This week an LPGA cheating scandal hit the internet. In involves accusations based on secondhand accounts, and some suspect that an ugly element of anti-Korean xenophobia may have come into play because the accuser, LPGA caddy/blogger, Larry Smich has a history of "issues" with Korean players.
The situation is currently under investigation and I think it's wise to reserve judgment until the facts become clear, however I did receive an email not long ago from a reader/listener who asked, "Which sex is more likely to cheat, Men or Women?" She'd just played in a scramble at a golf event with some colleagues and was quite surprised to find what she described as "a culture of cheating among the men".
"Though it wasn't a highly competitive event," she complained, "there was a "nice prize" for the winning team, and as such the "so-called lite cheating" struck me and the other women who were playing as blatantly wrong".
My reader didn't go into detail, but from what I gathered the men had no such qualms, and that's what led to her question. In light of the LPGA incident last week, I think this makes for a very interesting topic.
So here's the question: "Which sex is more likely to cheat, Men or Women?" And we'll apply it not only to golf, but also to relationships, business and life in general.
That's what we'll be talking about tonight on "Only Two Things". We'll be broadcasting from 9:30 - 10:30PM ET. And you can weigh in on-air by using call-in number 917-889-9592. Or join the conversation in the chat room or on Twitter... or just listen at BlogTalkRadio. Talk to you tonight.
It'd be very interesting to poll each gender respectively to see how that question fleshes out, in terms of taking mulligans, use of toe wedges and generally sandbagging your handicap (either up or down) I'd venture to say that men are much more inclined to cheat due to the competitive nature we're brought up in and just the sheer numbers of male players as opposed to female players.
ReplyDeleteMEN! MEN! MEN! MEN!
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the women who play, especially those who play well, make a point of playing by the rules. Of course this is a HUGE generalization and I've seen women cheat too.
I don't think a mens' tourney goes by on our course without some sort of controversy over someone cheating. However, men are also FAR more likely to have more $$ on the line.
As for giving putts, men are FAR more generous.
It's gotta be men, right? Who commits more crimes, men or women? Men are 90% of the prison population.
ReplyDeleteThe "other type" of cheating has been discussed so much in the last year thanks to Eldrick jump starting it. This is refreshing to explore on course cheating.
ReplyDeleteI'm no choir boy in life, but cheating in an INDIVIDUAL sport never crossed my mind. As my brother has mentioned to me, team sports is a different matter. If you find a way to gain a bit of an advantage for your team, that is usually acceptable in team sports.
My big question with this Korean golfers "event" would be this. The caddy- blogger in question (though honestly I have never read him) has been accused of having an anti- Korean agenda to begin with. My question about him might be would he have looked the other way if this happened with a couple of US players. And anyone that knows me knows I have tremendous admiration for our US players. However, I do have respect for the global players also; whether it be the Korean girls or the sweet Yani Tseng and wonderful Mariajo Uribe.
It's certainly looking bad for the men so far isn't it? ;) and I agree that among regular nonprofessional golfers it probably is men, but I don't think it's because women are more honest, only because our culture has molded them to be less competitive, that's changing and unfortunately as it does we'll probably see more and more women cheaters.
ReplyDeleteI was reading Andrea Peyser's Post column and it truly doesn't seem like she likes anyone or anything, so I'm not surprised she hates, Tiger Woods and golf writers. The PGA made the right call in booting her out of there. What purpose was she going to serve?
ReplyDeleteWhoopsie That was meant for the previous post, sorry. :o
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to golf it makes sense that men would cheat more because they're conditioned to be very competitive about sports. When it comes to who gets the best deal on the latest fashion trend, I'm willing to believe women would be more likely to cheat (lie/withhold info/pass on misinfo). Men-Golf = Women-Shopping. More or less.
ReplyDeleteCheating in competition, ok... But, cheating in GOLF competition now? Are you kidding me? Seriously? That is so ANTI-golf, the mere thought is blasphemous! Let other sports have their cheaters, but for the GOLF CHEAT, I say only this; May the SHUN of your fellow golfers SHINE.
ReplyDeleteIn 38 years of playing golf I've only ever come across 2 instances of cheating. One male and one female, though I've played much much more golf with men. So in % terms I could say Ladies cheat more but I won't. Maybe I'm very naive but I prefer to think the vast majority of golfers are honest.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeletescientifically, what you're really asking is "who gets caught more" because it's only when one gets caught can we compile the REAL statistics
otherwise the question becomes "who is more honest" and that depends on the circumstances
IMHO, as long as a golfer is not playing for money against another OR ELSE sand-bagging a handicaping system for reward, what is cheating anyway ?
if a touring pro were caught using performance-enhancing substances that would be unforgiveable
on the other hand, if a kid tees the ball up in the fairway to make it easier to hit, so what, the kid shouldn't be treated as a cheater
anyway be well
frankD
ftlauderdalefla
I've talked to one of my female co-workers who plays in an all-woman golf league, and she says that some of the women in her league are the biggest cheaters she's ever known. Accounts of not counting all strokes taken, fluffing up the ball, things like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd she goes on to say how the biggest cheaters in her league are also the loudest about calling anyone else out about rules violations. Ironic.
That said, we have a couple guys in my men's league that also cheat.
I really don't think cheating is gender-specific, it's human-specific.
No question - Men.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine almost all of the golf audience would say men.
Well, women arent exactly saints either so i doubt there is much difference in cheating going on between men and women.
ReplyDeleteBut when it comes to accepting mistakes, it seems like men have the upper hand. You can find a lot of stories of male golfers during high pressure situations calling a penalty on themselves and accepting their fate.
Now go ahead and show me women that do this (on a professional level).
Seems to me you'd have to put the women in an equal number of opportunities to cheat. Most of the women I have played with bunt the ball down the fairway again and again until awarded a gimmee putt. They were rarely in a position where cheating was an issue.
ReplyDeleteThe place I find women "cheating" most is in the area of a forced carry. Balls get hit into a hazard crossing the fairway - the women are more likely to go to the front of the hazard instead of dropping behind where you are supposed to drop.
Then there is an almost predictable grounding of the club in a bunker, sometimes followed by a "look over there" hand toss out of the bunker.
This idea of a "culture of cheating" is pretty insulting to most golfers - and pointing a finger at men more than women is proably not correct...not that women would fess up anyway. :-D Men just find themselves in more postions where cheating might happen.