Golf Random Irritations

[Red devil]

The price of golf equipment!
I very rarely go into golf shops these days as I pretty much have everything I need, but my missus was going to look at clothes so I dropped into my local Affordable Golf as I am considering changing my hybrid, and possibly my 5 wood.
The pricing of some equipment is obscene! £499 for a driver, and the same for a putter! For a lump of metal on the end of a stick! I know there is technology and development in the gear, but there is also a huge percentage of taking the p!ss.
Like in the golf ball thread, will the average golfer really see that difference in a £500 driver? And a putter at £500 when it is more about technique than the equipment?
In the end I bought a "second hand" (looked like new) Wilson Launchpad hybrid for £65 which felt fantastic to hit and seemed, on the simulator, to hit the ball straight.
And when did golf bags get so expensive? And why?
Golf membership is expensive enough without these prices. And people are daft enough to buy the next big thing, or a brand because it is one of the big brands.

I agree. But you need to understand that if you paid £500 for a driver and £500 for a putter you'd be leaving Rory in your wake and draining 40 foot putts each and every time......
Or so the manufacturer says

 

[Robster59]

This is like emails I send at work and they come back with red pen all over it. - Perhaps you need to start rephrasing them before you send them.

Or my emails. - No, but if you want to send me some examples, I'd be glad to help.

 

[D-S]

If the players are using an app probably very rarely.

The only time I picked it up was when doing the card recording for one of our opens when one of the players asked for his card back to put in his score on the app.
I refused and pointed out he should not be doing but noticed he simply got the scores off his mates card and all 4 from the same club were doing it.

It’s quite easy to check on the score listing by day and cross referencing but how many clubs have the time to do this? A proportion do, including mine, however it is I assume a small proportion. The repeated rule breaches with, in all probability very few sanctions, is a bit sad really.

 

[jim8flog]

It’s quite easy to check on the score listing by day and cross referencing but how many clubs have the time to do this? A proportion do, including mine, however it is I assume a small proportion. The repeated rule breaches with, in all probability very few sanctions, is a bit sad really.

I doubt that our club manager would bother to do it. Although a members club the office will prioritise the commercial functions of the club. When I was in charge of the handicap committee I had no access to what was then the portal and anything I needed to have done had to be done by putting in to a request to the office staff.

 

[chellie]

Seniors Open 4BB comp today, so far 4 visitors have put GP cards in.

How often do they do this and not get picked up?

Had a notice when we had a ladies open at ours that any would be removed. Ours was a team event 2 out of 4 to count.

 

[woofers]

Seniors Open 4BB comp today, so far 4 visitors have put GP cards in.

How often do they do this and not get picked up?

Pro Am, best 2 of 4 last Monday.
5 away players thought it a good idea to put in GP cards.
Club secretaries advised, will you delete the scores or shall I? One wrote back asking, why, which rules were being broken as the player would have been putting out as they do in 4BBB!

I firmly believe this problem is down to the Apps, (ISV or governing bodies, EG etc, approved), these issues would not arise otherwise.

WHS gets unwarranted stick, it’s NOT the system that’s the problem, it’s the ease of which players can submit scores directly for inclusion into their handicap records.

 

[D-S]

Pro Am, best 2 of 4 last Monday.
5 away players thought it a good idea to put in GP cards.
Club secretaries advised, will you delete the scores or shall I? One wrote back asking, why, which rules were being broken as the player would have been putting out as they do in 4BBB!

I firmly believe this problem is down to the Apps, (ISV or governing bodies, EG etc, approved), these issues would not arise otherwise.

WHS gets unwarranted stick, it’s NOT the system that’s the problem, it’s the ease of which players can submit scores directly for inclusion into their handicap records.

Agreed.
I also wonder what happens when they have a good (i.e. acceptable) score for handicap as well as it is a 4BB?
Do they just accept the fact that they have two scores on their record despite only having played one round?

 

[chico]

This is a big issue in the game and often overlooked as people obsess with playing quickly.

8 mins between tee times isn’t enough despite so many clubs insisting on it. Provided you’re keeping up with the group ahead you shouldn’t feel pressured in to speeding up provided you haven’t dropped behind! But on the first hole seem extreme did they stick to correct start time.

My club has a mix of 8 and 7 minutes between tee times and it is hopeless. If the course is anyway busy it easily adds 45-60 mins a round.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

My club has a mix of 8 and 7 minutes between tee times and it is hopeless. If the course is anyway busy it easily adds 45-60 mins a round.

I’ve said for years it doesn’t work. It leads to congestion and slows down play, it only takes 2 players to spend their allocated 3 mins to search for their balls and suddenly you’re backed up straight away.

 

[IanM]

Too short a gap means you're waiting before you start. The scale of the issue depends on how the first few holes are configured too. If they are tough, you need more time.

Saunton operates 10 min gaps, Newport uses 9. Both are fine.

But it isnt as big an issue as folk dithering around when they should be hitting!

 

[D-S]

Seniors Open 4BB comp today, so far 4 visitors have put GP cards in.

How often do they do this and not get picked up?

I also wonder what happens when they have a good (i.e. acceptable) score for handicap as well as it is a 4BB?
Do they just accept the fact that they have two scores on their record despite only having played one round?

I checked the players’ records and seemingly they put cards in whenever they play Open team and Betterball events.
We have emailed their clubs’ handicap committees who hopefully will educate them, but this is surely the tip of the iceberg.

