Skins went on four holes. Winners included Joel Ostash / Jason Gorrell ($20.00 on #1), Blake Hunter / Theoren Hunter ($45.25 on #2), Jamie McCutchin / Phil Ostash ($34.00 on #6), and Pete Ostash / Chris Kimpinski ($34.00 on #9).
Closest to the pins were Jason Neufeld on #5 and Zach Bartram on #9. Neuf converted his birdie for the only deuce of the evening and the accompanying $49.50 pot.
Okay...there's the recap. If you are leaving the blog now, have a great Friday. If not, please read on.
The vast majority of golfers are honest people...which is important because the game is based upon the honour system. Unfortunately, some golfers take more liberties than they should. Sometimes this is done with intent while at other times it is done due to lack of understanding of the rules.
Men's Night is pretty casual but there is still an expectation that people play by the rules. It is not unusual for people to do some things during the practice round that they would not do during the scoring round. This past Wednesday I moved a few balls early in the afternoon to have a full swing. During the Men's Night round, I had to punch a few shots around trees because I was playing it where it lied.
I am not calling out any of my golfing partners here because I play with an honest bunch. And I am not just talking about the more egregious examples of cheating like dropping a ball and pretending it was the one you hit in the bush...or intentionally marking the wrong score on your card. I am also referencing the subtle things that some golfers do that they should not. Assuming noble intentions, it is possible that some aren't even aware of their infractions. The intent of today's blog is to clear up some of the possible misunderstandings.
I will start with some simple ones. Mulligans during a practice round or a friendly round are okay if agreed to by all parties. Mulligans during Men's Night are a complete no-no. And if you ever choose to take one it is only first shot on first hole of the round.
Moving a ball on the fairway slightly is completely acceptable. On our scorecards it notes that "winter rules" are in play which allows you to improve your lie on fairways only. Moving or fluffing up a ball in the rough is not allowed. In fact, if you are off the fairway and sitting on a small spot of dirt you still can't move it. You may ask a playing partner whether the area of dirt constitutes ground under repair. If so, you may take a drop without penalty.
One thing that may be challenging for some people is how and where to mark a ball. The simple rule is to put your marker immediately behind the ball then pick it up. When replacing the ball to the ground, put it where you picked it up...not 2-3 inches in front of your marker.
When putting, gimmies are okay during Men's Night but they have to be reasonable. The usual standard is about two feet. The one thing you should not do is give yourself the gimmie. On close putts, you may mention how quiet it is but you need to wait for someone to give you the putt. Also, you should neither give nor take gimmies on birdies or eagles.
Next is the foot wedge which is a little further down the despicability scale. Don't do this. It is bad. If you are beside a tree don't kick your ball to somewhere else. Take your lumps and try a shot to get yourself in better position. If you use the foot wedge you are a cheater and should go to confess to whomever it is that works at the church where you got baptized.
Making a bogey and writing down par...or shooting a 45 and adjusting it to a 41 should both be fineable offenses subject to public flogging at noon on a Friday in downtown Shoal Lake. While we are playing for fun we are also putting cash in and there are prizes available. If you "win" a skin due to cheating you will likely spend some time in purgatory before they decide to send you up or down.
If you lose a ball please don't drop one out of the hole at the bottom of your pocket and pretend this is the original. If you do this, please take your clubs and throw them in the lake and take up another sport.
So in summary, please don't be a score-eraser, a ball-dropper, a foot-wedger, or a pretend-to-not-know-the-rules guy. Also, don't use the line "I would have made that anyway" after missing a putt. You missed it so putt again and add the extra stroke.
And for those of you trying to keep the game honest, always be wary when someone says "Put me down for a 6". This should trigger some suspicion and cause you to add up their shots again just to confirm. If your total is higher than the 6 that they declared, you can remind them that they actually lost two balls and had a triple.
Keep enjoying golf and keep it honest!
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