Penalising, though not marking...

OK, this situation arose during my last round and I'd like some feedback about whether or not you think I handled the situation correctly or if I could have done any more...???

Those of you who regularly read my blog entries will remember a round I played a few months back where I got into a post round argument with the guy (henceforth refered to as "Old Mate") whose card I was marking where he said he'd had a 6 and I knew he'd had a 7 and I ended up signing for his 6 and he then wouldn't let it go, saying I was calling him a cheat... Well, I was again drawn to play with "Old Mate" last weekend.

Despite my request that I again mark Old Mate's card, one of the other members of our foursome was a committee member and said he was going to mark his card. I thought about arguing this, but settled on not doing so and just resolved to ignore Old Mate where I could and try to focus on my own round.

We get to the greenside pot on the first hole and all my resolve goes out the window...!!!

Old Mate's 2nd shot to the first hole finishes in the greenside pot. His marker is away over the other side of the green looking for his own ball in the second cut and my ball has finished just short of the pot, so I'm not far behind Old Mate when I witness the following events:

Old mate is standing outside the lip of the pot, having his usual 15 - 20 practice swings. Given he appears to be less than comfortable going in to the pot, he adds an extra 10 or so practice swings just to ease his own comfort levels I guess. Finally he steps in to the pot directly behind his ball and proceeds to mark the sand about 6-8 feet directly behind his ball by placing a toe on the sand and giving a little twist type montion. He then st eps sideways and takes his address position and "digs in" with 2 or 3 little shimmey type motions with the feet, only problem is, his ball is about a full stance width AHEAD of his left foot. He couldn't strike the ball from there if he wanted to. He then steps forward and again addresses his ball, this time with the ball in a more conventional position and "digs in" again and plays his shot out of the pot.

For me this is minimum a 4 stroke penalty for twice testing the sand of a bunker and when I mention what I saw to the fellow marking Old Mates card he tells me he didn't see anything untoward in there and that he was watching him.

It was all I could do not to lose it at that point and I resolved to have a word with the Captain when I got in...

My question is, can I penalise a fellow competitor or playing partner, even if I am not marking that players card...???

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

I think you did the right thing and all you could do - that is, make your concerns clear to the marker, and from there, when that is unsatisfactory, report it to the next higher authority - the club captain sound reasonable to me.

What an arse!

Neither you nor his marker can actually penalize another player. But all competitors have a duty to protect the rest of the field. Your action was correct, report to the committee.
The marker, if he was not happy with the player's score, can refuse to sign his card and also report the facts to the committee.
The committee is then obliged to consider all the evidence.

Have been thinking about this a little deeper and have become somewhat uncomfortable at the fact that this situation may be more indicative of my attitude towards Old Mate than anything else.

Have played 4 rounds with Old Mate in the last 12 months and it is fair to say I have not enjoyed any one of them.

Old Mate is even now, still new to the game. Having asked a couple of my club mates, he first started playing with my club only a month before I joined up. He was then a complete novice, where as I had just started again after a couple of years off having first played in the late 1970's.

He practices like no one else I have ever met. And yet, still does not improve.

He is absolutely frustrating to play with because of the inordinate time he takes over each and every shot.

When he hits a bad shot, he reacts as though he has some expectation of greatness.

I can recall at least 3 different instances in each of the 4 rounds where he breached rules.

All this said, perhaps I should be more understanding and give him a copy of the rule book and tell him he has an obligation under the rules of the game to "know" the rules.

Ultimately, I know it is not my place to penalise any other player I may play with. It is their responsibility to inform others of their own penalty strokes incurred. He can't do this if he doesn't know the rules.

This is the part of the our game that really appeals to me.

IMHO, It is truly a test of our own character.

For my own peace of mind, I think it best to presume this (him not fully knowing the rules) is the case. What a ^%&*(&%^ he would prove to be if he does what he does full well knowing the rules...

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

If he's that committed to practicing, I'd wager that he's fairly ignorant of the rules.