One club golfer did exactly what we’re all told to do when he saw someone cheat. What happened next explains why so many others stay silent.
In a recent article, I wrote about the growing problem of cheating in amateur golf. So when this letter landed in my inbox via the latest edition of Today’s Golfer, I’ll admit it left me feeling both frustrated and disappointed – not just by what happened on the course, but by how it was handled afterwards.
Recently, I played in our captain’s away day, which was meant to be a fun day out. It was anything but.
On the 10th tee, the low handicapper in our group put his ball into a hedge. I followed behind to help him look for it and watched as he put his hand into his pocket and dropped another ball in the long grass. No one else saw it, but I instantly confronted him and refused to play with him any longer.
I reported his actions to the captain who, after investigating the incident, said that as it was my word against his, he was powerless to do anything. What’s worse, he had the gall to say that he believed my story!
It takes a lot of courage to report a fellow golfer for cheating, but what’s the point? Doing so has caused me a lot of hassle and sleepless nights, yet the cheat can carry on playing regardless. I would have to think long and hard about reporting another cheating golfer in the future.
Mark Billingham
It’s hard not to sympathise with that final line. Challenging a fellow member is awkward, uncomfortable and, as Mark points out, stressful – especially when it typically comes down to one person’s word against another’s. In that moment, you’re not just questioning a score, you’re questioning someone’s character, and that’s never an easy thing to do in a clubhouse where you still have to bump into each other every weekend.
And yet, despite how badly this particular case has left Mark feeling, I still believe he did the right thing. If nobody ever speaks up, cheating doesn’t just continue – it quietly becomes normalised. The worst offenders thrive on the idea that no one will challenge them, and the longer that goes untested, the bolder they tend to become.
It’s also worth saying that just because no action was taken this time, it doesn’t mean the complaint disappears into thin air. Incidents like this should be logged, and if the same player is reported again, a pattern starts to form. At that point, it becomes far easier for a committee to step in, because it’s no longer a one-off allegation but a repeated concern raised by different people.
Of course, clubs have a responsibility here too. Telling a member that you believe them but can’t act is technically correct in some situations, but it’s hardly reassuring. Players who do the right thing need to feel supported, not left wondering why they bothered putting themselves through the stress in the first place. Even quiet monitoring, subtle pairing decisions, or informal words behind the scenes can help make it clear that behaviour like this is on the radar.
What worries me most is the knock-on effect when stories like this circulate. Golf is built on trust, particularly in handicap competitions, and once that trust starts to erode, the whole system suffers. Good scores are viewed with suspicion, prize lists lose their meaning, and the atmosphere around competitions becomes far more cynical than it should ever be.
So while I completely understand why Mark says he’d think twice before reporting another cheat, I hope he doesn’t give up on doing the right thing. The uncomfortable conversations, the awkward moments, and even the sleepless nights are part of protecting the game we all care about. And if more players were prepared to take that stand, far fewer would feel confident enough to slip a ball from their pocket when they think no one’s watching.
