Who Plays by the Rules?

[TaylorMadeTaylor]

Yep. Every single time I play.

[golfro]

I'm not so much arguing with you as I am amazed at the mentality that justifies cheating in the spirit of fun. I've never seen people take credit for pins they didn't knock down during a friendly game of bowling. It's interesting that golf which is supposedly a gentlemans game attracts so many people that don't play by the rules or expect others to.

who in their right mind would take credit for pins they didn't knock down...? are you reading my posts correctly? i said i would never fluff my score or cheat for myself... but again, little things like if the ball moves on the green while he's at address, am i gonna make a big fuss about it? no.

i've played golf long enough to know that this game is for myself...for no one else... as long as I don't personally cheat, i really couldnt care less what others do with the activity that they enjoy with their free time. but i'll venture to guess you're one of those guys who, while playing with strangers, has to remind them that they should add penalty strokes because they accidently bumped their putt?

[newtogolf]

but i'll venture to guess you're one of those guys who, while playing with strangers, has to remind them that they should add penalty strokes because they accidently bumped their putt?

Nope, I'm one of those guys that's played alot of other sports in his life, but as the name says is "newtogolf" so I'm not good enough to play with strangers and certainly wouldn't point out to them they are cheating or cite the rules. I just don't personally see the point of knowingly fudging your own score and was curious about the mentality as it's quite different from all the other sports I've been involved with.

[golfro]

Nope, I'm one of those guys that's played alot of other sports in his life, but as the name says is "newtogolf" so I'm not good enough to play with strangers and certainly wouldn't point out to them they are cheating or cite the rules. I just don't personally see the point of knowingly fudging your own score and was curious about the mentality as it's quite different from all the other sports I've been involved with.

gotcha...so it looks like we're saying the same thing but you keep implying as if i fudge my own score which i never claimed to do.

now let me ask you this... if you take your wife or gf out to golf, and she's got a bad lie and she wants to improve her lie a bit, do you give her penalty?

[newtogolf]

now let me ask you this... if you take your wife or gf out to golf, and she's got a bad lie and she wants to improve her lie a bit, do you give her penalty?

I'm with you, I just worry about my own score. Since she knows nothing about golf, I'd explain the rule to her, but if she chose to ignore it, I'd let it go. I don't want to sleep on the couch.

[Chris223]

if I didn't cheat I wouldn't play golf anymore because I would get too frustrated. I don't cheat ridiculously. But when I'm playing a friendly round with my buddy we both sometimes duff a tee shot here and there during the round and simply tee up another, if I'm playing a crappy course and my ball lands in the fairway but it's a patch of rock hard dirt rather than grass we allow each other to play from grass, after all, the other BS the ball WAS in should be ground under repair. Same way the whole landing in a fairway divot rule needs to be changed. As what's his face on the Golf channel said while announcing one of the fed ex cup tournaments... why should you be penalized for hitting the fairway, shouldn't a divot be considered ground under repair? I've tapped my fair share of balls on the green while at address for a putt and don't count them. Lets be honest, this isn't a game of either you make it or you don't like basketball. If you accidentally tap your ball on the green but it doesn't really move... is it going to effect the outcome of the putt? Nope, so am I going to count a penalty stroke and re place the ball? No. Now if I miss the putt will I give myself a "do-over"... no. Because I flat out missed the putt. Not something stupid like accidentally touch the ball at address.

[darkhunter139]

I try to play by the rules but its not like I carry around a rule book and lookup stuff I am unsure about. I just started playing and when I go play I do it for fun. And I have no problem with people I am playing with bettering their lie or teeing up a second shot if they hit their first out of bounds. If they have more fun playing that way who am I to tell them not to?

[ks8829]

Playing by the rules is the only way to play, you can tell a person's character after playing a round of golf with them. How many times have you heard of a golfer penalize themself or disqualify themselves from a tournament because its the only right thing to do.

Zach Nash is an example of what golf is all about.

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/new...onestkidgolfer

J.P. Hayes

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3712372

Brian Davis could have won his first PGA tournament for him honest is more important than wining his first tournament (the difference in money from second to first place was $415,000, we hope he makes that up from new sponsers)

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/de...rn=golf-234963

[O.B. Right]

I really don't understand why people cheat. If you want to play around and practice fine - then don't keep score. If you want to keep score then play by the rules. I HATE it when my buddy tells me he shot a 91, for example, and I know that included "one mulligan per side" and whatever other improved lies and hand wedges deemed necessary. I do these all the time but then I don't run around telling people I shot this or that . . .I tell them I didn't keep score because it was a practice round.

