How to deal with golf CHEATS!

[@kenbrown2808]

a husband was bemoaning the fact he didn't have anyone to play golf with. his wife said, "why don't you play with Dave, next door?" the husband said, "would YOU play golf with a man who deliberately makes noise in your backswing, kicks the ball when you're not looking, demands gimmes for anything under ten feet, and lies on the scorecard?" the wife said, "no, I guess I wouldn't." the husmabd said, "well, neither will Dave."

[@KeithMoon13]

I heard that with a slightly different punchline that I think works a bit better. The husband said, "Dammit, you sound just like Dave now"

[@kenbrown2808]

@@KeithMoon13 I think mine follows the conversation better, but they both work.

[@JagnarLothbrok]

To be fair. Equally are corny. And unoriginal. Lemme guess, on putts uve left short u "hit it with ur purse" 😅😅😅😅😅

[@kenbrown2808]

@JagnarLothbrok no, you miss 100% of putts you leave short. It's weak drives you should have hit with yer purse.

[@JagnarLothbrok]

@kenbrown2808 never heard a weak drive and the purse reference in the 500+ rounds I've played, it's always a weak putt "hit it with my purse". The 100% short one tho, yup. Hear it all the time. I usually say "you also miss 100% of the putts you hit long" lol.

[@Hunter-zp5hd]

My game is my game, and if I’m not playing for something, I could give a crap what the other players are doing. If they move the ball, improve a lie, or whatever, that’s not my game. So I don’t let some cheater bug me. It’s not that important. Now if we’re in a tournament or playing for money, then I’m calling it out. Since I do neither of these things, I’m not bothered. I play golf to see what I can score and hit some shots outside in the air. I’m no pro and never will be, so it makes no difference to me.

[@wizmo57]

Well said, the majority of the flagrant cheats will also never be pro. I play weekly with my Pops and we don't even bother to bring a scorecard

[@mre_man]

@@wizmo57 are you admitting to cheating?

[@luckymojo9348]

​@mre_man pretty sure he just means he's playing social golf with his dad

[@richg7264]

I try really hard to not let it bug me, but when they try to rub a score or a “better” shot in my face.. it kinda upsets me lol

[@Tikikingen]

If you don't call it out you actually cheat as well, and shall also have penalty for it. So always call out cheats and penalties when playing with established rules.

[@peterdavis2233]

My father taught me 60 years ago that golf is as much a test of character as it is of skill. Many people have the skills, fewer have the character, unfortunately. There's not much you can do about cheaters (those who lack character and integrity) except to avoid them at all costs. Rudeness, temper, thoughtlessness, and cheating are all signs of a player who lacks the necessary character to play golf. By contrast, watching you two play is so much fun and a great display of both skill and character. Thanks!

[@jakhaughton1800]

I played years ago and for competitions you were expected to arrive 40 minutes before the time you picked. A draw was carried out with all the others around the given time. You never knew who you were playing with and as a result I met more other members. It was the best system I played.

[@theoutdoorsman9726]

Man Rick has come so far. I remember watching him a long time ago when he would be hitting balls out of a bay at the range where I assume maybe he was a golf coach. He would review clubs and the likes. Now look at him, the biggest golf channel on KZbin! Congrats Rick and I still love watching all your content.

[@adiiskandar5011]

same like a mate of mine. when he plays alone, he shoots 84 on a championship level course. when he plays with me at a municipal amateur friendly course, he shoots 100.

[@tfootball8704]

Yes, they are called billy bullshitters, they make stuff up.......

[@francismcknight724]

That could also be because of the course. Bear with me. Watch videos of PGA Pro golfers playing on municipal courses. They get so used to playing elite level courses that an ordinary (comparitively) course throws out their game

[@adiiskandar5011]

Possible, but the guy shanks and loses 2 balls within 1st hole…i mean i played with people who shoots low 80s at championships courses, sure they may lose a ball or two here and there, but ive never seen them go up to 100 in a round. Their Bad days maybe 90?

