Handicap...is it about being honest?

Hello all,

Over the past months i've read loads of post on handicaps ect......What i want to know, is..as golf is game based on honesty...should you put in every round that you have played to keep a accrauate record on how you are playing..good or bad, i know i do?

The reason i'm asking this is because on a recent golf day out a playing partner mentioned to me that he only puts in one or two cards a month, i know he plays 3 times a week...he played off 22 and hit 40 points and won the day, but i know that he should be playing off at least 18....is this fair?...should you put in all your cards for handicap adjustment, even in friendly rounds with your mates? is there a rule or is your golf handicap based on us the players being honest?

To sum up, is it legal in golf terms, to not put in cards for handicapping just to keep a high handicap for competitions? seems like your cheating yourself to me.

Nigel.

p.s....it's no one on Golfshake...lol..its a work socitaty

I don't enter many rounds on here as my handicap is calculated at my club through monthly medals.

When I did enter cards on here my handicap was around the 13-14 mark. I then joined a club put 3 cards in & got a hcap of 14!! I then played in every monthly medal, my hcap went up to 15. This year I have played in every monthly medal & my hcap has come down to 13.7.

As I play this course week in week out I can easily play & sometimes play under this hcap from the yellows, off thw whites it's a different story.

Most of the people I know & play with are genuinely trying to get their hcap down, not up & when they NR they automatically go up 0.1 but sometimes when you've took a 9, 9, 6, 6 start you know your going to go up 0.1 anyway so a cold beer in the clubhouse is always tempting! I personally have never NR'd any comp I've played in.

I don't think any comps at our club have ever been won by any bandits??

Nigel - If you know this guy should be playing off 18 you are doing yourself & all the others paying to enter the comps no favours by not informing the organiser / secretary.

It is about being honest Nigel.  Case in point is my game of late and my qualification to the Golfshake Open.

I qualified in the SE event at Mardyke back in early May with 35 points off my then 28 handicap.  Since then I have had some good results and my handicap is now 23 and may fall more before the event. 

Dilema.  Do I be honest and put the cards in so that when I compete in the final it will be that much harder or do I not put them in and play in the event off my 28 handicap and finish up with 45 points or so with the B word ringing in my ears.

No dilema in fact as I am an honest Joe and would not do that sort of thing.  It would be cheating and I would be very uncomfotable where I to cheat like that.  I guess there are people out there with no such morals.

It does beg a question though.  If I continue as I have done, there is a possibility that my handicap could drop below the higher handicap threshold (wishfull thinking I guess) but which group would I be competing in?  I'll cross that bridge as and when it comes.

For me, the ultimate satisfaction is seeing a good handicap - not winning competions.

BTW Nigel, I've signed up to play Gtour Mannings Heath on the 28th so should see you there.

Andy,

As it's a GS event you would have to play off your current GS handicap. I think they also monitor any sudden increases to stop 'banditry'!!

Good question about which group you'd come under if you did manage do drop into another hcap category??

I think it all comes down to one thing, an "Official Hcp", the one players hold at a Golf Club. That Hcp is worked out in competitive situations and off set Tees, also using CSS for working out any adjustments. Also all scores are authenticated by a 'marker' so that score is done within the Rules of Golf.

GS Hcp's are obtained under different circumstances, there is no CSS, not all scores are accurate and you can enter any round for your Hcp to be adjusted.

People who are Members of a Golf Club will use their "Official Hcp" in any Comp, even though like mine it is different to their GS Hcp (OH 5.6 - GSH 0.9). The difference is that I enter every single 18hole round on here (30 this year) but only play the odd Official Comp at the Club (2 4balls this year).

The big difference apart from CSS is the fact that you tick a box on here and the score entered goes towards your GS Hcp. Winter conditions, Preferred Lies & the fact the Club declare a Comp a "Non-qualifier" mean that those scores don't count for Hcp adjustment.

Some people do protect their Hcp. They do it because ONE round can see a HCp drop from 15.0 to 13.2 and it then would take FOURTEEN rounds to get back to 15 and then a further FOUR to get back to the origional. That is eighteen scores at CSS +3 Nett to return to the same position that a single score of CSS -6 Nett cut your Hcp.

TheLyth