 

[woofers]

I checked the players’ records and seemingly they put cards in whenever they play Open team and Betterball events.
We have emailed their clubs’ handicap committees who hopefully will educate them, but this is surely the tip of the iceberg.

Agreed.
You can only do so much, but there is no way the club / handicap committee / secretary will know that an away score was played in a 4BBB or team event if the players persist in entering a GP score via the App from these events. The only way a club could stop this from happening is for them to switch off the tee’s in their EG platform settings for the day, which would prevent the App from downloading a scorecard, but this would penalise anyone else genuinely wanting to submit a GP score before / after the Open.

Here’s a thought, what would be the impact of doing away with the App? What percentage of GP scores are from players home clubs?

 

[D-S]

Agreed.
You can only do so much, but there is no way the club / handicap committee / secretary will know that an away score was played in a 4BBB or team event if the players persist in entering a GP score via the App from these events. The only way a club could stop this from happening is for them to switch off the tee’s in their EG platform settings for the day, which would prevent the App from downloading a scorecard, but this would penalise anyone else genuinely wanting to submit a GP score before / after the Open.

Here’s a thought, what would be the impact of doing away with the App? What percentage of GP scores are from players home clubs?

It might help but the security (geo fencing and attester name) are better on the App than ISV Apps, which I believe can have different security settings.
I think some better security and education features would be good on the App. Attester geo fencing (promised but not delivered), sunset time fences to stop players creating scorecards when it is nearly dark, this would save diligent committees work, maybe with error messages e.g. “please note you cannot create a scorecard now as it is past sunset and rounds must always be preregistered”. Also education messages such as “please confirm that you are playing a singles only format and not a team competition” and “please ensure that the scorecard is created prior to your round and that your attester is playing with you” etc.

 

[clubchamp98]

Agreed.
You can only do so much, but there is no way the club / handicap committee / secretary will know that an away score was played in a 4BBB or team event if the players persist in entering a GP score via the App from these events. The only way a club could stop this from happening is for them to switch off the tee’s in their EG platform settings for the day, which would prevent the App from downloading a scorecard, but this would penalise anyone else genuinely wanting to submit a GP score before / after the Open.

Here’s a thought, what would be the impact of doing away with the App? What percentage of GP scores are from players home clubs?

This was always going to happen.
Golfers taking advantage of a bad system.

Most comittiee members are volunteers some handle it well but obviously some don’t.

It’s a cheats charter and most don’t get caught.

 

[clubchamp98]

It might help but the security (geo fencing and attester name) are better on the App than ISV Apps, which I believe can have different security settings.
I think some better security and education features would be good on the App. Attester geo fencing (promised but not delivered), sunset time fences to stop players creating scorecards when it is nearly dark, this would save diligent committees work, maybe with error messages e.g. “please note you cannot create a scorecard now as it is past sunset and rounds must always be preregistered”. Also education messages such as “please confirm that you are playing a singles only format and not a team competition” and “please ensure that the scorecard is created prior to your round and that your attester is playing with you” etc.

Maybe one more
If your caught cheating the system your handicap will be suspended for 12 months.!

 

[SteveJay]

Played with a guy last week who had just played in an open locally. They needed to provide photo ID upon registration. Apparently to address the risk of a low handicapper turning up at an away club and impersonating his higher handicapper mate. Not sure if that scenario had arisen previously or if it was just protection against it happening.

What a sad state of affairs in this sport that is often lauded for being self regulating.

 

[NearHull]

Played with a guy last week who had just played in an open locally. They needed to provide photo ID upon registration. Apparently to address the risk of a low handicapper turning up at an away club and impersonating his higher handicapper mate. Not sure if that scenario had arisen previously or if it was just protection against it happening.

What a sad state of affairs in this sport that is often lauded for being self regulating.

Wow. That is a drastic step. If a club has taken to bring in id checks they must have been stung badly in the past.

 

[Neilds]

Played with a guy last week who had just played in an open locally. They needed to provide photo ID upon registration. Apparently to address the risk of a low handicapper turning up at an away club and impersonating his higher handicapper mate. Not sure if that scenario had arisen previously or if it was just protection against it happening.

What a sad state of affairs in this sport that is often lauded for being self regulating.

There was a story on here a couple of years ago about a Welsh (I think) course where players were congratulating someone at their club for winning an open. He hadn’t played in it and someone had used his name and handicap to enter with a mate and clean up.

 

[D-S]

Played with a guy last week who had just played in an open locally. They needed to provide photo ID upon registration. Apparently to address the risk of a low handicapper turning up at an away club and impersonating his higher handicapper mate. Not sure if that scenario had arisen previously or if it was just protection against it happening.

What a sad state of affairs in this sport that is often lauded for being self regulating.

Another good reason to reduce prize amounts, thereby reducing entry fees or reducing value but giving out more prizes.

 

[irip]

Another good reason to reduce prize amounts, thereby reducing entry fees or reducing value but giving out more prizes.

I 100% agree with this.
Have more prizes spread further down if you want a decent prize pot.
If you gave a small trophy to the winners and the top 10 got their money back and a free round for the future you would weed out those that are cheating just to win something.

Most are playing for the enjoyment of getting on a course they don’t play regularly for a cheaper green fee and a day out with friends but only takes 1 cheat to spoil the day for everyone