[@rickkpulido]

😂

[@theidlemouse1394]

Wouldn’t take much notice of that I do that all the time, play on my own I break par pretty much every single time, even my personal best at my local club was 5 under par (66) I’m a 2 handicap but put me in general play I’m on my handicap or 1-2 over or under it, put me in competitive play and I’m everywhere from 1-12 over my handicap 😂

[@sweetswing1]

I played in a tournament this year and was in the 8-12 HC flight. This guy in my group was livid he had to re-tee after going OB off the first tee. He then pulled two more OB. Then he said "I'll just take double par." To which the rules official told him that wasn't allowed.😂 The guy was so mad! He took a 13 on hole 1 and it didn't get much better. He tried to take gimmie putts, thought he could move his ball out of divots and then got mad at the group when we told him he couldn't. He walked off after 9 holes. He shot 61 and he told us he was a 10HC 😂. Never heard so many F bombs in my life.😂

[@tommyfraz.]

Maybe he was going to shoot a 20 on the back 9 😆

[@jaautre7482]

I will say, i shot my best 9 holes coming in at par. That round was played with my 9 year old daughter. The next closest 9 i played on that course was a 39. Something to be said for being relaxed.

[@geoffw8565]

Years ago many club officials especially the club secretary were military men who knew how to deal with people. Men who could take a member aside and have a quiet but firm word in their ear as to the consequences lets say. Over the last few ( well many ) years I see club committee members and secretary's / managers just don't/can't /don't have the social skills etc to engage and manage a situation. My pal has seen and reported his club's senior organiser several times for moving his ball to a better lie but the club management don't want to know !

[@scottdavis7993]

On the question of how to do it "with out a handicap".... Play 18 holes, while everyone is out playing the club/organizer picks a random 9 holes to base a handicap/grouping from. When finished people that shoot in range 1 on those holes are flighted together range 2 .... and so on. Seems to work pretty good for a lot of tournaments/events we do.

[@rheffner3]

Unfortunately, there are a large number of cheaters in golf. I used to post all my scores for my handicap. But I knew a bunch of players (not the majority, but still a lot) who only posted their high scores to pad their handicap. Disgusting. I still beat them. lol

[@itsdaley]

that must be very satisfying =] 😁

[@PNW_Sportbike_Life]

Posting high scores in the GHIN doesn’t really raise your handicap at all. Low scores lower it though, as it’s about your potential to score.

[@bossert_]

I've always thought tier events would be the way to go, you play to win your "division", play to win the scratch, 5-10, 10-20, 20+ HC group. Then you can have winners for each division and the winner of scratch is the winner overall. That way everyone has something to play for and the good golfers don't get punished for being good

[@HenryAkes13]

Still have issues with solid golfers claiming to be in the 20+ category and then shooting an 80

[@cikarang5]

We had a situation at my club where a member reported another member regarding illegal drops etc, after questioning the 2 other members of the group the council watched the cheater over 2 other rounds and subsequently asked him to leave the club. All well and good but the member who made the initial report was asked about it so much over the next three months that he also gave up his membership as he felt that people were judging HIM

[@itsdaley]

I dont play any form on competitions (not yet anyway) but I'd never think about cheating, 1 its just morally wrong and 2 I dont want to cheat myself by writing down a fake score, my friend I play the most rounds with there is around 25 years between us and we dont play against each other we both know were at different skill levels, we play against ourself and enjoy the round in good company

[@guyr7351]

We’ve recently had someone who left our club as he was found guilty of cheating, it took one member prepared to sign a letter stating what they had done. Once he confirmed he would then others came forward to him and said they had seen him cheat but grumbled / complained but would not make it formal. We hear a lot about scrambles and cheating esp 4 man team events but if you have good golfers your giving them 4 goes every time to hit a very good shot so it’s no wonder they get scores of 49/50. We had a team with a team handicap of 5 shoot 50 recently. Handicaps and ability though still prove a problem, I’m 20.6 having dropped 6 shots this year. My eclectic score for the course is 65 (-7) but I’ve yet to break 90. One day it could click and my stableford score would be crazy.

