Is The World Handicap System Really a Cheat's Charter?

If you are a member of a golf club, you may have received an email from your home nation reminding you of your responsibilities within the World Golf Handicap System. Without actually saying so, it was effectively urging all club golfers to play by the rules and an admission that they know many are failing to do so.

BBC Sport decided to follow this up with an article looking at how the WHS had affected club golfers.

The R&A admit the system is open to abuse and that some players artificially manipulate handicaps to improve their chances of winning amateur competitions.

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Grant Moir, the R&A's executive director of governance told BBC Sport: "Through our research it's clear that in Great Britain and Ireland there are some specific concerns around the system. And particularly there is a perception that there are a small minority of players that are manipulating the system.

"We recognise that even if it is only a small number doing this then it can impact on competition golf and it negatively impacts on golfers' opinions of WHS. We want to emphasise that deliberately breaching the rules is unacceptable and to frankly call out manipulation for what it is, which is cheating.”

The WHS was brought in to help make golf more inclusive. Players do not have to be a club member to acquire a handicap which can then be used at any course in the world.

The BBC’s article was well constructed and considered but I can absolutely guarantee that they had no idea what sort of response it would generate.

Hundreds of golfers reacted and the overwhelming view is that most hate it because they believe it is a cheat’s charter.

Our sport has always prided itself on the integrity of those who play it but we all know golfers who cheat or manipulate the rules to suit themselves.

I have been playing this game for about 60 years and in that time have seen many revisions of the handicap system.

Just over 12 months ago I returned to golf after a long injury break. My aim was to get my handicap down. At one point I was playing off 19.1 and was embarrassed to be doing so. I am now down to 13, with a course playing handicap of 11. For me, the system has worked - I may be able to shave off another couple of shots but my conscience is clear and yes, I have won a few competitions.

But I know the system is being abused. Many golfers play in roll-ups, score 40-plus points and don’t submit cards. Is that right? Probably not. Especially when they then go on to win prestigious club competitions playing off what everybody knows is an inflated handicap.

I have no issue with 20-handicappers winning competitions with 42 points - as long as it doesn’t happen week in, week out. I have played with high handicappers who have shot 40-plus points but the following week couldn’t break 100. It is the nature of the game we play.

Of more serious concern to me is the fact that, along with three fellow club members, we played in a series of Open tournaments at our own golf club over the winter months and each and every one of them was won by teams who were not members - with scores that bordered on the farcical. To say that it raised some eyebrows is something of an understatement, to put it mildly.

Among the reactions to the BBC article, many people pointed to the fact that they felt there was no point in entering club competitions because they were always won by high handicappers.

I really don’t understand this. I am a member of a wonderful seniors section at Dunston Hall Golf Club and we have a competition every Tuesday. They take many different formats but medal and stableford are the most common. These are played in divisions, which means that lower handicap golfers compete against one another in what I consider to be a level playing field, while the higher handicappers have their own division. Most of us genuinely aspire to improve the standard of our golf.  Other areas of concern were:

Reduce Maximum Handicaps:

I simply do not get this one. The WGS was introduced to make golf more inclusive, to give relative beginners the chance to get a handicap. Why so many club golfers still have a problem with people playing to handicaps above 28 is utterly beyond me.

Local Club Autonomy

Individual golf clubs already have it within their power to introduce local rules

Separate Competitions for Different Handicap Levels

Maybe I am missing something here, but don’t most golf clubs already operate competitions in different division levels? My club does and it works really well.

Eliminate Handicaps Altogether

Surely the whole point of a handicap system, in theory at least, is to allow golfers of all levels to compete against one another. I recently played somebody in a singles knockout competition and had to give him 19 shots. He beat me on the last green, which indicates to me that the handicap system is pretty accurate.

Review and Simplify the System

How many more times do we have to look at the handicap system? I can only speak from personal experience at my own club and while there are come gripes the general consensus is that the current system works if and when it is applied properly. If I beat my handicap then I expect it to come down.

Stricter Monitoring and Penalties for Cheating

This is easier said than done. How on earth do golf clubs go about policing it? Do they name and shame golfers? Do they disqualify them from competitions? Do they cut handicaps “on sight”?

Improve Education and Awareness

If club golfers do not understand how the WHS works now it is difficult to know when they ever will.

The bottom line is that there will always be golfers who will cheat and manipulate the system to suit themselves but let’s not pretend that this is anything new. No matter what the handicap system, there are always going to be individuals who will cheat. 

Is the WHS perfect? Definitely not. But what is the alternative? Some people advocate for a return to the old system, but that didn’t work either.

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