Ever Catch a Cheat?

[NoLine]

Are you sure he wasn't marking the ball 1" behind the ball when putting the mark on the ground? I notice a lot of people will leave a 1/2" or so between the ball and marker so when they lift the marker up they won't knock the ball with the marker or their hand.

No, marked right up to the ball then would place the ball an inch infront of it - it was purposeful or derainged depending on your perspective.

 

[jitzy]

The only time I tell anyone their score is if they ask me to keep it for them and I always confer with them after each hole to verify count when its fresh. If I am keeping score otherwise then its for my eyes/benefit only and they never see it. Im sure I make a mistake every now and then but I dont make 5-10 mistakes a round. The only way it would lead to an argument is if you were nosy enough to look at the score you didn't want me to keep in the first place. The guys that annoy me are the ones who try to leave strokes out even though the rest of the group knows what they hit.

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Oh yeah your defiantly not gonna make that many mistakes a round in fact you might not make any mistakes in the round. It's just that when you do you wont think you did and your gonna always look at that guy as a cheat from then on out. Bottom line is if someone has a bunch of shots getting up to the green then 2 puts and tells you 4 you know that guy is full of cr@p and if he takes a par thats on him unless your playing for money.

 

[captaincaution]

Are you sure he wasn't marking the ball 1" behind the ball when putting the mark on the ground? I notice a lot of people will leave a 1/2" or so between the ball and marker so when they lift the marker up they won't knock the ball with the marker or their hand.

Could be, but it's not necessary. If you're in the process of marking or replacing your ball, there's no penalty if the ball or marker move, as long as you move them back to their original position. Could just ask the guy why he is marking the way he does, and educate him on the rules at the same time.

 

[vtnerf]

One night at mens league at our old club. He was President at the time, playing with his son who had just graduated high school. Three of the four of us hit our tee shots to the left side of the 18th, in the light woods, but adjacent to OB. All of us are in there looking, finding at least 7 balls that weren't ours. I found a ProV, and asked him what he was playing. Right about that time, I hear him say he has it...and thwack, he punches out to the fairway. Ok, THAT ProV isn't his. I pick it up, take a look, and it HAS HIS NAME ON THE SIDE OF IT. Back out in the fairway, I ask him what he was playing, again. He responds with "I found it and punched out." I let him drive about 20 yards, yelled his name, and rolled the ball I found towards him and said "You might want this one back too then..." He didn't speak to me for a year. (Not that I was complaining. Didn't/don't much care for him, but wasn't trying to completely bust his balls in front of his son. It's not the kid's fault!) We won the hole anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to me. The pro thought it was hilarious!!!!

 

[Rob Wedge]

I have a buddy that is inclined to play a different ball on the green. He also places his marker well in front his ball when marking then his ball well in front of his marker when getting ready to putt, thereby shortening his putt by a few inches.

I was reading an article by an anonymous caddie to a pro that says this happens on tour all the time.

 

[BrodyDog]

I'm not sure if he's cheating, or if it's and honest mistake, but I have a guy I play with regularly that has trouble keeping track of all of his strokes!

I'm starting to get to the age where I can completely understand that...

 

[phenom4hire]

I get what you all are saying its mostly for my benefit and just in case they start talking about some absurd score or how bad they beat everyone I have the satisfaction of knowing that its not the case whether I bring it up or not. I dont always keep every score for others but occasionally I do just to see the discrepancies.

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[Wakit300]

Most of the guys I play with normally follow the rules, but if it's in a casual round I don't really care what anyone else does. Like people here have said, it's their loss if they have to cheat to post a good score.

Unfortunately I have had to confront guys in tournaments for rules infractions and it's never a good situation. Sometimes they don't realize they are breaking the rules but others were definitely trying to cheat.

I did have one fun experience with a cheater. I was working in the pro shop at a course and played in Men's Club events there too. There was a guy who was a very good player but he would always moved his ball before a shot - even if it was a perfect lie. He'd been doing it for years and everyone knew he did it and invariably he would end up winning several tournaments a year. Guys would b*tch and moan about it but nobody did anything. That year in the Club Championship, he was the defending Champion, I was paired in his group the first day. One of the other guys was fed up and had the idea to watch him and make sure he didn't move his ball. We agreed that one of us would be there to watch him for every shot so he couldn't do it. He was told before we teed off that he would have to play by the rules and play it as it lies. We didn't have to say anything else, just kept tabs on him throughout the round and with his normal routine short circuited he shot a 95. I like to think it taught him a lesson, but probably not - it WAS very satisfying though.

 

[Lance0363]

I've never played many rounds where I even keep score for myself, much less counted the other guys strokes. That being said, I've been paired with folks that fluff their lies, and move their balls around obstructions. I see them marking ther scorecards. What they're marking, I don't know, and I don't really care.
This year things may be a bit different. I'm going to develop a handicap, so I have to keep score. I may have problems with that because in the past I've actually forgotten what I shot on a particular hole. Sometimes it's not even because I haven't marked them down for a couple of holes either. A penalty stoke here, a fatty there, a shank, and a couple of poor putts, I get p***ed off with myself, and I actually can't remember what I shot.
Maybe I'm just getting old. :embarrassed: