Linda,
I would like to know what is the proper moment to notify a
fellow competitor that he has breached a rule.
Is it the exact moment when it happened?
Is it after he/she finishes playing the hole?
Is it after the round and prior to signing his/her
scorecard?
Is there any rule that establishes the moment?
What happens if you are not the marker of the player who
breached the rule?
Are you required to say what you see?
What happens if you don't say anything?
Some people get mad when you gently tell them that they have
breached a rule.
Thank you very much for your answer.
Regards,
Lou from Argentina
Dear Lou,
The best time to inform a player of a possible breach of a
Rule is before it happens. This will save him avoidable penalty strokes, and he
will be your friend forever (or at least for the length of the round).
In the case where it is not possible to warn the player of
an impending breach, players should consider it a moral obligation to inform
another player of a breach of the Rules as soon as possible. This
responsibility lies with everyone; it is not limited to the player’s marker. Any
breach will impact the player’s score; the score for each hole must be accurate
if the player is to avoid disqualification.
A player who has breached a Rule should welcome timely
notification. The player may be upset to learn that he has breached a Rule and
must consequently add penalty strokes to his score, but he should be grateful
that the “informer” has saved him from probable disqualification. Any anger
directed towards the “informer” is misplaced and misinformed; it is an
indication of ignorance of the Rules.
The flip side of not informing the player of his breach is
that the player may be disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Should he learn
that you knew of his breach and kept it to yourself, the anger he now directs
towards you would be justified. In the unlikely case where a fellow competitor deliberately fails to inform a player about a breach of the Rules in order to get the player disqualified for returning an incorrect score, it would be appropriate for a Committee to disqualify the evil fellow competitor under Rule 33-7 [Decision 33-7/9].
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
