Are there more than 7 dirty golf tricks? That seems like more than enough.
IF SUZANN PETTERSEN and Charley Hull had intentionally staged the scene that won them the 17th hole and ultimately their 2015 Solheim Cup match against Brittany Lincicome and Alison Lee, it might have gone down in history as one of golf’s greatest gambits.
Lee missed her putt and Hull started walking away, taking the referee with her, giving the impression that the ensuing putt was conceded. Lee picked up her putt. And there across the green was Pettersen saying, “We didn’t give her that.”
All legal and potentially brilliant dirty tricks.
Well, nobody thinks the Europeans staged that. And the ensuing bad blood helped inspire the U.S. team to its greatest comeback. Indeed, if you try any of these legal-but-nasty tactics, know that you might win while alienating your opponent but you also might lose while MOTIVATING your opponent.
HERE THEY ARE: THE 7 DIRTY GOLF TRICKS
- Snap that velcro on your glove or rattle that change in your pocket whenever she’s about to tee off or putt. Golf great Seve Ballesteros was famous for his recurring but unpredictable cough. Honestly, there’s no rule that requires graveyard silence on a golf course.
- If she likes to talk, don’t say a word. If she’s quiet, talk constantly.
- Routinely play ready golf, until she pitches in for birdie and you point out that she played out of turn and will have to replay her shot. (The U.S. team made Annika Sorenstam replay her birdie chip at the 2000 Solheim Cup, and captain Pat Bradley said, foreshadowing Carin Koch in 2015, “We followed the rules as written.” Of course not even Annika could duplicate that great shot, but angry Europe found the motivation to come back and win.)
- When you and she have hit drives near each other, go stand by her ball. Maybe she’ll accidentally hit yours and lose the hole (or incur a two-stroke penalty in stroke play).
- Compliment her on that odd little quirk in her swing. It might get into her head.
- When you crush a 7-iron and come up short of the green, before she takes her turn say, “If only I had given that 7 a full swing.” She might even change clubs.
- Do not help her search for her ball in the rough, and do not pull the flagstick for her, ever.
BUT BE PREPARED
If you employ these tactics, whether you’ve won or lost, in the end you might want to have a “pressing appointment” that requires you to skip the 19th hole. Things could be a little awkward.
And if you dared try even one of these tactics in a 25-cents-a-skin match with a favorite foursome, don’t expect to be invited back for a rematch.
Our club is starting a match play tournament. I am looking for a good basic set of match play rules. Can you help?
Hi Sandy — We Googled ‘match play golf rules’ and found a few resources that might help you, so try that. Also here are a couple of Gail Rogers articles that might be of interest: https://gottagogolf.com/blog/susanfornoff/the-rules-and-etiquette-of-double-match-play and https://gottagogolf.com/blog/susanfornoff/when-your-opponent-breaks-match-play-rules-do-this. We also recommend everyone read the definition of a “gimme” here – https://gottagogolf.com/blog/susanfornoff/golf-glossary-gimme .
Our No. 1 rule — have fun!
Here’s another tactic I’ve seen played out… and although it’s legal, there are some circumstances where it can backfire on those using it.
Team A decides to get inside the minds of their opponents on Team B by deliberately playing as slowly as possible. Rather than be ready to play the next shot, they sit in their golf cart chatting, oblivious to the time. Team B has to constantly remind them that it’s their turn. You can imagine that this becomes very annoying and Team B ends up angry… and does not play well.
I actually watched a group play this way. And they won the match over their frustrated opponents.
They got away with it because the tournament captain did not clearly state a time in which all players had to finish their round of golf. If she had announced a finishing deadline, any team that wasn’t back by that time would have been disqualified. But she didn’t announce it before the match. The slow team and their opponents came in a full hour after the rest of the field had completed their matches. The rest of the players had finished with lunch and were ready to leave when this slow team finally stumbled into the club house.
It’s not a nice way to play the game.
Here at GottaGoGolf, we would much rather lose the match quickly than miss lunch!
Arg! These are so dirty, I’m going to take a shower.
Competition often brings out different personalities, or possibly just the real person. I think it was a learning experience for all players. Proud of the USA Team.
When I play in a tournament, I try to play fair and keep the game simple and fun. If everyone knows the rules things usually move along smoothly and we all have a great time. But here’s a question for you and your readers:
Our home course has a couple of water hazards that are clearly marked on the score card, but not visible from the forward tee box. In a recent tournament, I was guilty of saying nothing when my opponent tee’d off and PLOP! she hit her ball right over the hill and landed in the water below. I did feel badly for not warning her, and let her know about the rest of the hidden hazards as we finished the round. My team won, but I still felt badly.
Here’s the question: Is it your obligation as host, to warn your opponents about hazards? Is it their responsibility to know the course or at least become familiar with it before the match? Seems so to me, but I’m plagued with that good old Irish guilt.
Thanks for the comment Pat and I hope our readers will visit golfgurls.com and check it out. Here’s what I would do: At the beginning of the round I would ask the opponent if she had played the course before, and if not I would tell her it is perfectly legal for her to ask questions about the layout of a hole and that if she had any as we went along to just ask and I would be happy to answer. Who knows — some players would rather not know about the golf course evils they cannot see.
Congratulations on the team win!
— Susan Fornoff
I like your answer a lot. Good advice.
I thought what happened in the Solheim was unfair but Alison did well to overcome it. Whatever happened to enjoy the game and your playing partners?
Thanks for the ideas! But, I would probably never use any of them! Luckily, I only play with ladies who just want to play golf and enjoy each others company.
We should all be so lucky!
A few examples of match play tactics that can mess with player’s minds, and perhaps result in loss of hole or match:
a) Opposing team waits until after a player has putted to inform them they forgot to put their marker back when they’ve asked them to move it.
b) A player waits until after the tournament is over to call a player on using a non-conforming club, or that they have more than 14 clubs in their bag.
c) The opposing team knowingly calls a golf rule infraction that isn’t correct, causing confusion and delays in the match.
Of course GottaGoGolf readers would NEVER do such things. Unless maybe provoked.
I’ve played with women like that….and usually won. But how about this: usually after the match or the round it is customary to shake hands and say what a pleasure it was to play with your playing partner. One time, after playing with a particularly boorish woman, not desiring to be hypocritical, I simply said this: “I cannot say when I’ve enjoyed playing with anyone……less.” I don’t think she quite understood because she smiled and said ‘thanks!’ as I turned and walked away.