Is a trophy worth your reputation?

This question often comes up when cheating in golf is discussed. I’ve had my share of experiences with players who aren’t exactly following the rules.

As someone who isn’t a stickler for the rules and is pretty lenient with minor infractions, repetitive and brazen cheating gets to me. I am not the flight mate who would reprimand a player for slight violations.

Honestly, I mostly focus on my own game, ask for the score of the player I’m keeping track of, and trust that they’ve counted it correctly.

Now and then, you’ll come across golfers who regularly cheat. They do this in various ways: improving lies, making incorrect drops, marking balls wrongly on the green, improperly using provisional balls, taking “piligans” instead of mulligans, and more.

In my opinion, the most dishonest form of cheating is submitting an incorrect score.

If you can’t keep track of your score, maybe it’s time to go back to school before hitting the golf course. It’s frustrating because it’s pure laziness — there’s no effort or skill involved. You simply write down the score you want.

If that’s the case, skip the shots and just head straight to the clubhouse.

Register, grab a scorecard, jot down your preferred score, and wait for the awards ceremony. Then, take your trophy, post it on social media, and enjoy the undeserved praise.

Just a few weeks ago, there was a post by a local golf publication about a “recheck” of the results of the major tournament of an ultra-exclusive club.

Normally, I wouldn’t have an idea about things like these, as I am not very active in golf circles. This time though, I had some knowledge of the incident from a member of that ultra-exclusive club.

I received a phone call from the member, a friend from college, who was furious about what transpired during their major tournament.

According to my friend, there was a case of a player not cross-scoring, choosing to score his card, and then eventually winning. Caddies have been suspended, an investigation is underway, and the board is currently deliberating on the penalties for the member involved.

That this happened in the most exclusive of clubs means that the player in question is of some stature in the business world. A lesser club might brush it off, afraid of the possible repercussions from the prominent member.

But in a club where the country’s industry leaders meet to play, where money and status are things that everyone has, reputations should carry far more importance than net worth.

Will the club do its members right and punish one of their own appropriately?

What happens next should be of interest to many golfers. Not just for the sake of gossip, but what happens in the most exclusive of clubs could trickle down to the rest of the country clubs. It is quite unfortunate that cheating occurs in tournaments big and small.

Often, cheating involves sandbagging, with overall net champions scoring ridiculously low numbers. Not that there is a better form of cheating, but at least sandbaggers went through the effort of submitting high scores for months, and had to play decent during the tournament itself.

In this latest controversy, there was not much effort involved — just a pen and a huge dose of self-entitlement.

The few seconds of applause are surely not worth a lifetime of being labeled a cheat. It’s just a game ladies and gentlemen. If you want to win, play better. If you can’t play better, have fun and hope to win in the raffle.

Are trophies that important that you risk friendships and reputations over some glass, wood, and metal?

Sadly, with the growth of the game, the risk of cheaters joining competitions also increases.

My rule is, if someone cheated on your flight, don’t be an accomplice — don’t sign their scorecard.