Caddy Banned from European Tour

[NM Golf]

Everyone has heard about Jose Manuel Lara being DQ'ed after his caddy attempted to hide a 15th club in the bushes at the BMW International Open in Germany.

Now it has been announced that his caddy, Mathias Vinson, has been banned indefinitely from the European Tour .

Too harsh? Your thoughts

[1puttit]

Not too harsh. Had he just owned up to it on the first hole his player would have received a 2 shot penalty and that would be the end of it. Instead he tried to cover it up and got his player DQ'd. Let's face it, he banned himself by his actions. No tour pro would hire him after this incident.

[David in FL]

Right call. Unnecessary though. No one will ever hire him again.....

[zipazoid]

Harsh, but definitely not too harsh.  Many believe the rules are too strict, but it's that strictness that keeps the high integrity of the sport. That's why golf has such an exemplary reputation.

As well, it's a matter of practicality. When the 'playing field' is 150 acres with 150-so competitors spread out among it, every player has to be an official in order to protect the field. In the other thread someone mentioned about Lara's playing partners being 'snoops' in seeing what the caddy did. They really had no choice. They have a responsibility to protect the field.

He cheated. So he deserved the suspension. That's how I voted.

Further, he's a pariah now. No player will hire him on another tour lest the player's rep take a hit for having a cheater as his caddy.

[nicoy3k]

Yes lets destroy a mans livleyhood and career because he made one incredibly stupid mistake. Absurdly harsh. He and his boss were DQ'd from the tournament, that was punishment enough.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by nicoy3k

Yes lets destroy a mans livleyhood and career because he made one incredibly stupid mistake. Absurdly harsh. He and his boss were DQ'd from the tournament, that was punishment enough.

I agree, ridiculously harsh. A fine and maybe a 3-month suspension, but not a life-time ban.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by nicoy3k

Yes lets destroy a mans livleyhood and career because he made one incredibly stupid mistake. Absurdly harsh. He and his boss were DQ'd from the tournament, that was punishment enough.

I think the mistake was fairly severe.

I think the Tour is simply looking out for the players on the Tour. The player made no real mistake here, yet the caddie got him DQed. Making a small example of this caddie will go a long way towards ensuring other caddies don't harm other players by acting on their own to cover up mistakes, violate rules, etc.

[Kapanda]

By the time you're caddying at that level, you should know how serious such a mistakes is.

Correct sentence.

[The_Pharaoh]

A lot of you are assuming ALL caddies on the European Tour are professionals. Many are, but a lot are not. In order to save money, many pros grab anybody to carry their bag. Usually a friend or a family member. Quite often they haven't got a clue about golf and simply carry the bag for the player. We don't know the build up to what happened, perhaps Lara had said to the guy, "I hope you put that other putter in my locker as it is against the rules to have more than 14 clubs in the bag" a few holes earlier. The clueless caddie then panicked and for fear of upsetting Lara tried to get rid of it not for one moment realising the severity of what he had done.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Would a player have been given the same sanction for the same transgression? If so, then the penalty is just. Otherwise . . .

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

Would a player have been given the same sanction for the same transgression? If so, then the penalty is just. Otherwise . . .

Vijay Singh cheated on the Asian Tour and only got a 10- year ban.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by nicoy3k

Yes lets destroy a mans livleyhood and career because he made one incredibly stupid mistake. Absurdly harsh. He and his boss were DQ'd from the tournament, that was punishment enough.

He obviously does not have the requisite skills to do this job. Time to find another line of work.

[brocks]

He obviously does not have the requisite skills to do this job.

Counting to fourteen? And I see somebody has already brought up the Vijay case. Not to mention the NO Saints, who were actually trying to cripple people, and the worst any player got there was a year's suspension, so yeah, the penalty seems disproportionate. But unless he changes his name and moves to Australia, it's probably moot. Nobody's going to hire him.

[zipazoid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brocks


Counting to fourteen?

Apparently he can't. The world needs ditch diggers.

Quote:

Not to mention the NO Saints, who were actually trying to cripple people, and the worst any player got there was a year's suspension, so yeah, the penalty seems disproportionate.

That's why golf is unique. In virtually every other sport it's a matter of trying to get away with breaking the rules. So you can't compare the Saints sitch to this caddy sitch. Golf has integrity.

[newtogolf]

I read indefinite suspension, not lifetime ban.  Did they change the penalty or are people assuming indefinite means lifetime.

[The_Pharaoh]

Paramor told Sky Sports. “He’s kind of been asked not to come back and that’s how the matter’s been resolved.”

[joekelly]

Me? If i had been the caddy, i would have chosen the offending club, bent the shaft severly and stuffed down deep into  the bag. Sure, ''protect the field'  but in fact the first rule is 'protect your man'.

[newtogolf]

That one isn't in my copy of the Rules of Golf.

Originally Posted by joekelly

Me? If i had been the caddy, i would have chosen the offending club, bent the shaft severly and stuffed down deep into  the bag. Sure, ''protect the field'  but in fact the first rule is 'protect your man'.