[@ConfusedCurling-ob5lo]

Hi Rick and Guy! We have plenty of usual suspects that win on a regular basis especially in pairs and team events. They are usually the more senior players off quite high handicaps. With the new world handicap system they will play 3 or 4 times a week and put a card in every time even when only playing nine holes. They won’t necessarily play great golf but this then protects their handicap for the weekend when the big comps are on , and low and behold they’re always up there in the prize money. Last week I played in a Sunday stab comp and put a respectable score of 38 in and came fourth where as the winner got a measly 48 points playing off 21 🤷‍♂️

[@Matt-Higgins]

We had an annual social golf day with a heap of mates (most who only played that event), we decided to play with a “temp handicap” for the non golfers. To avoid any issues (intentional or not) we’d collect the cards at the end and give prizes for 2nd, 5th and 7th. 1st would get a lesser reward.

[@johndixon6353]

Played a charity do once, never again. Guy who won it had 54 points!!!! Only shot i saw him hit was a shank deep into the trees😂

[@JimN109]

You know something’s up when a 24 handicapper pipes his first drive 300 yards down the middle of the fairway

[@blue24563]

lol he birdied that hole 😂

[@adnanrahman5883]

Charity comps are better played with first time players, cause no one gives a shit

[@BMac73-l4o]

Many Charity days in Australia (mainly Ambrose format) have the handicap of each team worked out by choosing 6 random holes of the day and assigning a handicap based on the teams score on those 6 holes. seems fair

[@francismcknight724]

Ones I have been involved in you add all handicaps and divide by 8. If nobody in the group had a handicap you were simply assigned 18

[@NineteenEightyJuan]

The club I'm in has foursomes for their tournaments comprised of different levels based on handicaps with 2 people taking score. If it's your first tournament, they have someone that's senior to the club in that group to make sure you are not sandbagging your handicap. They also give you 75% of your handicap the first tournament to also combat this.

[@clubequintafalcao]

I know this story!! There's quite a few people talking about it in Melbourne at the moment.

[@essoteric]

Details, please!

[@damienpezzi9803]

Which club?

[@albertmaynard1147]

Now we look for a world top 100 club in Melbourne

[@clubequintafalcao]

There’s only two clubs in Melbourne ranked in the top 100, and all i can say is it was at the club which has two courses. Stories been doing the rounds locally for a couple months now.

[@kevinlock7108]

Interesting and it does happen. The question is whether it’s accidental or deliberate, very difficult to prove. I’ve had members move balls a considerable distance from bad lies, one member had no swing against a tree, waited for everyone look away and suddenly the ball was in a different position. Totally denied moving it. When you have to watch every player under these circumstances, your own round slows down and you lose concentration. Recently had a member scoring 20 points regularly to winning the monthly competition with over 40 points. Had caught the member previously declaring less strokes than he’d taken. He apologised and said he’d forgot. 🤷

[@diplwahn]

not sure narrowing it down to Australia is of any help, Golf Digest names The Metropolitan Golf Club, Barnbougle Lost Farm, Victoria Golf Club, Barnbougle Dunes, New South Wales Golf Club, Royal Melbourne Golf Club (East), Cape Wickham Golf Links, Kingston Heath Golf Club and Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West) under the top 100 golf courses on their website... that would be quiet a few members...

[@theoneandonly690]

I agree with you on the direct cheating on shot numbers and ‘finding’ a ball but the issue I have as not being a member of a golf club is that handicaps are a sort of closed system. I’m happy to play of any handicap deemed for me but why should we have to pay membership to get one?

[@Andyinth]

A simple solution for Charity event is that the "winners" get a trophy of limited value & then all the other prizes are lucky draws. If you want to get extreme, the "winners" cannot go into the lucky draw.

