably not. Chances are the other guy's driver is greased too.

Again - I'm not talking a Saturday $2 Nassau here. Try $50 Nassaus with automatic presses two down. You bet your as guys are gonna try to get an edge.

That's the damndest thing I've ever heard. Not even the Mafia would put up with that.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by LBlack14

That's the damndest thing I've ever heard. Not even the Mafia would put up with that.

Guess you've never played a $50 Nassau with automatic 2-down presses. Guys, believe it or not, but this game isn't as pure-a-snow as y'all think.

[robinoso]

Nope, never have and me betting like that on my golf game, well...I'd rather kick myself in the nuts!  Rules variations are the reason I don't get into big gambling situations.  I'm somewhat of a stickler and I'd still call them out.  That is the difference of a stickler tight a$$ and people who enjoy gambling w/ the big bills.  Two different points of view, that's all.

[michaeljames92]

Putting vaseline on a driver defeats the whole purpose of the game. It's meant to be hard, and when you play someone for money and make it easier for them to beat you it's pretty dumb.....

[LBlack14]

In the immortal words of Christopher Wallace aka "Biggie Smalls"..."Mo' money, Mo' problems". The more jack that's on the line, the more people are inclined to cheat. I'm glad I don't run with, play with or associate with low life cheats.

[J0nathan88]

I tried this today after a guy we were paired with saw me cussing after a sliced ball. Told me about vaseline... Thought about running because who the **** carries vasoline in his golf bag.. Anyways i gave it a go and it does straighten the hell out of a mild to moderate slice. I did use it for the back nine. After reading the posts i do agree that when looking at your scorecard after the round you wobder what would have been without the vasoline... Not sure I'll use it again.