Crazy Story Where A Rules Official Allegedly DQ’d High School Team Due To His Mistake

Golf rules are at best good for the game but not when a rules official makes a mistake and then doesn’t admit it. Such was the case at an Oregon state high school golf tournament. 12 players were told by an official to play from the wrong set of tees. Cue the chaos when those players (and their coaches) were disqualified.

GolfDigest.com’s Joel Beall has the bummer details.

According to students, coaches and school administrators, a rules official directed some of the players to hit from the markers that ultimately led to their dismissal—and then denied it.

The first group—comprised of players from Rogue River, Columbia Christian and Grant Union—arrived at the 13th hole at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks, Ore., during the first round of the state tournament and noticed the blue tees, which were the official markers, were 40 yards further back than the stated 172 yards on the scorecard. Spotting the discrepancy, the players asked a Rogue River assistant coach who was walking with the group what they should do. The assistant noticed a rules official nearby and went to receive clarification.

“My assistant didn’t know what to do, so he asked the official, who pointed towards the red tees and said, ‘Looks like we’re hitting from here today, boys,’ ” says Rob Isom, head coach of Rogue River. The assistant told the boys they were good to hit from the red.

Bart Valentine, athletic director for Columbia Christian, said his coach, Todd Hamilton, also immediately recognized a problem. According to Valentine, the rules official failed to provide any help.

“My coach said, ‘You need to figure this out,’ ” Valentine says. “Well, [the rules official] didn’t.” The second group followed by playing from the red tees as well.

The third pairing did not leave anything up to chance, approaching the official for the ruling.

“After we had finished the 12th, we walked to the the next hole, towards the blue tees,” says James Gordon of Rogue River. “After checking the scorecard and seeing that the yardage didn’t match up, we asked the marshal.”

Rogue River’s Isom was at the 13th hole when this occurred.

“[Gordon’s] playing partners started at the blue markers when the official said, ‘Hey, you guys are down here,’ motioning to the reds,” Isom says.

“My kid and the Grant Union kid heard this, too,” AD Valentine affirms.

Members of the fourth group noticed the error as well, but were similarly instructed to go off the red tee. Joe Lafever of Red River thought nothing of their tee shots. That is, until he was on the green, when a different marshal in a cart approached.

“After putting I’m asked from a cart, ‘What tee time are you guys?’ To which I replied, ‘7:57,’ ” Lafever recalls. “He then asks what tees we played from on 13, and I said, ‘We played from the reds because it was 172.’ He then writes something down and begins to drive away. I said, ‘Excuse me sir, is there an issue? We were told to play [the reds] on that hole.’ And he does not say a word, he just keeps driving. I then said, ‘Excuse me sir!’ And he turns and replies very abruptly, ‘Stick to the blue tees for the rest of your game.’ And he drives away.”

According to Jason Miller, dean of students and athletic director at Grant Union, after the fourth group went through, a course official notified the groups behind that they were to hit from the blue tees, despite the wrong distance on the scorecard.

“If [the rules official] knew they were supposed to be teeing off from the blue [tee], why did he watch four groups hit from the red and not say anything? That’s nonsense,” AD Valentine says. “So he’s saying, ‘No guys, you’re supposed to tee off from the blue,’ and that he let them hit from the wrong tees? That didn’t happen.”

The players were dumbfounded.

“He flat out lied. There are the three kids who are in the group that heard him say it, plus a coach was standing right there who confirmed it.” Lafever says. “Did the kids just see a marshal and decide as a group, ‘Oh, he’s right there, let’s just say he told us too.’ … No, no!! Why on earth would they do that?”

Best to read the entire confusing account. Bottom line is the DQ was not rescinded and those boys are left with some unfair rotten memories.