[@andrewsymes249]

I suggested this at our club but didn’t get takenup

[@joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

A guy in our club was caught cheeting. Seen dropping a ball, when looking for his ball, and claiming he found it. His original ball was subsequently found. This happened in the final of the mens annual matchplay comp, and the guy was a trustee of the club. No action taken in the end, because nobody would make a written statement. The lad still turns up and enters comps. Came 2nd in one of our big comps this year 😂

[@Mjones8383]

In the states it is a felony to commit fraud during a sporting event, most times its a fine and probation with restitution paid. On extreme occasions it is jail time.

[@jgillen3706]

I was put in that position like Guy to keep an eye on certain individuals...affected my game more than theirs on the day

[@robertmasson9074]

i have never played in a charity event where the winners hadnt obviously cheated either by miscounting or fudging handicaps. Everyone knows and chat about it but noone does anything about it. Just last month we played behind the winning team and we were constantly complaining for being held up as they lived in the trees looking for balls. We were absolutely amazed when they won

[@tommymartinhole]

Thank god I stumbled across this, fastest I fell asleep in ages

[@snaphookright4767]

We had a guy in our club who was reputed to have cheated in a couple of comps. I played a couple of casual rounds with him and he was legitimately a good golfer. The guys that accused him of cheating were very much the mind-my-own-game type of players where that kind of accusation was out of character. On the flip side the accused seemed to always be about other people’s game and always trying to get an edge. I’ve always thought that he needed that to play well, but when he couldn’t, he’d score what he thought he should have gotten.

[@BenandJacksadventures]

I think they should put 17 Flags on the green. that would make the game so much fun! such a next generation idea

[@johndavis2653]

We had a very similar experience, again in Australia, ( we aren't all cheats over here ), anyway our club captain followed the two individuals in the following group and kept their scores and took note at the approximate distances on the nearest to pin holes. The upshot was a 6 month expulsion for each player. ( one of these gents is a very good golfer but has been caught twice more that I know of for cheating) I think some people just need to be in the limelight.

[@bradbradshaw3444]

I make every effort to educate people on the RofG, when I play SOCIALLY with them. However, when it's a competition, I simply call out the miscreant and apply the penalty

[@Netsonar69]

I have a great story for you in the finals of a club championship a member couldn’t find his ball after a well struck approach shot on a par four! He searched and searched and all of a sudden said I found it just off the fringe in heavy rough. However after he chipped his ball near the hole his opponent said it’s good as it was match play walked over to the hole only to retrieve his original “legitimate “ approach shot that was sitting in the hole! So this guy holed out for eagle and was also thrown out of the club! I don’t want to say the state because it will give the member away but it was at a top 25 golf club in America I often played with this member and saw similar things the crazy part is he is and was a legitimately excellent golfer easily being a +5 or better I played with him in a state event and I watched him closely and he shot a 66 on a par 72 completely legitimate. Some people just need to win at all costs I guess!

[@vernhanna4399]

Me and my buddies play on an old country course that has rocky patches and we all agree it’s ok to move to an area with no rocks if you land in the rocks but you can’t move closer to the hole. But I’m not a pro and am not ruining my clubs hitting rocks . Technically it’s cheating but in such case we feel it’s ok plus we aren’t playing for club ratings ( we’re not members)

[@gforce4893]

I'm a fan of hcaps and the new system but I believe that the unlimited hcap is a problem. I think big local club comps like medals or captains prize should be capper at 24 to 28. Having people over 30 in the prizes seems wrong

[@jasonlee5279]

Im from a private club in Australia and this is how comps typically work. There is usually one every second day and based on the number of players, there are grades grouped by handicaps. First place in that grade usually gets something like $60, 2nd place $30 and they give a ball for a few places after that. Cheaters like this pair DEFINITELY affects the others in the grade as they are winning the main prizes while the other honest golfers in that grade lose out. And then obviously they are stealing the NTP prizes. These two need to be called to the club committee to please explain the apparent scoring anomoly. A bit of pressure like this and knowing they are under scrutiny will stop it.

[@steomcd]

Every club has cheats Best thing to do is remove good prizes and give golf ball to the winner.

