What 'rules' have you seen broken in comps?

[CMAC]

Following on from JO's thread on 'Are you cheating if you don't know the rules' it reminded me of some very blatant 'cheating' 'rulebreaking' I have seen in comps just recently.........

share what you have seen and their level if known, might help inform others who 'Didn't know that rule'

Here's 4 I saw in the last 2 competitions!

1) 4 h/capper takes practice swing in the rough, he knocks his ball forward 5 feet, picks it up and replaced it saying "no penalty as it was a practice swing and I wasn't making an intentional stroke at the ball"

2) a 3 and a 5 h/capper (who knew each other) would ask what club the other just played to a green

3) mud on ball on green, wiped it off on the green and was told I could be accused of testing the surface

4) provisional lies in place, single fig players just picked the ball up without marking, wiped it clean and would replace sometimes a couple of feet away from original spot

#1 and #2 gave me daggers and the rest of the round wasn't pleasant. #3 was against me and I accepted and didnt realise that was the rule (still havent checked it actually is). #4 was ok with it and didnt do it again and had 'no idea' about the lift/clean/place procedure.


...over to you

 

[JezzE]

Played a foursomes knockout a while ago with a longstanding golfer and former club captain.

My partner knocked it in a bush, so I went to take a drop keeping the spot where the ball lay between me and the flag.

He told me I could only drop like that if I was in a water hazard - I had to either go for two club-lengths or replay the shot from where my partner had last played.

I ignored him, marvelling at how anyone who had been playing for that long could not know the basic dropping options...

 

[fundy]

Played a foursomes knockout a while ago with a longstanding golfer and former club captain.

My partner knocked it in a bush, so I went to take a drop keeping the spot where the ball lay between me and the flag.

He told me I could only drop like that if I was in a water hazard - I had to either go for two club-lengths or replay the shot from where my partner had last played.

I ignored him, marvelling at how anyone who had been playing for that long could not know the basic dropping options...

a month or so ago this discussion happened in our bar I was so far in the minority I had to get a rule book out until I was believed

 

[JezzE]

a month or so ago this discussion happened in our bar I was so far in the minority I had to get a rule book out until I was believed

Sadly, that doesn't surprise me.

 

[Birchy]

Played a foursomes knockout a while ago with a longstanding golfer and former club captain.

My partner knocked it in a bush, so I went to take a drop keeping the spot where the ball lay between me and the flag.

He told me I could only drop like that if I was in a water hazard - I had to either go for two club-lengths or replay the shot from where my partner had last played.

I ignored him, marvelling at how anyone who had been playing for that long could not know the basic dropping options...

The amount of people i have enlightened with that rule is unreal. Many players who have played 10 times as long as i have as well.

Just last week playing a friendly stableford with a mate i had to swear blind to him to get him to believe me that it can be done and i wouldnt mind it was his ball!!!

 

[CMAC]

Played a foursomes knockout a while ago with a longstanding golfer and former club captain.

My partner knocked it in a bush, so I went to take a drop keeping the spot where the ball lay between me and the flag.

He told me I could only drop like that if I was in a water hazard - I had to either go for two club-lengths or replay the shot from where my partner had last played.

I ignored him, marvelling at how anyone who had been playing for that long could not know the basic dropping options...

A perfect example how knowing the rules can actually benefit the player as I've been there and using that line of sight rule got me back onto another fairway, away from the bushes and a clear shot to the green...albeit with a penalty shot added but a bogie over a possible triple

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Not really a rule broken but a strange interpretation...

Playing in a 3-ball one of my FCs hit a ball into a bunker and it came to rest against a rake on a slope in the bunker. The 3rd member of my group asked me to go and move the rake. When I asked why he told me that if I moved the rake and the ball moved, the guy who's ball it was wouldn't get a penalty and he could play it from where it stopped but if he moved the rake himself and the ball moved, he would get a penalty. I explained to him the proper rule in that situation and he told me that his group "always played it like that"

To this day, I wonder where people get this stuff from

 

[Foxholer]

Moving/removing loose impediments (sticks, leaves etc) in hazards.

Using 'Best point of Relief' rather than 'Nearest point of Relief'

Placing rather than dropping.

Lie improved after identification of ball in rough - cheating!

Lie improved by action of club behind ball in rough - cheating!

Rolling ball with club during 'Preferred Lies' period.

Playing out of turn - more serious in Matchplay.

Swishing practice swings scything foliage in hazards.

Probably plenty more too.

 

[MikeB]

Single figure hc ex club captain telling me (then off 26) that a drop out of GUR was on a line from pin to ball backwards.

Another one having knocked his ball OB starts walking on, I asked if he was going to take a provo and he answered he would take one from where it went OB!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Trying to take relief from animal scrapings when a tree trunk made the shot impossible anyway is one I have prevented on a number of occasions.

 

[Jumboross]

Two weeks ago in a Stableford Comp one of my partners did a double hit on a chip (TC Chen, US Open style). He called 5 on the hole I said 6. The tension was incredible. He had no idea that it was two shots.

Medal on the weekend just gone. Guy leaves his bunker shot in the trap. Then swipes the sand and shouts "there's no EXPLETIVE sand in the bunker!" A deep intake of breath and we have a chat.

Get the R&A Rules of Golf App on your iphone. Keep it in the bag. A nice, (relatively) quick solution. Assuming we're not getting into interpretations....

