Use Common Sense When Enforcing Rules

Rules exist for a reason: Without them, all we have is chaos.

In golf, there are plenty of rules. But the most basic of them all is to count each and every one of your strokes. You are responsible for counting them yourself, which means it is easy to cheat.  For the casual golfer, not counting a stroke here or there is no problem. But in competitive play, it goes without saying that is an issue. Churchill senior Caroline Inglis found this out the hard way.

The three-time 5A state champion had just wrapped up her fourth straight individual state golf crown Tuesday. After shooting a 3-under-par 69, she signed her scorecard and turned it in. A scorecard that someone else had filled out, mind you.

On that scorecard, it said Inglis finished with a 4 on hole No. 18, when really she had scored a 5. As soon as she realized the mistake, Inglis reported it to OSAA officials. Then she was disqualified.

That robbed her of history: No golfer in Oregon prep history has won four straight state titles. The second-place finisher – who was nine strokes behind Inglis – was now the winner. All because another player in her group had marked the wrong score and Inglis negligently signed the card while being congratulated by friends, family and teammates in the clubhouse.

Golf is an honor sport. It always has been and it always will be.

But at a state-sanctioned event, should the accomplishment of a player really be left up to the attention to detail of one of her playing mates?

Inglis should have done a better job looking over the scorecard. But really, how can you expect someone to remember each and every score for all 18 holes when they’ve got someone else keeping track of their strokes? The scorer felt bad and apologized to Inglis afterward.  The scorer shouldn’t have been the one apologizing. An OSAA official should have been. Such a tiny technicality should not prevent Inglis from being the rightful owner of four state championships. She reported the mistake as soon as she realized it.

Unfortunately for her, she realized it too late.

But with such a wide gap between Inglis and second place, it would be reasonable to assume the officials could award a penalty rather than a full-blown disqualification.

Clearly you cannot pick and choose when you enforce the rules, but perhaps golf’s governing body should consider making such a mishap – signing an incorrect scorecard – a stroke penalty instead of an automatic disqualification.  Even if a player is penalized three strokes for every incorrect stroke marked on the scorecard, Inglis would still be properly recognized for her achievement. Instead, what should be a moment of celebration has turned into one of what could have been.

It’s an experience we can all learn from.

Governing bodies can use common sense from time to time. It is not imperative to always go by the book, especially when an issue is as plain as this one.  Inglis was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Don’t punish her for such a minute detail — especially considering she reported the error immediately.

I understand there are rules and rules need to be followed. But in this particular instance, punishing Inglis goes against the spirit of the rule in question.