Michigan Golf Journal August 2019

Gray Raymond did what all golfers should do, on any competitive level – count all his strokes. Public acknowledgement of stroke shaving in high school tournaments has become more widespread the past two golf seasons. Not to say that cheating has become prevalent, but the fact is more people are now openly willing to admit publicly it’s been happening for decades, and more times than we want to believe. It’s enough that we need to pause and acknowledge the grace and honesty of a player who did the right thing. And it cost him a likely trip to the state finals. Without anyone noticing, Raymond, a now-junior at Maple City Glen Lake, nonchalantly went to tap in a 5-inch putt on the 18 th green during the Division 4 Regional in late May at Treetops’ Tradition course. He whiffed and barely nudged the ball. But he knew the rule – and the right thing to do – was to count it as a stroke. No one would have known if he didn’t mark it on the scorecard. He could have lied – others before him have done so in similar situations. But he counted the bad stroke on himself, and recorded an 85, which keep him out of a playoff for the last remaining spot to go to the state finals. “I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” Raymond told the MHSAA for a ‘Second Half’ story by Geoff Kimmerly. “That’s not the way I was taught, and definitely not the way I was raised. “I’d rather lose than be a cheater. “At the time, I was just upset that I lost, pretty much. I didn’t think anyone really would care how it happened. I didn’t think anything of it until I got to school on Monday and my teachers were congratulating me and stuff like that. “I wouldn’t have been able to call myself a golfer, honestly, if I’d walked out to that first tee box at states,” he continued. “People are saying not many high school A Lesson in Integrity for All Youth Golfers Parents and Coaches: Pay Attention to This By Tom Lang Gray Raymond Michigan Golf Journal High School Golf