[zeg]

I generally play by the rules. About the only ones I violate with any regularity are those about advice---if someone asks what club I hit, I'll tell them. If I'm on an unfamiliar course I may ask about the layout without worrying about whether my question is strictly one that's allowed by the rule. To me, those particular rules are not really relevant outside of competitive settings, so I don't worry about them. I suppose I might occasionally take an illegal drop on an unexpected lost or OB ball, but that hasn't come up in so long that I haven't had to face the decision about going back or not.

As to why people break the rules in golf in ways they don't in other sports, golf is such a different game that it's hard to find good analogies. The one I don't understand at all are gimmes, since that really is taking away the entire purpose of the game. I'm sympathetic to mulligans and foot wedges in the sense that I can see how they would make the game more enjoyable for some. If everyone involved in a competition is on board with the rules, then there's no cheating going on. To look at the bowling analogy mentioned above, a lot of the broken rules are along the lines of overlooking a toe stepping over the line more than counting an extra fallen pin...

[newtogolf]

I'm sympathetic to mulligans and foot wedges in the sense that I can see how they would make the game more enjoyable for some. If everyone involved in a competition is on board with the rules, then there's no cheating going on. To look at the bowling analogy mentioned above, a lot of the broken rules are along the lines of overlooking a toe stepping over the line more than counting an extra fallen pin...

I'm not suggesting that the rules aren't sometimes painful to follow properly, believe me as a 36 handicapper I'd love for mulligans and gimmee's to be part of the rules. My feeling is if you are out one day just for fun and don't want to be burdened with the rules then why bother keeping score at all.

When I played at our accountants CC I was shocked after watching him take 3 ft. gimmees, mulligans, and improve his lie he went back to the clubhouse to enter his score into his clubs computer for handicap tracking. Later, while having drinks he told us how he was shocked that he got destroyed in a club tournament. I was surprised he didn't realize that with all his cheating that his handicap wasn't close to reflecting his true skill levels. As for bowling, it's less of a gentlemans game at this point as computers and lane sensors make it pretty tough to overlook a toe step or make a favorable math error.

[Zeph]

/me raises hand too

[alf174]

I play by the rules while most of my friends that I play with do not (playing the ball up, not taking penalties correctly, etc) I have managed to get my usual golf partner to play right because he enjoys match play and I won't play unless its "by the book". I must have 5 copies of that rule book laying around handy.

[8.5_Drive]

I ground my club in the sand all the time.

Sometimes i dig a little trench behind the ball so its sitting up just right. Also mulligans. Feels good man.

[EZ2NV]

I ground my club in the sand all the time.

Wow... When you play basketball, do you dribble the ball or just walk around the court.

The rules are there as part of the game. I understand if there are winter vs summer rules as living in Michigan our weather changes dramaticly. Next time I play baseball im going to tell the other team they only get 2 strikes instead of 3.

[wubskis]

I would never cheat in a competition, or even in a casual contest between friends, but if I'm just out "to play golf", I'll re-tee if a shot goes terribly. I'll re-tee all day if I have to, but the round is never anything more than "just playing for the sake of playing" so why not? More practice for me, and it inspires confidence if I can have a wayward shot followed by a glorious one just as I initially planned.

I don't believe in giving (or taking?) putts, I don't believe in improving your lie (why would you not want to practice for the possibility that the situation occurs in a competition?) and I don't believe in "well it wouldn't have happened if" situations that a certain friend likes to concoct, which usually ends with him moving his ball a yard or two to avoid having to deal with a hazard or tree etc.

[David in FL]

Always.

Games have rules and I follow them, regardless of the game. As said above, I'd rather not have to dribble a basketball, but the rule requires it. Why follow the rules of one game but not another?

[Brakkus]

Played in a foursome the usual goings on they all re-teed at least once.Tee pegs in the fairway,not counting lost balls,improved lies.I shot 48 and was beaten by 2 strokes by the worst offender.He then turns round and says were all the same ability.They can do this all day but why cheat to win a game.Obviously they can't handle not being the best.If you are playing for fun which is what this person says to me then why record a score at all.