Manipulators, Bandits or Cheats?

LET me tell you a story. Last year I played in a team match for my Suffolk golf club against another club from the county. We were playing fourball betterball matches. My handicap was (and still is) seven and my playing partner was off 23. Our opponents played off 19 and 24, so I had to give away a bunch of shots. No problem. It is something that I have become used to.

Sadly, what followed is also something that I have become used to. The 19 handicapper hit the ball further than I did, missed barely a single fairway all round, rifled irons to the heart of greens, played bunker shots with the skill and confidence of a single-figure golfer and, at a par four measuring 392 yards, very nearly drove the green.

We lost 5&4, even though I actually played two shots better than my handicap. I birdied two holes and did not win either of them. And we lost entirely because of the play of the 19 handicapper. When we entered the changing room, one of his teammates said: "I assume you got a good hiding." I confirmed that we had and was then informed: "Doesn't matter who we partner him with, he always wins."

I bit my tongue. Afterwards, while sitting in the clubhouse having a drink with our conquerers, Mr 19 Handicap let slip the fact that he had joined this particular club from a course in Essex, where he had played off 11. I asked him how on earth he had managed to subsequently fall back to 19 and he informed me that when he had joined his Suffolk course he had submitted three cards in order to get his handicap. Now you can call me old-fashioned if you like, but for the life of me I do not understand how this is or was possible. But it was. And it is cheating, plain and simple.

Time and again,  I have found myself playing against club golfers whose "official" handicaps are far higher than their actual ability dictates. It is a habit known as handicap protection and those who are guilty of it quite deliberately submit dreadful competition cards in order to maintain high handicaps.

Every golf club has them. If you tell me that you don't know a handicap bandit then I will tell you that I don't believe you. I always thought that the idea of taking part in any sport was to try to improve to the best possible standard, and in golf that means trying to get your handicap down as low as you possibly can.

Does it not annoy you when these individuals go off to play in competitions at other courses and come back with the prizes?

I once had the misfortune to play in a medal with a fellow club member whose handicap was 18 but whom we all knew was a far better player than that. He came to the 18th hole six over par. It is a par three with a pond in front of the green and he promptly hit his tee shot into the water. Instead of walking down to the pond and dropping a ball under a one-shot penalty, he put another ball on the tee and put it in the water as well. So he had played three. He then decided to do what he should have done in the first place, dropped a ball and hit his fifth shot 25 feet past the hole before three-putting for an eight - and I am convinced he deliberately missed the second putt. It meant he posted a score that was 11 over par gross but seven under net. Naturally, he won the medal. And I was appalled.

There are two kinds of handicap manipulator - the one who is a member of a golf club and the one who is not, but plays lots of golf and is a member of a couple of societies and, thus, possesses a society handicap. If you ever come up against a society player in any format of the game, just shake his hand on the first tee, thank him for the game and wish him luck in the next round because you have absolutely no chance of beating him.

Something clearly needs to be done. England Golf has come up with a way of tackling the club members, while yours truly has a solution to sort out with society bandits.

They have just introduced a rule that targets golfers who manipulate the handicap system, the ones who  repeatedly collect high-value rewards when playing in competitions away from home.

“We’re not talking about a sleeve of balls,” said Gemma Hunter, England Golf’s Handicap and Course Rating Manager. “These are big prizes including luxury trips overseas, sets of clubs and electric trolleys.”

Now, everyone playing in non-qualifying competitions away from home must return their scores to their home club. Players who fail to do so could have their handicaps suspended.

“It’s essential to do this to protect the integrity of the system,” said Hunter. “We can’t sit back and let people manipulate the system, but without evidence clubs can’t take any action.”

The new system applies to all strokeplay scores returned under competition conditions, including team events. England Golf also recommends that clubs which run non-qualifying open competitions should inform the prize winners’ home clubs of their scores.

As far as society players are concerned, let's encourage them all to use websites such as Golfshake, which allows them to record their scores and gives them an accurate handicap. Obviously, this involves a large element of trust. And, of course, these are playing ability/social playing handicaps and cannot be used in open competitions or official events, but it might just prevent individuals from being lynched.

Manipulator, bandits or cheats? Call them what you want, but let's work together to shame them into playing this wonderful game properly. PLEASE!