What would you do? Player signs for correct total, but one hole is incorrect

[Vinny Cap]

Good topic and as rules apply a DQ is in order.

Being a friendly tourney, OP was asking "what would you do?" and I lean for DQ'ed with the possibility of playing just for the fun of it if everyone agreed.  Any other tourney or Club Championship just DQ'ed and done with it.

I am curious how you can have an 83 total when the holes added up to 82?

Scorer wrote 4 and meant 5 so total should have been 82... did someone have tally beads or something?

[ColinL]

15 hours ago, colin007 said:

This is a case where I feel that the rules don't accurately reward a player for how he actually played. Things like this make people roll their eyes about golf. Oh well, nobody cares what I think so.....😘

You would be happy then if your favourite soccer team which actually drew a match 0-0, won  a trophy by posting a  1-0 win?

[colin007]

4 hours ago, ColinL said:

You would be happy then if your favourite soccer team which actually drew a match 0-0, won  a trophy by posting a  1-0 win?

They didn't win the match. It was a tie. If no goals were scored, it's a draw... How does that make sense?

[Fourputt]

19 hours ago, colin007 said:

This is a case where I feel that the rules don't accurately reward a player for how he actually played. Things like this make people roll their eyes about golf. Oh well, nobody cares what I think so.....😘

It has to do with honesty and integrity.  It's also not exactly difficult to ensure that you return an accurate card.  I also think that the if the penalty was milder that it could tempt some less than honorable persons to fudge their cards.  Those people might see it as worth the risk if a 2 stroke penalty still let one finish in the money, whereas not getting caught would put you in or near the lead.  DQ is harsh, but it's also very final.

[Big C]

This same thing happened to our group in a men's club event last year. 

The guy who was keeping our team score wrote down a 4 instead of a (correct) 5 for one of our guys. I caught it when we were settling up some bets afterward, and notified one of the directors about 5 minutes after our card had been turned in. 

They allowed our team to stay eligible, but DQ'ed the player - effectively turning our "best 3 of 5" net scores into a "best 3 of 4." That DQ added about 10 strokes to our team score and took us from a top 2 finish to out of the money. 

Some of the guys on our team were pissed off, but truthfully I thought they were generous to keep the team eligible at all.

Now I make sure to double check each hole before we submit our cards - even if it takes an extra 5-10 minutes after the round. As some on this board said earlier, it's a lesson you only have to learn once.

[Groucho Valentine]

Golf will probably survive if you let this serious crime go unnoticed. 

[Vinsk]

5 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Golf will probably survive if you let this serious crime go unnoticed. 

And the player’s life will be fine even if he’s DQ’d. Play by the rules.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Vinsk

[djfajt71]

I voted DQ, based upon the rules, as stated. It does suck, as it is a fun event.  And for those that are stating the total is the only thing that counts.  In several of the tourneys I play, they use individual hole scores as a tiebreaker.  Thus the hole scores matter greatly.

[iacas]

28 minutes ago, djfajt71 said:

I voted DQ, based upon the rules, as stated. It does suck, as it is a fun event.  And for those that are stating the total is the only thing that counts.  In several of the tourneys I play, they use individual hole scores as a tiebreaker.  Thus the hole scores matter greatly.

Yes, tournaments will often use hole scores as tiebreakers in various events.

[Rulesman]

21 hours ago, billchao said:

I kind of feel the same way. I know what the rules say, but given the circumstances I think it's reasonable to let it go.

When would you not 'let it go' ? If he got two holes wrong? 

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, Rulesman said:

When would you not 'let it go' ? If he got two holes wrong? 

All 18, clearly, so long as the "total" was right. 😝

[Groucho Valentine]

2 hours ago, Vinsk said:

And the player’s life will be fine even if he’s DQ’d. Play by the rules.

Because somebody who makes a typo on a paper scorecard (isn't it 2018?) is looking to defraud the game of golf...  😂

The criminal scum must be punished! 

[Rulesman]

3 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Because somebody who makes a typo on a paper scorecard (isn't it 2018?) is looking to defraud the game of golf...  😂

The criminal scum must be punished! 

The 'typo' isn't the problem. He didn't do what he is required to do. 

After completion of the round, the competitor should check his score for each hole 

 

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Because somebody who makes a typo on a paper scorecard (isn't it 2018?) is looking to defraud the game of golf...  😂

The criminal scum must be punished! 

He’s not a criminal nor is anyone saying anything like that. Just you. As usual.

He did, however, fail to follow the rules.

[bkuehn1952]

Thank you to everyone who chimed in.  My hope was to create a discussion and that somewhat worked.  Most of us know the Rules give no leeway in the situation originally described and a DQ was appropriate.  I know I shirked my duty in not pushing for a DQ and did the easy thing of looking the other way.  My rationalization was the breach was more of a "bookkeeping error" than an "on field" breach, which of course is not a valid reason.

@billchao thanks for taking a lot of heat for supporting my decision.  Let's hope neither of us end up on The Masters "tournament committee".  Imagine the havoc we could create!

[billchao]

10 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

@billchao thanks for taking a lot of heat for supporting my decision.

Buy me a beer if we ever meet and we'll call it even

[bkuehn1952]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

Buy me a beer if we ever meet and we'll call it even

Deal!

[ColinL]

13 hours ago, colin007 said:

They didn't win the match. It was a tie. If no goals were scored, it's a draw... How does that make sense?

Not one of my better analogies!   I was simply wondering how you could be content with someone winning a golf tournament by returning a score that was a stroke fewer than he/she actually took.