Feeling down

[Killedbyawedge]

Last Sunday I played the first round of the winter singles,on the 10th I watched my opponent put his foot directly behind the ball in the semi rough then pull out a wood and tap that down behind the ball for good measure! I told the other two guys we were playing with what I had seen, they both hadn't seen him do this so I decided not to say anything.
I won the hole and then lost the next four holes! I was now four down with four to play,I won 15 then on 16 he pulled his tee shot left behind some trees I watched him walk to his ball pick up some loose leaves and his ball put the ball down in a different position then throw the leaves!!!!
On seeing this I said to him YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
He then said I could have the hole.
I won 17 with a birdie and he won the match with a birdie on 18.
I shook his hand and walked off the green with steam coming out of my ears!!! He then came up to me and said I could have the match to "save animosity" I told him I will be sending a letter reporting him for cheating.
I have just received a letter back saying no action will be taken.
The moral of this story is don't bother reporting cheats!!!!
ps.he will be our vice Captain in February

 

[sawtooth]

Last Sunday I played the first round of the winter singles,on the 10th I watched my opponent put his foot directly behind the ball in the semi rough then pull out a wood and tap that down behind the ball for good measure! I told the other two guys we were playing with what I had seen, they both hadn't seen him do this so I decided not to say anything.
I won the hole and then lost the next four holes! I was now four down with four to play,I won 15 then on 16 he pulled his tee shot left behind some trees I watched him walk to his ball pick up some loose leaves and his ball put the ball down in a different position then throw the leaves!!!!
On seeing this I said to him YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
He then said I could have the hole.
I won 17 with a birdie and he won the match with a birdie on 18.
I shook his hand and walked off the green with steam coming out of my ears!!! He then came up to me and said I could have the match to "save animosity" I told him I will be sending a letter reporting him for cheating.
I have just received a letter back saying no action will be taken.
The moral of this story is don't bother reporting cheats!!!!
ps.he will be our vice Captain in February

That's a terrible reaction from the committee. I would be inclined to ask for the minutes to make sure that this was actually discussed formally.

Maybe it was just swept under the carpet

 

[TonyN]

No, the point of the storey is... challenge what you see, when you see it. Dont allow a cheat to cheat and see if you win the hole because that wont be the last time they cheat.

 

[Killedbyawedge]

Unfortunately he sent a letter threatening our club with legal action for slander

 

[Norrin Radd]

sounds very much like a committee cover up to me . i would be pushing as hard as i could to get this out in the open .
in a years time this bloke is going to be your club captain ,would you want to play with him as captain of your club ,would others ?
shame him for what he is a CHEAT .

 

[Lord Tyrion]

No, the point of the storey is... challenge what you see, when you see it. Dont allow a cheat to cheat and see if you win the hole because that wont be the last time they cheat.

Agreed. What you did was right and that is all you can do. I've never seen someone blatantly cheat but it would be quite a shock and I think you did well.

I'm staggered by the reaction of the committee but I would be intrigued to hear over time what other members say. Word gets around and that label sticks forever. Chin up mate.

 

[Craigg]

Unfortunately he sent a letter threatening our club with legal action for slander

You can only sue if someone has lied about you.
If he truly cheated, no case to answer.

 

[fundy]

we went through this with a current committee member earlier this year, like in this scenario he denied it initially but after a few others "gave evidence" he backed down and chose to leave the club

hope yours gets sorted as thats the last type of person you want as club captain!

 

[PhilTheFragger]

He knows exactly what he has done, his actions in offering the match show that, and he thinks that he is untouchable.

The Committee obviously dont have the balls for a fight, but there will be some on there now questioning their choice of Vice Captain and therefore presumably future Captain.

as to what you can do next, thats a toughie

Write back saying that its a whitewash demanding action.
Get on the Committee yourself
spread the word that he needs watching like a hawk. (but you then get the "grass" label

ultimately it might be the kick up the pants that he needs, but its a very poor show from your committee

 

[Canary_Yellow]

How could he sue for slander?

This is a private matter between you,him and the committee. He could only sue if it became public information, were untrue and caused him some kind of damage.

I can't see how any of those criteria could be met.

Also, you are not slandering him as all you have done is report as a matter of fact what you saw him do. It is up to the club to pass judgement.

It is disappointing that they are not taking action but the club can't take action against everyone that has a complaint made against them. I'm sure it won't have gone unnoticed either. I would be very surprised if he does it again given his status at the club.

 

[Killedbyawedge]

Just been for a practice and guess what five people told me they had seen this guy cheat!! One of them said he saw him cheat in the order of merit final!! Looks like I'm the only one with a backbone or the only "grass"in our club

 

[fundy]

Just been for a practice and guess what five people told me they had seen this guy cheat!! One of them said he saw him cheat in the order of merit final!! Looks like I'm the only one with a backbone or the only "grass"in our club

get them all to write a letter to the committee explaining what and when they had seen. far harder for the committee to do nothing if multiple evidence rather than one word against another

 

[Junior]

Well done for challenging him when your saw it. You should be proud of yourself. The guys labelled with the worse thing you can be labelled with in golf. You did your job, chin up.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Shocking by someone who will be holding a prestigious post next year and the year after and even worse by the committee. I'd ask for minutes of the meeting and demand it is looked at again. I can't see he'd have any legal recourse as he's admitted responsibility by forfeiting the match "to save animosity". Make sure as many people as possible know he's a cheat. I wouldn't worry about a "grass" label as he'll clearly do it again and again

 

[ChrisB0210]

That's a shocking response from your committee. Clearly the bloke is a cheat and as others have said, his actions in offering you the match speak volumes. I caught one of my pp's cheating in a comp a couple of years ago as he was teeing his ball when he was hitting it from his winter fairway mat, so was using his driver for 2 or 3 shots a hole and scoring pretty well! All it took was a look from me to him, then to his mat to show him that I knew and he stopped straight away. Funnily enough, the bloke hasn't played with me since!

I think you've done the right thing, chin up and as others have said, make sure this guy's reputation precedes him in future.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think the saddest thing of all is that in two years this bloke will be captain. Hardly what you'd want from someone in that position and it'll only reinforce his "untouchable" status that clearly exists and he bullies the committee into maintaining

 

[Tashyboy]

Been there with that one, when I had a run in at a club with a member. It was mentioned to the captain by a third party and investigated. Nowt was done. So I never joined said club.
when I got back into golf I played in a comp and was asked to keep an eye on leather wedge Joey coz he is a cheat. He was.

 

[bladeplayer]

This

no, the point of the storey is... Challenge what you see, when you see it. Dont allow a cheat to cheat and see if you win the hole because that wont be the last time they cheat.

for this very reason

unfortunately he sent a letter threatening our club with legal action for slander

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Well done OP.....if only all golfers had your moral courage the game would be a better place.

Is there an AGM vote on committee members before this idiot becomes club captain?
If so, for the reputation of your club,you and your fellow complainants should gather support to block him.

 

[Maninblack4612]

The only way to deal with this is to have the alleged cheat watched. A few years ago we had suspicions about a father & son & the committee arranged to have them watched discreetly by several members. They returned a score on more than one hole, witnessed to be wrong by two members & they were brought in front of the committee & expelled from the club. One person's word against another is no good. Despite the evidence, our case went to court & the club won, but this shows that the evidence has to be incontrovertible.