[@davass82]

Recently played in a charity tournament scramble where a team claimed they had a team handicap of 14 but they apparently scored 16 under. Standard handicap calculation and the max individual handicap was 36. So they were effectively claiming they were all 28 handicaps and shot 16 under. LOL

[@SimonJones265]

At my old club there was an old guy who could barely walk. Whenever he played with a specific partner he'd shoot close to even but about +15 when with someone else. My dad hid in the bushes and video recorded one of his rounds to catch him fiddling his scores 🤣

[@23x31]

Bonus points for the Mets hat.

[@CaseACEjk]

We have a really bad problem of cheating in scrambles in iowa. Taking all the fun out of it.

[@myluresstuckinatree2111]

This scenario must occur in many golf clubs. The story is very very familiar.

[@rickgilliland763]

Usually all our competitions go off as 4-somes. So score cards are passed around.

[@pjhoneycut]

Assign them a non playing committee member observer for their next round. That should send the right message.

[@blue24563]

Only for 1 round though. You can’t do that forever. They’ll start winning as soon as they play on their own. 😂

[@TheSeahawk206]

I always play better alone in general. However, the best golf shots in my life like my albatross and H in 1 have come in front of people. You just have to have a decent feeling around someone to trust them with golf. It’s the ultimate gentleman’s sport. Chances are if they cheat in golf, they cheat in other areas of life. No bueno.

[@kenbrown2808]

the handicap system in golf ought to work like the handicap system in Drag Racing: if you come in too much better than your handicap, you're penalized.

[@dougr188]

My concern would be sometimes you have a day where everything clicks. Another option might be to not accept your highest 3 scores and your lowest 3 scores, maybe?

[@stephenmcqually2983]

You are lol, with a higher handicap

[@JimN109]

You are. It’s called an Exceptional Score Reduction (ESR).

[@kenbrown2808]

@@JimN109 I see. I'd say give it bigger teeth, though.

[@kenbrown2808]

@@dougr188 the way the handicap is developed is certainly open to debate. and certainly having the game of a lifetime shouldn't be punished. if a person maintains an artificially high handicap to get an advantage in tournaments, it should backfire on them, though.

[@zuluwarrior88]

If you’re not keeping a handicap or playing tourneys….it doesn’t matter, to each their own, have fun but don’t expect others to let it go.

[@andyd_9]

I started playing state sanctioned stroke play events this year. If you win 2 net events in a calendar year they automatically lower your handicap by 10%, 3 wins 20% and so on, which is already 90% of "actual GHIN course handicap". So penalizing sandbagging can be done. In my summer league, my partner and I play it as it lies and never cheat and we never win. I see people improving lies and just outright lying about what they scored on a hole. I shouldn't have to be a watchdog for other players. I brought it up with the league President when we played against him and he said he would email the members as a reminder not to cheat...email was never sent! As a result we won't be playing in that league next year. Golf is one of the only sports where you can call a penalty on yourself and fewer and fewer people are doing it anymore. It's sad.

[@atthebrink74]

The pencil is the best club in a lot of peoples bag.

[@kenbrown2808]

or the foot wedge.

[@MC-nb6jx]

Actually it’s the rubber on the end of said pencil😉

[@adamsmithintin2803]

Im not afraid to say i have made a lot of money by playing by the rules losely. If my ball isnt clearly visable i sometimes kick it as i walk while "looking" until its in a great spot. I always have a spare ready to drop if i have a lost ball, trick is to drop it in a favourable spot but keep looking for it sometimes i then let the other player find it. Im still a decent golfer but its very difficult to win a competition without doing this over six holes or so per round for me. In extreme cases where theres only a few holes left to play and im still down i sometimes make crazy plays like drive over a wooded area knowingly losing the ball, but then drop a new one next to the green, can be a bit risky if you over do it. Also never over do it in one round you want win with all reasonable rounds not just one amazing one you will get caught. This is how you become a winner, the PGA players would do the same thing if there were no cameras. Winners have the mentality that they will do anything to win.

[@steveetherington3413]

I dont play in club comps because of the hc system but also the number of cheaters from 2hc to 40 it doesn't seem to matter .i stopped playing with a group of mates because one of them was cheating and I told them why and the reply was oh he will do anything to win.

