Yesterday I played golf with a fella who just took up the game. Wisely, he took lessons right out of the gate so he is already doing some things pretty well. We both played off the white tees and though I beat him, it wasn’t by much. It has been miserably hot here where I live so I wilted and 3-putted FIVE holes, and that’s just in a nine-hole round.
I know I know. Got to work on my putting.
But what I wanted to post about was a story my golfing partner, Wayne, told me. He said he golfed with a guy who shot 81 recently. He then said that the guy improved his lie a lot. I asked him how exactly he did that and he replied that he’d either literally toss the ball somewhere else or kick it somewhere else. In sand traps he’d move it to the most favorable place to hit out from.
Are you kidding me?
I told the guy that his golfing buddy more likely shot a 100 – or more – if you add in all the penalties for moving his ball. I do wonder how common this type of cheating is. For casual golfers who don’t post scores, it is just too easy to use the old foot wedge to improve every lie and then tell your work buddies you normally shoot in the “low 80s” or whatever score suits your fancy.
The thing that kills me is that this guy cheated right in front of God and everyone.
Does Wayne’s friend really think he’s fooling anyone?
Now back to the round that Wayne and I played: On the seventh hole, Wayne hit two drives in a row out of bounds. He then got frustrated, picked up his bag and just started heading out to the OB spot so I told him that, to abide by the rules, he had to keep hitting off the tee till he got one in bounds. After the second drive went out, he flat out refused to hit another one from the tee box. He just went to the general area his balls flew out and dropped a new ball in bounds. He took his penalty strokes but obviously, the hole was not played or scored as it should have been.
There must be 50 ways to cheat at golf…
So given that, I guess I beat him by more than I thought. 🙂
I'd Rather Golf Than Shop! 