bad sportsmanship !

Last month I & my partner had arranged to play a golf tie in our winter league.
The weather over the past few weeks has been very poor so many matches have been building up and it was so tight to complete them all before the closure date.
With this in mind we decided to play at the weekend, come rain or shine.
However on the match day the weather was horrendous but the course remained open.
Our opponents arrived 40mins late and walked towards us offering a handshake and a halfed match.
Attractive as that was we had to win (or lose) as a halfed match made it impossible for us to qualify to tha latter stages (but suited our opponents I believe).
We declined and decided to play, much to their annoyance.
Anyway the match started and we were 2 under after 6 = 4UP !
Our opponents offered a handshake and concession on the 6th and walked off.
In the clubhouse both were obvuously annoyed that we insisted on playing.
One opponent tried to conseal this but the other was outwardly angry and left without another word !
What do you make of this ?

I'd say your team showed up ready to play, with a more positive attitude. Your apponents did not. The poor playing conditions were what they were, at the time, for both teams. The course was open, so it was playable even though the playing conditions were poor. Happily take your victory, and move on to your next match. Hopefully your opponents won't dwell on their loss, as their poor attitude, due to losing, could adversely effect their next match. GJS

40 minutes late...??? IMO, You should have been given the win regardless...

As GJS has said, you guys turned up, they didn't...

Good Work and good luck with the rest of your winter season...

Cheers

Ha you certainly made me laugh this morning,

I think we have all come across these type of guys some time or another.

Firstly I would have offered a handshake back exclaiming that you are claiming the game as they were late, then conceding to let them play, thus they would have felt lucky you gave them a chance.

As for chucking the match after six holes, this shows their overhaul ability and mental attitude towards golf, so they would have had the odds stacked against them to loose anyway.

Secondly in the clubhouse they should have been feeling sheepish, especially if you told everyone you saw that morning about their conduct.

Enjoy your 'win' and move on to the next round.

Good luck

ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

when I was born we did not have much money, spent time in the food stamp line and things of the such. One day I looked up at God and asked him if we could half this life and I go ahead and move on to my next life, he said, boo hoo

What the #@>k ?
Shootin4par this is too deep.......... to what school should I attend to understand that one ?

basically there is no need to cry about life, just deal with what it gives you. you guys did it and won, while the other guys cried about it and lost. I also imagine they willl be crying about it for a long time.

Thanks shootin4par !
Sorry, I read your post again and now I understand.
Double sorry if my previous post was a cheeky !
Anyway thanks for your comments.

Lucky you could get a tee time later to play the match. It would be acceptable if they were not at the tee at the correct time to claim it.

Deserved everything they got to be fair.

You always get guys like that, they would prefer to get walk over right to th final if they could and then luck a win and boast about the trophy they played one lucky match to win.

I got done in a comp a few years ago, I made it to the semi finals and the other quarter final didnt get played by the due date so their names were scratched off and I got a by into the final, I would have preferred to play the game but rules are rules.

Then about a week before the deadline for the semi one of the guys names magically appears below mines in the semi draw. I asked the secretary why he had allowed this and he didnt have a satifactory answer, so I asked for an extension since I was playing a weekend competition that week and at that point only had 3 nights in which I could play the tie but was denied. I foned the guy and he said the only day he could manage was the thursday night. So i turned up and on the first hole this 9 handicapper hits a 5 iron 175 yards out of a downhill bunker lie to 5 feet.

We got to the eights and I was 15 feet away in 2 and he had missed the green left, as I turned away from my bag after pulling my putter I noticed he was addressing his chip and I could have sworn the ball moved, I think he knew I had seen and he stepped back and started again, but he didnt call a foul or even ask for a ruling. He chipped to 4 feet and got a half. I was a bit steamed at this but decided not to say anything. Anyway he continued to play like a man half his handicap (whilst getting 5 shots from me) and I played par golf which wasnt really good enough in the circumstances. I was one down playing 16. Again I was on the green about 20 feet away, a birdie chance and a solid par, whilst he was in a bunker short of the green. He then got in the bunker, picked up a rake and raked the bunker where the indentation of the rake had been made, which you arent allowed to do until you have it the ball because its classed as testing the surface. He then threw the rake back into the bunker a few feet away from the ball, in my opinion to test the surface immediately next to his lie. I had had enough and flat out told him he wasnt allowed to do that, he looked at me as if I was speaking Dutch ad played his shot. I didnt claim the hole, maybe I should have, because I wanted to let him do the decent think and call he foul on himself, whicg he again failed to do. Needless to say he got it up and down and my 20 footer lipped so I was still one down.

The final straw was the 17th tee. Its a very hard drive and it was into the setting sun and a stiff breeze to a very tight fairway with lots of trees and thick rough in wait. He had the honour and I stood behind him to watch the flight of his ball and watched as it landed in the semi on the right. Then I stood over my ball, AND HE JUST WALKED BACK TO HIS TROLLEY BESIDE THE 16TH GREEN!!!!! Didnt even make an effort to watch my ball. So I hit mines and lost sight of it, didnt even know what side of the hole it was on (I know I should have hit the fairway but I didnt) so I spent most of the five minutes blidly guessing what side I missed on. Needless to say I ran out of time. I conceded the match and shook his hand, but I was absolutely apoplectic with rage inside. I later found out that he had only played in the minimum number of medals that season (this was mid september) and in 2 he had carded an N/R and in the other an 87 so he had actually went from 8 to 9 in the season, he was quite clearly a better golfer than that.

Nevermind though, he got emptied in the final by a nice guy.

Moral of the story: if someone is desperate enough to win they wil use every trick in the book and sometimes they beat honest competitors. Dont let it get you down. In real refereed competition they would never win.

D.

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