Matty
Tour Rookie
I'm just reflecting on a recent round of golf and wondering what the right thing to do was.
Stroke play Stableford competition and we were playing a three ball, two off yellow tees and one of us off the red tees. Honour fell so tee order was yellow-red-yellow and the two tees were a better of yards apart so we played in that order.
When if was the turn of the final player to tee of, they started to tee the ball up between the red markers where the previous player had correctly played from, when they should have played from the yellow markers.
So, at that point, I'm standing there wondering what to do. I can see the error about to happen. If the stroke is played it's a 2 stroke penalty provided it is corrected before the next hole being started. At what point am I supposed to say something?
If I comment before the stroke is played is that advice? It must be as it avoids the penalty and affects the next stroke played - right? If I says '2 stroke penalty' after the stroke is played, the player may well avoid a DQ so is that advice too? Am I supposed to stay silent until the end of the round and then call a DQ? That seems very unsportsmanlike to me but then I don't want to give advice and risk a DQ myself.
As it turns out, this was all irrelevant as all three of us were DQ's anyway for not putting out in a stroke play event - it was raining heavily and several greens was waterlogged with the cups full of water - but the committee didn't intervene and we didn't know we could walk off the course and seek a ruling.
All in all I'm bit annoyed to say the least as I played my best ever and had finished second before the DQ - but you live and learn - I won't make the same mistake again.
Stroke play Stableford competition and we were playing a three ball, two off yellow tees and one of us off the red tees. Honour fell so tee order was yellow-red-yellow and the two tees were a better of yards apart so we played in that order.
When if was the turn of the final player to tee of, they started to tee the ball up between the red markers where the previous player had correctly played from, when they should have played from the yellow markers.
So, at that point, I'm standing there wondering what to do. I can see the error about to happen. If the stroke is played it's a 2 stroke penalty provided it is corrected before the next hole being started. At what point am I supposed to say something?
If I comment before the stroke is played is that advice? It must be as it avoids the penalty and affects the next stroke played - right? If I says '2 stroke penalty' after the stroke is played, the player may well avoid a DQ so is that advice too? Am I supposed to stay silent until the end of the round and then call a DQ? That seems very unsportsmanlike to me but then I don't want to give advice and risk a DQ myself.
As it turns out, this was all irrelevant as all three of us were DQ's anyway for not putting out in a stroke play event - it was raining heavily and several greens was waterlogged with the cups full of water - but the committee didn't intervene and we didn't know we could walk off the course and seek a ruling.
All in all I'm bit annoyed to say the least as I played my best ever and had finished second before the DQ - but you live and learn - I won't make the same mistake again.