Vince Lombardi was once misquoted as having said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." What he actually said was, "Winning isn't everything, but striving to win is."

We all want to be winners, yet some of us, in our determination to win, forget that golf is only a game and do whatever it takes -- right or wrong -- to come out ahead.

In the late 70's, I played golf on Hilton Head Island, S.C., with a group of guys who wanted to sell me hosiery machines. It included the sales manager and his salesman, who were calling on my company. They had been working for quite some time on our account.

We had a pleasant day, and our friendly wager was still up for grabs as we hit our approach shots to the 17th hole. We all hit the green, but the salesman was closer than the rest of us and had to mark his ball. I watched as he bent down to mark.

Instead of marking behind the ball, he put his coin down in front of the ball. He then picked up his ball and moved to the side.

After the rest of us putted, the salesman approached his mark. He placed his ball in front of the coin, which moved his ball maybe two inches closer to the hole. He missed his putt for birdie and tapped in for par.

While I lined up my putt, I noticed the sales manager talking to the salesman. After my putt, the salesman walked to the cart, took his bag off of it and started walking down the 18th fairway. I asked the sales manager what was going on.

"Did you see him mark his ball on the green?"

"Yes," I said, "But where is he going?"

"I just fired him. Any man who would cheat me on the golf course over a $5 bet will cheat me for a lot more when I'm not around."

Whoa ... I saw a man lose his job because of the way he marked his ball. It set me back a little. I felt sorry for the guy, but thought about what the sales manager had said: "Any man who would cheat me on the golf course over a $5 bet will cheat me for a lot more when I'm not around."

This past year, a good friend of mine played in a tournament. Coming up to the 8th hole, he was three under par. His approach shot landed on the collar of the green. He took several clubs to his ball and contemplated what shot to hit. Then he accidentally dropped one of his clubs. He thought it might have hit his ball ever so slightly, but he wasn't sure.

He chipped the ball and made birdie on the hole. A couple of holes later, he told his playing partners what had happened. They said they didn't see anything. After the round, he went to the pro and told him what had happened. "I am almost positive my club did not hit the ball, but it was sure close. What should I do?"

The pro told him he would have to call it himself one way or the other, so my buddy ended up taking the penalty. (He still won by three shots.)

Both my buddy and the salesman I told you about earlier wanted to win. They knew the rules, but one of them stretched them. He did whatever it took and lost his job.

How we play the game and handle defeat speaks volumes about our character. Vince was right: winning is not everything.

About the Writer:
David Covington is CEO and owner of Blue Chip Socks, an Internet-based business that sells socks direct from the manufacturer at 50 percent less than retail costs. The company's Web site, www.bluechipsocks.com, is home of the Web's first locker room for golfers. He can be reached at (336) 887-8877 or dcovington@bluechipsocks.com.