[@lyndelf]

Definitely need to do away with the 4 person scramble for money events! 2 person teams only and within the foursome they can keep each other honest! Not sure why people even bother to participate when they know there will be teams cheating because it's so common these days!

[@mitchellroling2238]

I'm relatively new to playing actual competitions but have played a few scrambles this year. It's made me wonder why we don't keep the score of our opponents that we are playing with rather than keeping our own score. Seems to me like it's just golf etiquette to keep your own honest score but maybe there is a better reason that I don't know of?

[@PFunkChang]

You do keep the competitors card.

[@mitchellroling2238]

@@PFunkChang Oh, lol. I guess that's why I thought we should. We didn't keep the competitors card in any of them and I played with different people every scramble. Why are these scramble cheaters such a problem if someone else is keeping their card then? I'd think that would be an easy anti-cheat.

[@MrBroon25]

​@mitchellroling2238 cheating in scrambles usually happens when it's a 4 man scramble so they are keeping their own score as they aren't playing against anyone else in their group.

[@Shreveinator]

In the US we deal with golf cheats by electing them the 45th president.

[@Dean_R1]

Difficult one. I play better when I play with certain people, it's relaxing when you are comfortable with your group. Tension causes bad golf. It could definitely be that.

[@Goonertopcat]

We have lads at our club that if they score well in club competitions and have a cut go out and out high supplement cards in to receive their shots back, and are under investigation for cheating

[@Danjr704]

I hate playing with guys that cheat, it bothers me so much that it impacts my play. My uncle is the worst at it. We’re on 18th hole (par 4) we bought have drives in on right side of fairway/light rough. I get close with second shot. He hits right into trees, lays up to get better angle, proceeds to hit tress 2 times after that, eventually gets on in 5, drains long putt for the 6, says ‘man that’s a tough way to save par’…. Pisses me off. Meanwhile I’m counting every stroke for myself…

[@steveparker9546]

Cheats of all kinds are everywhere at every club and the hcp system makes it easy for them

[@larsbreukers]

very simple, in competitions you pick team mates at random. dont allow family members to be in the same flight when it is competition for money or proper prices.

[@terrybrewer4296]

Every charity golf tournament I've ever attended always has cheaters playing in them. Even when the prizes aren't worth much. It's laughable how they can be -9 after 8 holes and the average handicap for the group is probably 10-15. You know it's bad when the group that comes in last place is called "The Most Honest."

[@seanryan8016]

We played in a 4 man team event better ball once and we were a team of 3 x 10 handicappers and 1 x 18 handicapper, went around in 8 under in terrible conditions and thought we were going to be skinned alive with people thinking we cheated, we finished nowhere. The winning team was 4 guys of 36 handicap and came in 12 under, 😂 couldn't believe the cheek of them

[@berto882]

Make a rule that for your score to be accepted you can’t go round with a family member. All submitted scores have to go round with a random member

[@ethantaylor8370]

Should golf clubs that have members knowingly state they try to fix their handicap for competitions or trips away be banning these players?

[@theidlemouse1394]

We had a guy that had been banned by 2 other clubs prior to joining my club, would enter 112 shot general play rounds but shoot mid 80s every comp he entered, he even won a club stroke play major with a net 58!! the committee did nothing the club members boycotted the events in the end, as he won 13 of the 15 he entered that season, the committee took several strokes off his handicap when the season ended so he was right back up there again ready for the next season, it became a very unhappy place to play, I personally hate the handicap system, promotes cheating and it can’t be policed, it doesn’t make it fair specially to the low handicaps, me personally play off a 2 handicap and I’ve never won a major trophy in my club in the 4 years I’ve been playing, I would have to beat course records to compete with these high handicappers, I’ve not seen fairness in any comp I’ve played in, only 20-30 handicapers winning everything, personally I think competition scores should not be displayed and only competition cards should be accepted to your handicap, not general play, it would take a lot of time and money to inflate a handicap like that and they would get cut so heavily after 1-2 wins it would stop happening pretty quickly to the point everyone would be playing very close to their real handicap and even the field properly

[@RoyWright210]

Sounds like they could be cheating but I know I play better when just playing with my boys or like me and my brother. When they throw someone in my group I don’t know for some reason mentally I always shoot at least 4 or 5 strokes worse.

