Local club banned for players cheating!!!

Apparantly a local club to me has been banned from the league for 10 years by the R&A following 4 club members being caught cheating at an open competition.

Now exactly what went on I'm not 100% sure this has all been passed on through various members of other local courses and mummerings at our own course however the players involved (all Cat 1 players by the way 1 of which plys of + figures) were all apparantly caught on CCTV cameras around the course preforming all manor of dirty tactics. Throwing balls down when they fancied, marking birdy scores when they didn't even finish the hole and so on. Apparantly multiple volations were all caught on tape. Maybe people on here might have some more info?

The point of all this though is that the club has been banned and not just the players, I think that is a little harsh considering this was an open event and not actually anything to do with the club in question. Obvioulsy 10 years for the offenders is a good idea I think cheating can't be tollerated in a self officialled sport but what do you guys think about the club being banned?

Very harsh, why should the club suffer?

Really not sure it could kill the club, they need league status and matches to keep the club going.

There has been a legal appeal launched by all accounts on the basis that the CCTV evidence is not usuable due to it not being clearly identified!!!I'm just hoping if the ban gets overturned then the players keep their lengthy bans.

this kind of thing really p*^%$s me off, should it matter if the cameras weren't marked? they were caught cheating and should be dealt with... a bit harsh on the club though

So it's not just chinese whispers then? Does the story ring true with what you have heard, it's always difficulty to find out what the right story is.

Oh and yes one had already got a bit of a reputation, he beat a friend of mines uncle in a county match years ago and he swears to this day even before these revelations came out that he saw him drop a ball back then but obvioulsy didn't kick up to much of a fuss because proving these things is always going to be difficult. You never know whaqt's going to be true or not know and how much people will just claim, and problem now is all his achievements will be called into question wether he cheated or not. Worst part is the bloke clearly doesn't need to cheat by all accounts anyone who's played with him says what a good player he is.

Like you say all the guys appear to be well known locally so I can't see any club wanting them on the books any time soon. Just a shame for the club and there reputation, even if they get league status everyone will be wary of them and they will be watched like hawkes by anyopposing team.

I'm pretty sure the ban doesn't come from the R&A as the R&A is not involved in club golf. Surely it must be the club's County Union which administers local leagues. There seems to be some doubt about whether the incidents mentioned happened in an Open or in a league fixture. If it was an Open, then the club surely cannot be held responsible for the actions of individuals - if they were members of more than one club, then all their clubs would have to be banned. If it was in a league fixture, then that is a different matter and the club would have to accept responsibility for their players' conduct.

Very true, my first reaction was well is he really a + handicapper or has he cheated his way to it, to which the general opinion was that he was a very good player.

Unfortunatly the people in questions actions now mean a black cloud and thoughts of cheating will follow the club and it's members around for some time and that is a massive shame for the honest players who are members there. It's a shame a few can ruin it for everyone else.

Dan

Perhaps in high profile, big reward events like the one you mention, a case can be made for some CCTV cameras (some real, some dummies perhaps) at strategic locations. It may not seem right for a game based mostly on trust, but we all know we've had our suspicions about scores from 4-man teams.

An "Official" known to be walking about on the course all day taking notes would be enough.

Very low scores from a 4BBB Team is normal because of the format, specially when it's two scores to count or 'best score'.

In the past, it was very naughty of a Club not to 'pull' the qualifiers in order to give them an edge in the finals.

Dan,

Some fingers have been pointed at guys like VJ, Monty and Garrido snr, and a couple have been banned. Saltman and Evans are names to look for.

VJ wasactually banned on the asian tour for altering his score card to make the cut.

Monty's ball replacement incident was comical blatant cheating if you ask me, but I find him to be the most obnoxious arrogant bloke I've ever clapped eyes on so it doesn't suprise me.