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Two weeks ago in a Stableford Comp one of my partners did a double hit on a chip (TC Chen, US Open style). He called 5 on the hole I said 6. The tension was incredible. He had no idea that it was two shots.

Medal on the weekend just gone. Guy leaves his bunker shot in the trap. Then swipes the sand and shouts "there's no EXPLETIVE sand in the bunker!" A deep intake of breath and we have a chat.

Get the R&A Rules of Golf App on your iphone. Keep it in the bag. A nice, (relatively) quick solution. Assuming we're not getting into interpretations....

I'm confused, are you saying you insisted he took a 2 shot penalty?

 

[tsped83]

Following on from JO's thread on 'Are you cheating if you don't know the rules' it reminded me of some very blatant 'cheating' 'rulebreaking' I have seen in comps just recently.........

share what you have seen and their level if known, might help inform others who 'Didn't know that rule'

Here's 4 I saw in the last 2 competitions!

1) 4 h/capper takes practice swing in the rough, he knocks his ball forward 5 feet, picks it up and replaced it saying "no penalty as it was a practice swing and I wasn't making an intentional stroke at the ball"

2) a 3 and a 5 h/capper (who knew each other) would ask what club the other just played to a green

3) mud on ball on green, wiped it off on the green and was told I could be accused of testing the surface

4) provisional lies in place, single fig players just picked the ball up without marking, wiped it clean and would replace sometimes a couple of feet away from original spot

#1 and #2 gave me daggers and the rest of the round wasn't pleasant. #3 was against me and I accepted and didnt realise that was the rule (still havent checked it actually is). #4 was ok with it and didnt do it again and had 'no idea' about the lift/clean/place procedure.


...over to you

No. 1 is staggering?!! How can the guy not know about that?

I've seen someone better their lie in the rough by 'damping' down the grass around their ball with the club, pretty sure that's wrong isn't it??

 

[Foxholer]

Two weeks ago in a Stableford Comp one of my partners did a double hit on a chip (TC Chen, US Open style). He called 5 on the hole I said 6. The tension was incredible. He had no idea that it was two shots.

I trust you mean the stroke and a (1 stroke) penalty!

http://www.randa.org/en/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Rules-of-Golf.aspx#/rules/?ruleNum=14&subRuleNum=4

Don't want to confuse 'two shots in all' with 'two shot penalty'!

 

[Robobum]

There was a thread a few weeks ago about playing comps in the same 3 ball every week - the application of certain rules may be commonplace and accepted in their group - never the wiser because they never play with anyone else.

In the same round with 2 people who only ever play together:

Putting out with the flag still in
Lending a putter to tap in after a chip
Picking a ball up in the rough to check it was his
iPhone for DMD

The first thing I saw after it happened as I was raking a bunker, the guys answer was to point at his mate and say "he said it was ok"

The 2nd, I managed to stop before he tapped it in.

The 3rd I let him know that he can't do that

The 4th was a facepalm and walked on, they had both NR'd by that point. Over a pint, I said that they really should try to play with other people and get their heads round some of the basic rules before someone goes mad at them.

 

[CMAC]

Moving/removing loose impediments (sticks, leaves etc) in hazards.

Using 'Best point of Relief' rather than 'Nearest point of Relief'

Placing rather than dropping.

Lie improved after identification of ball in rough - cheating!

Lie improved by action of club behind ball in rough - cheating!

Rolling ball with club during 'Preferred Lies' period.

Playing out of turn - more serious in Matchplay.

Swishing practice swings scything foliage in hazards.

Probably plenty more too.

it's only a rule break in Matchplay, pretty sure in strokeplay you can finish out the hole if you want before your Partner has even taken his second shot.......but that would just be ridiculously stupid and rude.:fore:

 

[CMAC]

No. 1 is staggering?!! How can the guy not know about that?

I've seen someone better their lie in the rough by 'damping' down the grass around their ball with the club, pretty sure that's wrong isn't it??

same reason many cat1's dont, misunderstanding or misinterpreting. He's down to 2 now

 

[noble78]

it's only a rule break in Matchplay, pretty sure in strokeplay you can finish out the hole if you want before your Partner has even taken his second shot.......but that would just be ridiculously stupid and rude.:fore:

It's not a penalty though is it

 

[Foxholer]

it's only a rule break in Matchplay, pretty sure in strokeplay you can finish out the hole if you want before your Partner has even taken his second shot.......but that would just be ridiculously stupid and rude.:fore:

Wrong!

It's a breach of the Rule. But here is no Penallty - with 1 exception.

http://www.randa.org/en/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Rules-of-Golf.aspx#/rules/?ruleNum=10&subRuleNum=2

By not knowing this, do you consider yourself a cheat? Apparently, some in this thread (not me btw) would!

 

[Foxholer]

No. 1 is staggering?!! How can the guy not know about that?

Probably confused by the more common occurrence of hitting a ball on the tee during a practice swing, which is not a breach - as the ball isn't in play until a Stroke is made (and the practice swing isn't a stroke because the player hasn't intended to strike the ball)

I've seen someone better their lie in the rough by 'damping' down the grass around their ball with the club, pretty sure that's wrong isn't it??

And again, does your 'less than 100% knowledge of this rule' make you a cheat? Not in my book!