POLL: How do you Cheat at Golf?

What's that? Cheat you say? Well I never!

Oh really? Ever take a mulligan? Ever decide to drop a ball near where you lost one, rather than take a provisional from the tee? Ever allow yourself a gimmie putt (even if it was "just on the lip")?

Some of you may not have considered the aforementioned cheating, but trust me - they are not in accordance with the USGA rules. Yet, they happen all the time out on the course, don't they? "Oh don't worry about it, Bob, it's the first drive of the day. Go ahead and take a mulligan." Or: "Hmmm, that may be lost. Well, I'll just drop a ball down there."

Many of us don't even give these phrases a second thought. Yet technically, they constitute cheating. But here's the thing; for those of us who play this game for fun only, there's really a couple levels of golf cheating (bare with me for a second here):

1. I'm a Rule Bender
So you take a first-tee mulligan...big deal. Maybe on one hole you don't feel like walking back to the tee to hit a provisional - instead, you take a stroke and drop a ball as if you were in a lateral water hazard...if I were playing with you, I wouldn't complain. And perhaps you lip-out and pick-up, rather than tapping the last putt in - It wouldn't be any skin off my back. This isn't the tour - we're here to have fun.

2. I'm a Rule Breaker
You regularly employ winter rules, the toe iron, the hand wedge or any of the other tactics that are found in this post we did a couple years ago.

3. I Don't Bend or Break the Sacred Rules of the USGA
Well, OK...I guess this is possible. It's also possible these people are liars. But if not and they are truly USGA rule book thumpers, then I hope they either (a) play golf for a living; or (b) are in therapy.

So, which are you?

How Do You Cheat At Golf?

Posted in: cheat,gimmie,golf,golf stinks,golfstinks,hand wedge,mulligan,rules,toe iron,USGA