Does your club require a minimum number of Acceptable Scores before winning prizes in a Competition.

[NearHull]

We are coming under increasing pressure from our members who are getting concerned that competitions , both team games and individual games are being won by large margins. Whether this is , or is not, the result of WHS is irrelevant to my question. i am not trying to fix, criticise or change WHS. It is what it is.

We already have in our Open ToC a condition that entrants must have submitted 3 scores in the previous 12 months. For our own Club Competitions, we are considering all members must have submitted 6 Acceptable Scores in the previous 12 months. They could be either General Play or Competition Scores as our members do not submit many GP cards. We have at least three comps each week.

(Yorkshire Golf Union County Members Meets ToC includes that each entrants has submitted 6 Acceptable Scores for Handicap of 18 holes in the previous 12 months and of which 3 must in a competition.)

i am very interested in how many clubs are running competitions with specific conditions around winners ( or 2nd, 3rd places) having to have entered a set number of Acceptable Scores in a set period prior to that particular competition.

 

[Imurg]

3 scores in the last 12 months, not necessarily comps.
Not enough in my view...5 should be easily achievable given the new system but we don't suffer from the ridiculously high scores that some clubs get.
I guess it means we put enough cards in, as a club, to ensure accurate handicaps

 

[IanM]

If it doesn't, it should

 

[rulefan]

We have for winners of Honours Board and a couple of other comps. But all members may enter.

 

[Backsticks]

We have six competition cards in the previous 12 months required for monthly medals and boards comps. All other regular weekly stablefords have no restriction.

 

[KenL]

No, but then comps are not a big thing at my club.
Maybe this should be a poll?

 

[IanMcC]

3 qualifying rounds over and above Initial Handicap rounds to be able to win a board comp.
No restriction otherwise.
Seems to work OK.

 

[RRidges]

We are coming under increasing pressure from our members who are getting concerned that competitions , both team games and individual games are being won by large margins. Whether this is , or is not, the result of WHS is irrelevant to my question. i am not trying to fix, criticise or change WHS. It is what it is.

We already have in our Open ToC a condition that entrants must have submitted 3 scores in the previous 12 months. For our own Club Competitions, we are considering all members must have submitted 6 Acceptable Scores in the previous 12 months. They could be either General Play or Competition Scores as our members do not submit many GP cards. We have at least three comps each week.

(Yorkshire Golf Union County Members Meets ToC includes that each entrants has submitted 6 Acceptable Scores for Handicap of 18 holes in the previous 12 months and of which 3 must in a competition.)

i am very interested in how many clubs are running competitions with specific conditions around winners ( or 2nd, 3rd places) having to have entered a set number of Acceptable Scores in a set period prior to that particular competition.

Are you suggesting that some players might be 'playing' the system? Or simply that the system doesn't truly reflect truly 'occasional' golfers?
In either case, rules such as those proposed are not going to stop 'bandits'. Having an active Handicap Secretary/Committee is the best way to stop 'banditry' imo.
And perhaps analysing exactly, or at least in more depth, why those comps are being won by large margins would help. Basically, find out if the system is being played, or whether some golfers are simply whingeing - as many are wont to do!
FWIW, 6 in the last 12 months - perhaps medical exemptions aside - should be easy to achieve. For end of season 'majors', that should be reduced to within the current season. Even so, it's 'fiddleable', so that active H/Sec is important to maintain integrity of the system.

 

[NearHull]

Are you suggesting that some players might be 'playing' the system? Or simply that the system doesn't truly reflect truly 'occasional' golfers?
In either case, rules such as those proposed are not going to stop 'bandits'. Having an active Handicap Secretary/Committee is the best way to stop 'banditry' imo.
And perhaps analysing exactly, or at least in more depth, why those comps are being won by large margins would help. Basically, find out if the system is being played, or whether some golfers are simply whingeing - as many are wont to do!
FWIW, 6 in the last 12 months - perhaps medical exemptions aside - should be easy to achieve. For end of season 'majors', that should be reduced to within the current season. Even so, it's 'fiddleable', so that active H/Sec is important to maintain integrity of the system.

I chair our Handicap and Competitions Committee and I think we are quite active In this area. Beside the mandatory annual handicap review we carry out two further reviews each year and amongst our ‘data collections’ we keep specific records of team game winners and their Handicap Submissions records at the time of winning. It is this team game area that is really concerning us.

This year there are 28 teams in this record. Obviously their scores are not acceptable for Handicap. If we applied a 6 previous acceptable score rule, then 7 of these teams would have been DQ’d. One member, with only 14 scores in his record, has only submitted one score in 2022 and he has won two 4BB comps! There are other similar, but perhaps not as extreme, wins.

