What would you do? Teen Golfer Disqualifies Self, Gives Up Medal

[Common Sense Party]

{snip}

Nash's 77 won the boys' 13-14 division at the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, knocking off 31 other players. Afterward, Nash went to celebrate with one of his mentors, Chris Wood, head club pro at Rivermoor Golf Club. And that's where the troubles began.

Wood noticed an extra club in Nash's bag and pointed it out to him. Apparently, a friend of Nash's had left the club at his house, and Nash put it in his bag, not realizing it put him one over the mandatory limit of 14 clubs. Carrying an extra club is a two-stroke penalty per hole, but since Nash didn't account for those extra strokes, he signed what was, in effect, an incorrect scorecard, and thus would be disqualified from the tournament.
And from there, there really wasn't any choice. Nash called the Wisconsin PGA, explained what had happened, and sent back the medal from the tournament. WPGA officials plan to present it to the tournament's runner-up.

Full story: http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/What-would-you-do-teen-golfer-disqualifies-self?urn=golf-267228

[Common Sense Party]

1. 14-year-old kid did the right thing.

Some of the comments below the story are eye-opening. Many folks believe rules don't matter.

[mzteris]

2. honor is becoming increasingly rare.

If he were my son, I would be immensely proud.

[Common Sense Party]

3. Me, too.

That's the way to raise 'em.

[DrDan]

9. I would like to think his parents were D's . . . .

I am sure they are immensely proud of him. They did a good job raising him.

[Common Sense Party]

18. I don't know that political affiliation has anything to do with it.

The kid's dad is Bob Nash, from Waterford, WI. I suppose one can track down his party affiliation if they wanted to.

I've known honest Repubs and dishonest Democrats. I think good parenting is good parenting.

[DrDan]

25. no doubt - I would just like to see some ethical D's on the horizon

Lord knows we need 'em

[gratuitous]

4. I'd like to think I'd do the same thing

And I think most folks would, too. Golf has a long history of gentlemanly play, and strict observance of the rules has always been the province of golf, from the highest echelons to the worst duffer. The players are expected to police themselves and call in the course marshals for a ruling when the interpretation of the rules isn't clear.

[Fleshdancer]

5. A 14 yr old with honor. Kudos to him!

I like to think I would do the same if I was in that situation, but would I have done this at 14? I honestly don't know.

His parents should be extremely proud of him.

[Earth_First]

6. Oh goody! A golf thread...

Has it been a month already?

Time for the environmentalists and social activists to come out of the woodwork and tear the poor kid apart for the moral and ethical character flaws this student has for even stepping foot on a golf course...

He did good!

+1

[nuxvomica]

7. Good on him

Honesty is rarer than medals nowadays.

[Bluerthanblue]

10. +1

:hi:

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. This young man is stepping in the shoes of Bobby Jones. (edited)

Bobby Jones (co designed) the Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters is played (and founded The Masters);

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Jones_%28golfer%29#Sportsmanship

(Edits in parenthesis)

[Common Sense Party]

11. Good example.

"You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."

Too bad that kind of attitude is so rare. Now it seems we really DO have to praise the honest few.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. I agree, but I contend it isn't really so rare...

just terribly under reported.

Examples of this young mans integrity happen every day and every where, they just don't make news.

Still, it is refreshing to see someone like this, in the limelight so to speak, make such headlines.

[Common Sense Party]

19. Agreed. Definitely underreported.

Which is why we all practically jump for joy when a story like this comes along.

[bluestateguy]

12. Bad calls and overlooked non-calls are part of sports

Sometimes your team will be helped by them while other times your team will be hurt by them. It all balances itself out in the end.

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Totally different concept here... Golf isn't a team sport, and Marshalls don't make "calls".

Golfers are expected to police themselves, and have done a pretty good job of it for quite some time.

I don't think disqualifying yourself from a tournament everyone thinks you won will end up getting you a favorable bounce in the future, for example; having your ball bounce off of a tree and into the perfect spot on the fairway, or cause an errant shot to skip off of the water and onto the green.

Kudos to the kid, but then, golfers are EXPECTED to do such things.

[Common Sense Party]

14. More on this young man:

Nash's father said his son is a regular teenager -- he talks back to his parents, picks on his brothers -- and was a bit surprised the teenager didn't consider, just for a moment, keeping the mistake to himself. But he said he did the right thing and he and his wife were proud.

"When I first heard it, when he told me the whole story, I thought, 'Wow, you are doing the right thing,' " Bob Nash said. "You have to keep doing what's right. But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking 'If you didn't say anything the standing wouldn't change.' "

...

He played in another tournament on Tuesday -- and counted his clubs three times. The faux pas has made him a better golfer, he said.

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/09/02/young-golfer-disqualifies-self-gives-up-medal/

[Canuckistanian]

15. Golf is such a self-regulating game

There are no referees checking to see if the rules are being followed exactly. It's just you and your own honesty.

This kid was living up to the best traditions of golf.

[JanMichael]

16. If only more people could/would do this type of thing the world would be a better place.

Play fair and accept responsibility...those are good traits.

[flvegan]

17. Considering how much press he's gotten for his selfless act

I'm thinking he made the right choice on many fronts.

I don't know, he's obviously got a lot of talent, were I a club or shoe company I might consider sponsoring him.

[onethatcares]

20. kid did good. my congrats to him,

honesty is worth alot more than any medal.

[taterguy]

22. Not waste my time playing golf

[HysteryDiagnosis]

23. Now if we could get w to admit he committed what is equal to

war crimes and make him give back Iraq THE WAY IT WAS. Oops too late.

[proteus_lives]

24. He did the right thing.

[county worker]

26. Reminds me of a golf story. An American goes to Scotland to play a round of golf.

He hits a bad tee shot and says he's going to hit a Mulligan. He asks the caddy "What do they call mulligans in Scotland?" The caddy says, "Lying two."

[Odin2005]

27. What a good young man!

[ManiacJoe]

28. I remember one of the pros doing the same thing

when he discovered his son's junior-size putter hidden in his bag.

[WinkyDink]

29. He did the right thing, as I hope we all would have.