My partner and I were playing in a final match play
tournament. I witnessed one of my opponents touch and move her ball while she
was approximately three feet away from the green. I immediately informed her
that she could not touch or move her ball. When we advanced to the next hole to
exchange scores our opponent replied that she had a 5. I replied back and said
no you had a 6. Whereupon she replied back and said she had a 5 and I again
said she had a 6 due to the penalty.
Our opponent then told me to F...Off, I Was a Bitch and a piece
of work. She also came towards me in a very threatening manner.
I was totally shocked and couldn't believe the abusive
language directed towards me. My partner and I decided to discontinue the match
and returned to the clubhouse.
My partner and I were disqualified for Discontinuance of
Play, Rule 6-8.
Upon reading Rule 6-8: “The player must not discontinue play
unless:
(iv) there is some other good reason such as sudden
illness”
Would you agree with (iv) in that my partner and I had a good
reason to discontinue play??
Thank you.
Lulu from White Rock, Canada
Dear Lulu,
If you feared physical harm, yes. Otherwise, no. But you had
a good reason to file a claim (scoring dispute), and the Committee would have a
good reason to go beyond your claim and disqualify your opponent for a serious
breach of etiquette [Rule 33-7].
When you have a scoring dispute, a better response might be:
“I am going to file a claim because I believe you scored 6 (or you lost the hole, if the moved
ball was not replaced). The Committee can resolve the dispute at the end of our
match.”
Abusive language directed towards an opponent is
unacceptable. If you are able to contact a Committee member during your round,
the Committee might immediately disqualify your opponent for a serious breach
of etiquette. It would not surprise me to learn that the Committee bans this
player from a number of future tournaments.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
