SteveW86
Head Pro
We have had someone go from 34 to 18 so far this year. Young lad who is new to the game I think, he’s put in loads of scores so we’ll done to him.
Have you ever played with a known handicap cheat?
- Thread starter Beezerk
- Start date
We have had someone go from 34 to 18 so far this year. Young lad who is new to the game I think, he’s put in loads of scores so we’ll done to him.
Neilds
Assistant Pro
What I find really strange is that anyone would get an artificially low handicap to play in club matches. Surely everyone would know they could never play to such a low handicap and would lose every match so why would they even get picked? Defeats the object of getting a low handicap
Swango1980
Well-known member
Yes, it would not be difficult for a player to get significant decreases when they only just get their handicap. Their first 3 rounds could have been terrible, and subsequently submitted much better rounds. The handicap Index can be quite volatile between submission of 3 cards to submission of 20, and especially between 3 and about 15ish.
AliMc
Well-known member
I do this but in reverse !There are various degrees of "cheating" with regards to handicap.
eg: Not playing the the last 4 holes to the best of your ability.
Hard one to prove, but I see blokes doing it when they know they won't be in the prizes and turn a mediocre score into a very bad one, knowing it will keep the handicap high.
Some seem to get far more kicks winning £2 in social golf and bragging about who they beat than doing well in club competitions.
The last few medals I've played I've started off horrendously, been 5 or 6 over after a few holes then usually go on to play the rest in 1 or 2 over, it's annoying as hell but I keep doing it and it's certainly not on purpose !
RichA
Well-known member
A few of us who joined our club and started playing often while recording most of our rounds on EG went from high 20s to mid-teens in the space of 6-12 months. It seems quite common for newish golfers.
HampshireHog
Assistant Pro
I am aware of people cherry picking general play rounds to get their handicap lower. Not aware of anyone doing it the other way.
It’s so obvious when you look at their record, for one player, all general play scores are high 70’s low 80’s, and 90% of comps high 80’s or worse. I guess there is no suspicious scoring patterns reporting done at our place.
It’s so obvious when you look at their record, for one player, all general play scores are high 70’s low 80’s, and 90% of comps high 80’s or worse. I guess there is no suspicious scoring patterns reporting done at our place.
Agreed. But this fella went from mid 20’s to 13.4 in a matter of two or three weeks.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Plenty of people go to pieces when the pressure is on, i.e. in a competition, so it would be impossible to prove unless someone played alongside him and witnessed him blatantly tanking holes.
Swango1980
Well-known member
Was he a new member, or someone with a full handicap history? If he was a new member, that sort of change wouldn't be that unusual. For example, his first 3 cards could have provided a best score differential of mid to high 20's, where the guy was playing poorly / bad weather / getting to know the course, etc. Once he got his handicap, he might have had a lesson and practiced a bit before submitting another score, by which time he played well that day and the weather was decent. Might have shot a score differential of 14.4 to get the 13.4 index.
Obviously, if the initial handicap in the mid 20's was already based on a full handicap record of 20 scores, then it would be more unusual to see such a sudden drop. Even if the chap submitted a large number of cards and great scores, you'd wonder where the sudden improvement in ability came from. It might still be genuine, maybe he spent a week at the David Leadbetter Academy or something, but without knowing the full facts I am sure such a drop would raise a few eye brows.
I don’t know the full history but I’m sure someone else here managed to view his handicap record.
Swango1980
Well-known member
O yeah, completely forgot you were talking about that arrogant chap from the forum (though it was some random guy at your club). I agree, from what he was posting alone, I am heavily leaning towards suspicious behaviour regarding his handicap
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
Wouldn't dramatic change in handicap be more down to number of cards rather than over a time period?
i.e A month is maybe 1 or 2 rounds to some but a dozen rounds to someone else
i.e A month is maybe 1 or 2 rounds to some but a dozen rounds to someone else
jim8flog
Journeyman Pro
If he is/was newly handicapped it is the way it works if they are putting in plenty of cards.
Even pre WHS it was fairly easy to drop several shots quickly if enough cards were going in (bearing in mind [from memory] the the player would drop .4 for each shot better than handicap when in his 20s and would get exceptional score reductions if very much better than handicap).
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
I do the same regularly. Here's a recent example - 5-over after 8, then 1-under for the next 10-holes. Annoying.
nickjdavis
Head Pro
Any reasonable team Captain, when considering the player for selection, would look at his scoring record and say...nope....not enough scores in competetive golf/hasn't demonstrated the ability to play well in a comp...not picking him.
He wasn’t putting in plenty of cards though. That was one of the biggest criticisms of his alleged behaviour.
Robster59
Tour Rookie
The thing with him is that people called him a cheat to his "face" on here, and he really didn't care. Then goes on to brag about winning competitions. Some people are totally brazen about it.
_MH_
Newbie
I thought general play rounds had to be pre-registered (either in the app or pro-shop)? So if you don't put a score in afterwards you'd automatically get given net double bogey (or somesuch) for each hole?
Bdill93
Undisputed King of FOMO
Well he seems to have changed his ways! 13.1 is pretty respectable
Or his ways have been changed on his behalf.
