Trust is inherent in golf’s handicap system, which makes it an easy target for those who wish to manipulate it argues Northern Golfer editor Dean Bailey
The Rules of Golf tell us to play the course as we find it and play the ball as it lies; and play by the Rules and in the spirit of the game.
If every player followed that second point, clubhouses would be quieter places. I hear it all the time, the well-known bandit, sandbagger, handicap manipulator… While clubs, handicap committees and England Golf have tools to deal with these individuals, proving someone isn’t trying their best in order to inflate their handicap isn’t easy.
When it comes to handicap manipulation, in all its forms, this is the hardest one to deal with. How can clubs deal with players who inflate their scores for several weeks, just to knock it round in eight under-par when there’s a big prize up for grabs? Spotting these outliers in fourball betterball, even with the new system for identifying those who perform considerably better in this format, isn’t easy either.
While this scenario is difficult to deal with, spotting the players who make their handicap artificially low is easier. England Golf’s checks on this – which identify and reject applications for the country’s biggest events from players with too many general play scores which are better than their competition ones – appears to be working. At club level, these players aren’t getting into any events they shouldn’t and certainly won’t be winning any time soon, so let’s not dwell on them here.
Any handicap system, WHS or otherwise, is open to manipulation. Holding an active handicap used to require playing in competitions, but today it only requires a login and someone willing to verify a scorecard. If an attester is of an equally unscrupulous disposition as the person gaming the system, we’ve got no chance – unless they’re daft enough to attest a score at one club while playing another several hours away!
The only hope we have is diligent handicap committees with the strength to control those who seek to game the system. That’s not an easy task, but it’s essential to ensure golf remains competitive and fair.
Handicap manipulators are in a tiny minority, and most of us endeavour to play off the lowest handicap possible. It’s up to us to stand up for the spirit of the game and let those who go against this tradition know they’re not welcome in our events.
