dilema after todays comp and question on the rules.

[Charlie_B1981]

have a slight dilema after todays comp and just wondering what others would do in same situation.

basicaly it was a better ball stableford which me and my partner came 3rd in, no major prize just some vouchers for about £10 each, drawn partners and i was playing with someone i've never met before who says he's been playing about 18 months

long story short, i missed a stoopid put from a foot for a bogey 1 point, partner had 3 ft for same score. after missing mine for a no score i walked away from the hole and turned to see partner pulling ball out of the hole. opponent marking our card who plays off +2 and very on the ball was stood 6 foot away with a clear view of it all.

walking back to the car after the presentation with mine and his dad, i made a comment about my crap putt and he said ' and i'd already picked up' turns out, that he'd picked up his marker thinking i wont miss, then when i did, in full view of our opponent replaced it and putted out to claim a point. i wasnt aware of this as i'd got my back to him.

now this is only a social club comp. nothing major at stake, if we didnt count the 1 point we'd still have come third. but to the letter of the law i believe that he shouldnt have been able to do it and therefore signed for a wrong card.

will the world end or someone have been done out of a massive prize no. but i just dont like to think of things not being done right in this case, and whats to stop this guy doing similar in future when it may matter.

should i have words with the captain who ran it and let him decide or am i going over the top?

 

[sev112]

i would do that, then yoru conscience is clear.

 

[chrisd]

My understanding is that once the result of a competition has been posted than the result stands.

I would personally have a word and apologise for something that you clearly didn't know about or condone with whoever you think is appropriate. As Sev said, thenyour conscience is clear


Chris

 

[Phil2511]

opponent marking our card who plays off +2 and very on the ball was stood 6 foot away with a clear view of it all.

I would be wanting to know why your opponent marked him down for 1 point if as you say he was so close and had a clear view.

A +2 hcap player should know better, Thats if he did actually see it, he may not have actually been paying attention at the time your partner picked up his marker and then replaced his ball, but remember he signed your card and its also his reputation on the line.

I would go and speak to the opponent first before you go to anyone else, it may be that your partner hasn't played many comps as he possibly has been playing for fun until now and is not 100% on the rules, but TBH i wouldnt believe that myself.

What if you go to the Captain and then the opponent and your partner decide to stick together and deny it, its your word against theirs. 2 against 1 so to speak. A few incidents have happened at our place and the outcome has been that unless the person admits it then its 1 person against another, and now you are just going by hearsay since you didn't actually see the marker being lifted.
Its not a position i would like to be in myself. But definitely i would speak to the opponent before going any further and explain it to him first.

JMO but never been and hopefully never will be in that position.

 

[Charlie_B1981]

thats partly whats in the back of my mind phil. they are both top lads, and the guy off +2 should have known better but as you say may not have seen it happen and may have been looking around at the time or whatever.

last thing i want to do is cause problems for either myself or those 2 if it comes down to a 'i didnt see anything, he says, she says' job.

 

[Phil2511]

I cant stand actual cheaters, and would hate to think i was paying to enter a competition for someone else to profit from cheating.
But given the fact that you would have won regardless I would tend to sway more to just put it down to a lesson learned, and to be more vigilant in the future and keep an eye on others you play with in the competitions.
But if you haven't already done so I would tell the guy who was your partner how you feel and that he shouldn't have done what he did and if he is unsure of the rules to always ask in future. That way you are not actually accusing him of cheating and if you do think he did make a genuine mistake then you could leave it at that.
If he wants to go forward himself and admit his mistake then he can, and if it was a genuine mistake then he will have nothing to worry about. If he doesn't want to go forward and say anything then you can decide for yourself whether its because he knew what he was doing and doesn't care or is genuinely sorry but worried about the repurcussions.

 

[JustOne]

Not sure how you can fail to see your partner pick up his marker when he's further away than you are? Surely he picked it up before you missed your putt?

 

[DaveM]

The result stands as all cards have been handed in. So you cannot effect the result. Even if it was the differance between winning and coming third. So I would put it down to experiance, but see it does not happen again. Better than he said you said. Plus you are only going on hearsay, you did not see it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The result stands as all cards have been handed in. So you cannot effect the result.

Surely the result can be influenced and playing to the letter of the law they could be DQ'd for signing for a wrong score. Personally I'd do several things. Firstly I'd be having serious words with my partner. If he didn't know the rules I'd be making it abundantly clear that he can't do that and NEVER to do it playing with you again and putting you in this position. Secondly I'd go to the guys you were playing with, explain the situation, apologise and see what they want to do. If they feel its wrong then go to the captain and explain what happened. At least your reputation won't be tarnished and your conscience is clear

 

[Charlie_B1981]

just one- this was more about keeping pace of play going, he left his previous shot short and from my stance to play mine he was ouf of my view over my left shoulder. so while he was walking up we agreed i would go.

also to be clear the comp wasnt us against the other 2, there were 36 pairs entered.

from conversations walking round it seems clear this guy normally plays for fun just with his dad so it seems fairly clear he just thought it was ok and genuinly not trying to cheat. but already have it in my mind to have a quiet word with him next time i see him.

 

[DaveM]

They can DQ up until the results are posted. After that results stand.

 

[JustOne]

it seems clear this guy normally plays for fun just with his dad so it seems fairly clear he just thought it was ok and genuinly not trying to cheat.

There's your answer.... forget about it. Maybe tell your playing partner next time you see him... just to bring him up to speed on the rules.