Dear Linda,
We have a situation at our club where a player (Player A) is
known to count other players’ clubs in their bag surreptitiously on the first
tee before driving off.
Player A is very competitive and has noticed Player B has 15
clubs in his bag on the first tee.
Player A waits until the end of the round to inform Player B
and a lot of unpleasantness has ensued – refusal to sign each other’s scorecard,
etc.
I have been checking Decision 33-7/9. Putting aside the
spirit of the game, which is very important to myself and a lot of fellow
members, I would be interested in your view in a timely manner.
A large group of us feels that you are obliged to inform a
fellow competitor if he is about to infringe a rule. If you let him infringe a
rule knowingly, just so that they get a penalty, THEN there is a penalty for Player
B also. Is this correct?
Yours in anticipation,
Lou Manchester UK
Dear Lou,
This behavior is despicable. Golfers are expected to be
courteous and sportsmanlike at all times. Observing a breach of the Rules (e.g.,
too many clubs) and deliberately withholding that information to cause a player
to incur an avoidable four-stroke penalty is just about as unsportsmanlike and unacceptable
a behavior as I can imagine. This player should be pelted with rotten tomatoes
and run out of town!
The Committee has the option, under the Rules, to disqualify
a player for a serious breach of etiquette [Rule 33-7]. This might be a good
time to exercise that option. I would also suggest that the Committee conduct a
serious heart-to-heart with this fellow, explaining to him that golf is not a
game of “gotcha.” Players who notice other players about to break a Rule should
hasten to warn them, not lay back and hit them with a penalty after the deed is
done.
I have no problem with players being competitive; I would
place myself in that category. But I would never condone the behavior described
in your narrative, and neither should your Committee.
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