[@september7917pm]

We have 2 brothers at our club who are definitely cheating…the last 2 years it’s almost like they take turns at winning each week. And at least one of them is always in the 2s. One of them won player of the year last year 🙄

[@DecO-bb1vh]

How do you cheat a NTP? Even if they play together surely there are 2 other golfers in the group that would call them out?

[@Powder148]

3:36 on repeat

[@andyfrizzell4352]

Just don't let a pair play alone. Have to play as a 4. I had it happen to me where a single pipped me to win the club presidents/ captains cup, with him playing alone.

[@mphomokoena8835]

The worst type of cheats are the ones who are super competitive 😂…willing to do anything to win as if you can’t see them or notice. I’ve learnt not to bother with them, focus on my round whatever they do is their business. It’s honestly not that deep.

[@declanmccann698]

Our golf club has block bookings for competitions so there may 16 namez in a block for 4 time slots, anyone who the committee is suspicious off will be deliberately kept seperate from there usual playing partners and someone will be placed with them to keep an eye on them. This is done regularly, but cant be done for am am's or classics . Also with the world handicap system, guys ard putting crap svores in during the week shooting in the 90s or 100s and turn up on sunday and shoot 80. There should be a limit on thd number of casual rounds allowed to bd dnterec each year and the max limig for mens handicap should bd lowered and capped. Guys playing off 30plus handicaps is a joke, its different if they are over 60yrs of age but not for guyx under that. A max of 27 up to age of 60 and no more.

[@garethbottomley8097]

Make all comps 4 ball only

[@johnmifflin9083]

He's not guilty until it's proven. It wouldn't be nice to be called a cheat when not cheating and vice versa

[@briantreadwell2206]

Point this out to them - they will likely be mortified but no doubt understanding that they must play with other members in future comps. If they are indignant . . .

[@Liddo77]

Its one thing cheating to put a good score into England Golf to bring your handicap down (cheating yourself) but it's a totally different matter when cheating to win prizes or prize money off other non-cheating and honest golfers. I hate golf cheats with a passion, and have left clubs in the past to get away from them.

[@garyosborne8906]

About cheating. If it is not a tournament, and simply casual play, what difference does it make? I haven’t been a club member for many years now but when I was, each player in a club member tournament HAD to have a club handicap and the pros knew when you were on the course and if you handed in a score card. If someone REALLY wanted to fake a handicap I suppose they could make up a score card to record whatever they wanted but I don’t think that happened often. What DID happen rather routinely was certain players would give themselves or their buddies longer putts and they improved their lies…..sometimes quite generously. Their handicaps were lower which gave them lower handicaps and they earned bragging rights in the bar. When tournament times came around, they all got their butts kicked because they could not play to their artificially low handicaps. In our group, we played everything down and rarely gave a putt that was anything other than a tap in. We did well in tournaments…..and everyone said WE cheated…..LOL. One year I actually won our club championship. Granted, it was in the “D” flight so I was just the best of the worst golfers in the club. Got a nice trophy nonetheless. Bottom line if someone cheats, they have to go and look at themselves in the mirror. They could brag all they wanted but everyone knew the real story and they just looked stupid and few would agree to play with them. They ultimately will ruin their own golf experience. Haters can hate and cheaters can cheat and there isn’t much you can do about it unless you assign a ranger to each group (or each hole) and disqualify cheaters immediately when caught.

[@nwluce1]

A friend of mine brags about how good he golfs... he is always giving himself preferred lies,rough or fairway every time 😔 and brags about how good he plays

[@sparkplugsteve402]

Doesn't bother Mr Reed, he will gladly cheat. Identifying his ball in the wrong tree, embedded ball (not) and making sand castles are the ones we know about.

