Robert De Vincenzo had a rough birthday. De Vincenzo was playing in The Masters on his 45th birthday when he made a scoring error. He signed his card with a 4 on the 71st hole instead of the 3 he actually made. Unfortunately, he was stuck with a 4, costing him a tie for first place with Bob Goalby. They both had 277 strokes for 72 holes, but since De Vincenzo was disqualified, Goalby won.
We all make scoring errors. Usually, they’re never quite as costly as De Vincenzo’s. His cost him a chance to win one of golf’s most prestigious pro tournaments, if not the most prestigious, and a great opportunity to make a lot of money, even back then. Our scoring mistakes don’t cost us quite as much as De Vincenzo’s cost him and they don’t hurt our golf handicaps. Usually, they just get us into arguments with our golfing buddies.
But the incident raises some questions: Who is responsible for our scores in stroke play the player or the scorer? What happens when you write down a wrong score? And, what are the penalties for writing down a wrong score? Below is a short golf lesson that answers those questions:
Who Is Responsible
Ultimately, the golfer is responsible for his score no matter who physically writes down the scores on the scorecard. Since scoring rules are usually covered in golf lessons, we’ve written the main elements of Rule 6-6 are below:
The maker (scorer) puts down the player’s score hole by hole. The player checks it, signs it, and turns it in. The player is responsible for the correctness of the score for each hole. The officials are responsible for the addition. No changes may be made after the card is turned in.
The rule is simple and clear. If the player makes a scoring mistake, he has nobody to blame but himself. In stroke play and only stroke play it means disqualification, which happened to Michele Wie a few years ago. She turned in a card with the wrong score and was disqualified. It also happened to Jackie Pung in the U.S. Women’s Open in 1957. As you can see, the rule hasn’t changed through the years.
What Are The Results
Of course, you can make changes to a score car before handing it in. But once the officials have it, that’s it. Meanwhile, the penalties for handing in a wrong score card are also simple and clear. Here’s what happens if you return a wrong score on any hole in stroke play: (1) if the score is higher than is actually made as in De Vincenzo’s case the golfer is stuck with it; (2) if the score is lower than is actually made, the golfer is disqualified, even if it’s an inadvertent error.
For many, this seems like a harsh penalty. But no one has come up with a better way, although many have suggested them. Obviously, the main intent is to severely penalize players who would cheat. Unfortunately, there are some both professional and amateur who would. And with so much money at stake in pro tournaments, it would be too tempting if a severe penalty were not attached to the fault. In other words, the rule makes sense.
Most scoring errors are caused by carelessness, not cheating. That’s especially true in amateur tournaments or local championships where players may not be used to playing with great pressure on them. That’s less so with the pros, but it happens, as Michele Wie will attest. Nevertheless, golf needs a scoring rule that is stringent, if it is to maintain the integrity of the game.
So here’s a golf tip for you:
Write down your score after every hole, whether you’re playing in a friendly foursome or the club championship. The longer you wait, the greater the chances of making a mistake. If someone else is scoring, make sure he or she writes down the correct score after every hole. Better yet, keep your own scorecard. Then match it up with the scorekeeper’s after the match to make sure there are no discrepancies. That way you’ll catch any mistakes on the card before the officials do.
Make writing down you score after each hole a habit even if you’re scratch golfer or you have a golf handicap in the low single digit. If you do it when playing for fun, you’ll be less likely to do it when playing for keeps. And you’re less likely to have a birthday as bad as Robert De Vincenzo’s 45th.