On reflection, it is the team competitions that are our current concern and the 6 previous rule would go a long way to equalising the field. But we feel that the rule should be a blanket rule for all competitions and not merely applied to team games.

But ……how common is this type of rule?

 

[Tashyboy]

I chair our Handicap and Competitions Committee and I think we are quite active In this area. Beside the mandatory annual handicap review we carry out two further reviews each year and amongst our ‘data collections’ we keep specific records of team game winners and their Handicap Submissions records at the time of winning. It is this team game area that is really concerning us.

This year there are 28 teams in this record. Obviously their scores are not acceptable for Handicap. If we applied a 6 previous acceptable score rule, then 7 of these teams would have been DQ’d. One member, with only 14 scores in his record, has only submitted one score in 2022 and he has won two 4BB comps! There are other similar, but perhaps not as extreme, wins.

On reflection, it is the team competitions that are our current concern and the 6 previous rule would go a long way to equalising the field. But we feel that the rule should be a blanket rule for all competitions and not merely applied to team games.

But ……how common is this type of rule?

I cannot imagine one golfer who plays regular golf would be upset by this ruling as it is done on the belief that it is fair To all golfers.

 

[need_my_wedge]

3 qualifying rounds in the last rolling 12 months in order to win at ours.

 

[Orikoru]

Yeah at our place they recently (this year) brought in a rule that you need at least 8 cards in the last year, and a max of 4 can be general play (so must have entered 4 comps basically).

 

[Springveldt]

I’m not sure if we have a rule or not but 6 general round cards in a year should be achievable for all members really (health and injury withstanding). If you can’t get 6 rounds in within a year then you are getting very poor value for money with your membership.

I’d be suspicious of people who aren’t entering handicap scores yet are playing in team comps. Maybe they have genuine reasons but if they can find time for team games then surely they can find time for 6 rounds in a year?

 

[Newnsy]

competitions are open to anyone with a handicap at our club, but knockouts which are the more prestigious trophy at our club, you must have submitted 10 cards in the last 12 months to enter. This was because the same person was in the final of three knockouts his excuse was he didnt have time to put cards in as he was in too many knockouts

 

[mister v]

I think we have to have had 3 qualifiers in the last 12 months
I Just had a look at our last 4 comps which include 2 board comps and the june and july montly medal. all of the winners had played in 3 qualifiers within the last couple of months and hadnt won anything in the previous 6 months , so thats nice to see regular players having their moment in the winners circle.
However there are rumblings about some of the club knock outs . my mate got hammered 7&6 (i know it happens) by someone who's last qualifier was sept last year and only played 3 in total during 2021 , so im not sure how that works

 

[jim8flog]

We will be bringing it in for 2023 for our Opens

5 in the preceding 12 month period prior to the comp.

Our Seniors Championship has had a rule for years that you must have played in 3 of the Seniors regular fortnightly comps in the current year to win the trophy.

 

[chellie]

I’m not sure if we have a rule or not but 6 general round cards in a year should be achievable for all members really (heath and injury withstanding). If you can’t get 6 rounds in within a year then you are getting very poor value for money with your membership.

I’d be suspicious of people who aren’t entering handicap scores yet are playing in team comps. Maybe they have genuine reasons but if they can find time for team games then surely they can find time for 6 rounds in a year?

Surely that is also down to who is selecting the teams. Though saying that we have come across lots over the years who only played the minimum 3 cards to maintain a C handicap but played far, far better. Certain clubs were renowned for it.

 

[Oddsocks]

It’s doesn’t but it should be at least 1 per 1/4(season).

A recent stableford was won by 48/49 points off 26hc, the player had put two cards in last year and one the year prior with only one counting. The remaining top 4 from 5 were single figures all shooting between 38-40.

How anyone can enter a comp and win with only one valid card is mind blowing.

 

[D-S]

How does the need to put in a certain amount of cards make the Handicap of someone who is manipulating the system suddenly accurate?
If I wanted to win more by having an index higher than my ability, I would be entering more cards not less.
This is a bit like the 'High handicappers win everything' debate - when people look at the numbers and percentages of categories most handicap levels win their fair share. I would also guess that those who enter very few competitions lose more competitions than regular competition players. The serial offenders will only welcome more not less cards.

 

[clubchamp98]

Three isn’t enough imo.
WHS is based on your best 8 of 20 rounds.
So I would say 8 should be the minimum.
If you can’t put 8 cards in over a year your wasting your money being a member of a golf club.

It’s three at ours ,and we are still getting some very silly scores but not as many now.