A two-inch tap-in and she picks it up!
To those of you who do not play competition golf, the following has no
relevance. To those of you who do, read on.
Let’s assume you’re playing golf in LOS and your caddie:
- Uses the flag stick, hand or other implement to touch the
putting surface to indicate your line of putt.
- Asks another more experienced caddie for advice on club
selection, or the break on a tricky green?
- Taps down a pitch-mark on the apron, positioned between
your ball and the putting surface.
- Repairs scuff-marks on your line of putt.
- Thinking your two-inch putt will be given, picks up your
ball.
- Upon removing her ball-marker, thumbs-down or smooths the
putting surface immediately behind your ball.
- Your playing partner’s caddie replaces his ball in front of
the marker – in the normal way. Yet you’re sure when she originally marked his
ball she positioned the marker to the side. She repeats this action on the next
green.
These and other similar examples are everyday occurrences on
any course in Thailand. Everyday occurrences? No, make that many times during
the course of a single round, especially rounds involving Farang whose golfing
experience is limited to Thailand.
Perhaps some have played with a venue or outlet that insists
on adhering to the Rules, to the extent that caddie mistakes, as outlined here,
always incur the appropriate penalty. I personally can’t recall playing with
such a group. And if I did, I doubt whether I would return.
Most of us know that under the Rules of Golf, occurrences as
outlined above incur a one or two-shot penalty. More imposing is Rule 1-3
Agreement to Waive Rules, where the penalty for breach is disqualification.
Yet agreement to waive rules is what I’m advocating.
What authority am I invoking here? Unfortunately I cannot
instance any, and this is the point of the post. The Local Rules of IPGC and PSC
make no allowance for these or similar situations involving unwitting rules
transgressions by caddies. Yet common sense and equity demands, in my view,
golfers not be penalised for the ignorant actions of caddies.
The wiser of Pattaya’s golf venues, when asked, will say that
golfers need not be penalised for certain actions of their caddies. A common
convention in some golf outlets is to allow caddies one error per event, or one
chance per infringement, regardless of how many separate infringements may occur
per round. The golfer is then charged with advising her/him of their mistake,
and accepts that a repeat will incur a penalty. Please note that this involves
actions carried out by a caddie about which the golfer had no prior knowledge.
It does not include the golfer accepting her advice in error, e.g. wrongly
claiming an entitlement such as a free drop, or mistaking the extent of a hazard
line etc. That’s the golfer’s error, not the caddies.
The problem is that many golfers don’t know that such
unwritten concessions exist. Surely a duty of any golfing administration is to
ensure all players are playing by the same rules? So why don’t our local
administrators provide for “caddie leeway” in their Local Rules?
The answer may have something to do with the likelihood of
the R&A approving such a Local Rule being zilch. Yet any reasonably-minded
administrator, who has ever played golf in Thailand, would recognise the need
for lenience.
It comes down to playing in a country which has its own
unique way of doing things, particularly things involving caddies, and to a
lesser extent green keepers, six-balls and, well, just being Thai. Here are some
mitigating factors:
- It is compulsory to hire the services of a caddie when
playing golf in Thailand.
- The golfer, more often than not, doesn’t or can’t choose
his/her caddie.
- Very few caddies understand the Rules of Golf.
- Few caddies speak or understand English.
I believe a somewhat liberal interpretation of Rule 1-4 could
apply:
Rule 1-4: Points Not Covered by Rules. If any point in
dispute is not covered by the Rules, the decision should be made in accordance
with equity.
Surely that’s what it’s all about, equity, fairness? Ensuring
we are all playing by the same set of rules, singing from the same song sheet?
Yet how does equity to all apply here, when many don’t know such conventions
exist? Where do they go to find out, and what about the issue of uniformity
between venues?
The IPGC and PSC contribute a great deal to Pattaya golf. The
enjoyment of thousands of golfers, me included, wouldn’t be the wonderful
experience it is without the dedicated work of unselfish golf administrators at
both organisations. Notwithstanding, in this instance some well-intentioned
golfers, by sticking to the Rules, are being unfairly penalised.
I believe Local Rules is the appropriate forum to address
this oversight.
Happy golfing,
Golfnutter
