Saltman gets ban for cheating.

[chrisd]

I am sure that the 3 months is only about court action. If they had banned him for much longer there would have been litigation flying about everywhere and the authorities may have found that they couldn't ban him etc and had to pay compensation. It does, at least, draw a line under it - personally I think he should be castrated!


Chris

 

[NWJocko]

The R&A rules need a total overall. Far too many petty rules, far too many pages in the rules book.

As mentioned by someone where two members accused a player of cheating, the club banned him and therefore he can not join another club and his reputation is in taters... What if the two men lied about it? No offence but labelling someone a cheat on petty issues and not club championship where its obvious and not a half inch but adjusting cards after signed.

I agree to an extent about this. I think clubs that you and I play at/are members of do need to tread carefully as, perversely, could have more of an impact on the club player who, like you say, is banned from joining anywhere and may lose XX years of membership/friendship IF they are wrongly accused. Mud sticks.

Not condining cheating in any way, shape or form but I think something like this would be difficult to handle in a club environment.

Has anyone else that is a member of club come across situations such as this? Or are there whispers around the club about certain players behaviour?

 

[richart]

The R&A rules need a total overall. Far too many petty rules, far too many pages in the rules book.

As mentioned by someone where two members accused a player of cheating, the club banned him and therefore he can not join another club and his reputation is in taters... What if the two men lied about it? No offence but labelling someone a cheat on petty issues and not club championship where its obvious and not a half inch but adjusting cards after signed.

In this case there were previous suspicions, and the members were on the look out. I understand it was feet not inches although half an inch, if intentional, is cheating. The two members were a past captain and a committee member, so assumed to be of good character ?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The point being that it was a small event (in tour terms) and wasn't widely seen by the golfing public at large (no live coverage). Had it been say the BMW and three of the big names involved the press would have been over it like a rash and the "guilty" party pillored more than Saltman.

I'm not questioning that the two pros were right but saying had it been dealt with properly at the time or just after then it could have been handled in a media sense much better. Having dragged it for so long and now announced the ban makes it look like the tour have been trying to hide it

 

[chris661]

Has anyone else that is a member of club come across situations such as this? Or are there whispers around the club about certain players behaviour?

I played with a guy in a captains day a couple of years ago and he was doing the same, on every putt he moved his ball at least a half ince closer. Although I can not say for definite I am sure he also dropped a ball in the rough after losing one and I think he knew I guessed what he was upto. Stood on the 18th green and I told the other players I was not going to sign his card and walked off. His mate signed it and he went on to win

I was told not to say anything as I could not prove but he had been caught doing before!!!!!!

 

[Parmo]

Has anyone else that is a member of club come across situations such as this? Or are there whispers around the club about certain players behaviour?

I played with a guy in a captains day a couple of years ago and he was doing the same, on every putt he moved his ball at least a half ince closer. Although I can not say for definite I am sure he also dropped a ball in the rough after losing one and I think he knew I guessed what he was upto. Stood on the 18th green and I told the other players I was not going to sign his card and walked off. His mate signed it and he went on to win

I was told not to say anything as I could not prove but he had been caught doing before!!!!!!

You sign cards on the green... tut tut

Caught a lad a few weeks ago, hes 17 and got a dodgy handicap and sliced his ball clearly OOB and then had the cheek to look behind the green in the cabbage and claim he found it, I just told him to eff off and pointed out to him where his ball was, 60 yards over the next fairway OOB. Problem solved.

Why would I bother reporting him? Golf club gossip is worse than aunt Mary's tea room.

 

[Matty]

I think there are a few things to consider here.

He moved the ball slightly to gain an advantage - that's outside the rules and not in keeping with the spirit of the game so a DQ in Russia was the correct penalty.

Where I think the European Tour may come a little unstuck is if they banned him based on the evidence of his 2 playing partners in that one game. He was penalised there by DQ. But now faces a ban also? Surely for that to be 'fair' he should have continued the same practice (i.e. replacing the ball on the putting green in a more advantageous position) at other events resulting in further DQs.

I guess it's be like getting a fine through the post for speeding this week and then getting a 3 month driving ban for the same offence next week - you can't be punished twice for the same offensive surely!

The only way I can see my logic here coming apart is if the Tour have evidence that he has been doing this time and time again despite clear advice and instruction that he must desist and adopt a more accept method of marking and replacing his ball.

 

[chris661]

tut tut what? where did I say I signed cards on the 18th?

 

[viscount17]

Homer what the event is and how many were watching is irrelevant. If it's being run under the auspices of the European PGA then <u>any action</u> has to be the same, and be seen to be the same, at every event or they are setting themselves up for litigation.