Are players cheating? By Missy Jones • @missyjonjones April 2, 2016 Several incidents of cheating, alleged but not proven or owned up to, in the past year might indicate that competitive golf on all levels is losing its way. Has the drive to succeed become greater than the drive to do what’s right? And if that’s true, what can we do about it? One thing heard on the range this week at the ANA Inspiration concerns a player swinging alignment sticks during play of a prior tournament. With the 2016 Rules of Golf changes, this would be a two-­‐stroke penalty unless it was done more than once where it would be a disqualification, just like before. The lone witness was another competitor’s caddie, but the player denied it when questioned by officials. The Rules of Golf assume honesty and if a player says she didn’t do it, the Committee generally accepts that. Barring several people witnessing it, I’m not sure anything else can be done. Finding the standard bearer and the scorer of the group might have helped to decide the facts of the case, but again, when asked, players generally tell the truth. If a player breaks the rules and it’s brought to their attention, it is usually an honest mistake and they admit to it and take the penalty. There is a difference between cheating and breaking the rules. In my years of officiating, I have seen many rules broken but very few cases of actual cheating. Cheating, in its simplest form, involves not just breaking the rules but attempting to prevent others from discovering you've done so. I’m not sure she knew it was a breach of a rule but when given the opportunity to admit to it she said “I didn’t do it.” Wow. That’s cheating. With the new anchoring rule, there have been people telling me they think the Rules of Golf should NOT assume honesty. Let’s not go there, please. This game shouldn’t make officials turn into penalty cops. Our job is to help guide players on the right path, not jump out from behind a tree yelling, “Aha! You’re busted.” I’ll quit if that's the case. At any given tournament, on tour or in amateur golf, rules get broken unintentionally and have no consequences because nobody saw them. It’s a complicated game and the rules get broken but cheating refers to an immoral way of gaining an unfair advantage in a competitive situation. Cheating is gaining an advantage by dishonest means. Was it this player’s intent to deceive? Or did she panic and answer badly? Does she realize that this moment of dishonesty will follow her whole career? There are professional players who have had cheating allegations follow them for decades. They might have made some different decisions if given a mulligan. Another player was wanting to play a provisional ball in a decent lie even after she identified her original unplayable ball in the rough, meaning it was not lost and therefore she cannot play her provisional. Is that not knowing the rules or cheating? Cheaters are consciously trying to avoid detection and punishment and it is discouraging to think we may have some players who think that is okay. A notable player on Tour tweeted “Patting myself on the back for calling a penalty on myself today. Oh no wait....that's what u r SUPPOSE to do in this game. #honesty.” She was the only person who saw her ball settle downward in the thick rough here at ANA Inspiration when she addressed her ball. That tweet is an indication some players have a degree of concern about violations of the rules. The very definition of golf is the rules by which it is governed. Are players starting to value success, money or fame more than the basic tenet of the game? Golf is different isn’t it? We take pride that it is the only game in which players call penalties on themselves. The mood out here is one where some of the veteran players and caddies are disgusted with these recent turn of events. It’s happening in junior and college golf as well. Do we need more rules classes? Do we need etiquette classes? Do we need meetings to advise players of the ramifications of real or perceived cheating? Is the pressure to succeed changing players’ moral character? Golf is like life. You get what you put into it. It’s a game of manners and rules. In life, if you have bad manners or break rules you will make it much harder on yourself and have few friends. Players need to treat other players with the same respect they give their best friend or family. They are working hard for their wins and deserve respect and honesty in the game. Respect for themselves may be the place to start.