[@martinharvey3990]

I always laugh that a group of high hcps who can't hit their hats suddenly turn into Tiger Woods in a team scramble! 😂 The same faces winning events with their cronies, I just waited for the club championship to arrive... First round, you play with players of similar hcps. 2nd round is based on your 1st round score, with the best rounds going out last. Interestingly enough, these characters couldn't shoot under 90 or DNF was written on their scorecards. How to stop team cheating? Splinter every team into different flights with the "characters" playing with committee members. 🤣

[@andrewgarner9194]

It maybe that they play better in the more relaxed company of each other

[@ref0910]

You need proof. Noticing a pattern is not proof. Golf clubs have to be careful who they accuse or they can end up in court themselves.

[@Denimchicken.]

Weirdly I thrive off the pressure of randoms.. I golf worse with my family! 😂

[@ignaciomaortua8547]

I think the easiest option is to put these father and son to play alogside other two. At least in my home course and in most of the golf clubs I know in Spain, club competitions are always foursomes and that way it is difficoult that all of them coordinate to cheat...

[@brandondornan9524]

Just make sure you always team them up with a two some you trust to keep an eye out and be honest. Or make a point taker follow their group 🤷‍♂️ Problem solved

[@rickfromboston]

There’s a lot of ways to combat this cheating (if they are cheating) but letting it continue isn’t one of them. The club will lose good members by allowing this to continue, no one wants to play in a club that allows cheating. If there is cheating you must root it out and there should be rules to prevent it.

[@tomsanderson6492]

You apolised to grant yet Rick?

[@blue24563]

It might not be cheating. There’s a guy at our club I play with a lot and I always play well against him. Literally the worst score I’ve had against him is about 5 shots BELOW my handicap.

[@patfloyd]

If enough people are pretty sure the guy is cheating, have a polite conversation with him and say this has been brought to my attention and see what he says. That alone should scare/shame him into stopping.

[@andrewgibson1756]

Unfortunately cheating/manipulating the system is becoming more common place. Simple solution is to handicap the individuals into being unable to cheat/ win prizes. Stronger handicap secretaries can tackle this issue head on. Nearest pin harder to solve

[@paulmcgee1867]

The statistics would appear to be the evidence and it needs someone to point it out to them and explain how other players could read the situation

[@foylad4862]

Dont bring cameras onto the golf course.. FFS 🙉 the romans will have face recognition on each tee next.

[@BenH25]

If it is a course in a wooded area, throw a guy in a ghillie suit out there to follow them. Maybe a kangaroo suit to fit in the Australian environment.

[@Boycie3]

Cheating eh? Oh my. I just cant believe there is gambling occurring in the casino.

[@Vincent77654]

What sort of man teaches his son it’s ok to cheat ! They must be fairly well off to play at a good course so it’s not for money ! It just must be for the Kudos of winning ! Disgusting how can you take the plaudits knowing it wasn’t genuine !

[@TheTactical6string]

Golf charity scrambles have been ruined! Mulligans, strings its all ridiculous now. I used to love them but its not fun now as there will always be cheaters, and one other thing , have they changed the rule about once a ball is holed in a scramble thats the score? i watch all these scramble videos and the first golfer taps in it a lot and in the old days once u putt it in thats it regardless if youve got 3 people yet to putt.

[@briarmeadow]

Cameras for the Closest to the Pin.

[@adyseven1]

Simples ... don't sign the card !

[@samueltaylor5280]

should’ve named the grass

[@dholiday9315]

I’m at the point where I can’t even play with most of my friends, or especially my dad, because they insist on breaking every rule in golf claiming “I’m not a pro”… while attempting to call you on everything and add strokes to your hole even when it’s complete bs… and if they are close or beating you talking sh!t about them beating you. 😂 Maybe I’m just anti social these days, but if I have a bad round I don’t mind knowing exactly how bad it was. These guys, and ESPECIALLY my dad, will go out and chest every hole every shot and shoot an 89 and brag about it for days. Then get pissed when I point out nobody gives a damn because it was really a 105 and you’re a scumbag. 😂