Is this not a form of cheating?

[Foreplay]

I always record ALL of my rounds good, bad or abysmal on a handicap tracker so i have a true account of my ability. How many golfers i wonder who have a really poor round just discard the round and don't record it thus protecting their handicap. I would imagine there are 1,000's of golfers out there who if they recorded every round good or bad would not be has good has they think they are. Is this not a form of cheating?

 

[Orikoru]

What are you talking about? If you're in a comp and you hand in a bad round it's 0.1, if you toss the card in the bin, it's still 0.1. Where's the cheating?

 

[londonlewis]

I'm not sure how it is cheating if you're suggesting that people are artifically keeping their handicap lower than their ability.

 

[patricks148]

I always record ALL of my rounds good, bad or abysmal on a handicap tracker so i have a true account of my ability. How many golfers i wonder who have a really poor round just discard the round and don't record it thus protecting their handicap. I would imagine there are 1,000's of golfers out there who if they recorded every round good or bad would not be has good has they think they are. Is this not a form of cheating?

not if you are a member of a club. You play for your handicap in designated club comps or if its a supplementary card you have to state beforehand. bounce games at other clubs are just that, unless you are playing in a comp and your score will be forwarded to your home club via CDH.

if you were playing the American system, them maybe. Not even sure we will be posting all scores when we go to the new system in 2020.

 

[IanM]

What do you mean by ALL rounds? Played 18 last evening, didnt even take a card on the course... is that cheating?

 

[ademac]

Handicaps are tracked when you play in qualifying comps or put supplementary cards in. If you dont hand the card in its .1 back.
So no it isnt cheating at all.
Also I think you are meaning protecting a hcp for vanity purposes. If people want to do that then let them crack on as they will struggle to compete against you when it matters.

 

[IanM]

Seen a few "Vanity Handicaps" recently, from aging Cat 1 players not wanting to get ballotted out of big events..... then these folk put the results on the internet! That sorts a few out!

88-2-86 never looks nice! :clap:

 

[jim8flog]

We have had low single figure players who try to handicap protect but have bought in procedures to highlight them doing it.

Persistent offenders can have there handicap suspended for doing it.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I always record ALL of my rounds good, bad or abysmal on a handicap tracker so i have a true account of my ability. How many golfers i wonder who have a really poor round just discard the round and don't record it thus protecting their handicap. I would imagine there are 1,000's of golfers out there who if they recorded every round good or bad would not be has good has they think they are. Is this not a form of cheating?

If you’re not on about comps but actually all the rounds you play then I believe you’re getting confused.
I’ve tracked all my rounds home and away for the last 5 years via Game Golf.
My current handicap is 10.9, Game Golf has me at 8.4, Game Golf means absolutely nothing, those rounds are a mixture of qualifying and non-qualifying, white and yellow tees.
Are you saying I should go to my Club and claim I should be off 8.4.

 

[Grant85]

I always record ALL of my rounds good, bad or abysmal on a handicap tracker so i have a true account of my ability. How many golfers i wonder who have a really poor round just discard the round and don't record it thus protecting their handicap. I would imagine there are 1,000's of golfers out there who if they recorded every round good or bad would not be has good has they think they are. Is this not a form of cheating?

It will be interesting to see how the new handicap system works in practice in 2020. Will people really be expected to keep their score every time they step onto the course?

Surely this is not fair to do this if you are playing matchplay or fourball format? Different game where you will naturally play more aggressively than you would in a strokeplay format.

How will it be enforced?
Will you have to hole out on every hole all the time?
What is the impact of a friendly game that you decide to chuck halfway or get rained out and walk in even when the course remains open?
Will they also need to record an SSS for every single day? Again, not possible or practical in many cases but very important, especially in coastal towns where the wind can have a big impact.

 

[IanM]

It will be interesting to see how the new handicap system works in practice in 2020. Will people really be expected to keep their score every time they step onto the course?

Surely this is not fair to do this if you are playing matchplay or fourball format? Different game where you will naturally play more aggressively than you would in a strokeplay format.

How will it be enforced?
Will you have to hole out on every hole all the time?
What is the impact of a friendly game that you decide to chuck halfway or get rained out and walk in even when the course remains open?
Will they also need to record an SSS for every single day? Again, not possible or practical in many cases but very important, especially in coastal towns where the wind can have a big impact.

Hence some guidance words will be needed... practice rounds, social rounds surely out of scope?

 

[Grant85]

Hence some guidance words will be needed... practice rounds, social rounds surely out of scope?

I don't know. The R&A use the phrase 'recreational rounds'.

The specific circumstances I am thinking of is a roll up. So when I played these - you would go out in fourballs and play fourball matches. But would also count your score and then put your card into a sweep.

There would be gimmie putts and often someone would NR in the sweep if they lost a ball and were playing well over their handicap.
Obviously saved time, but they were still playing the fourball match.

A roll up is also a bit more formal than just playing with your mate, but ultimately it is a bounce game and there is a matchplay element to it.

 

[Khamelion]

As and when I played in comps, my card went in, odd occasion I binned the card, as others wrote I would still get the 0.1 back.

Other rounds I played with friends, we keep a card sometimes for bragging rights, but those cards don't go into the club.

Golf for me is a social thing, I play because I enjoy it, not because I want a higher or lower handicap. When I join a new club I'll enter the comps and do my best to try and win and my handicap will change, but by not handing in a card for every round I play is certainly not cheating.

 

[patricks148]

I don't know. The R&A use the phrase 'recreational rounds'.

The specific circumstances I am thinking of is a roll up. So when I played these - you would go out in fourballs and play fourball matches. But would also count your score and then put your card into a sweep.

There would be gimmie putts and often someone would NR in the sweep if they lost a ball and were playing well over their handicap.
Obviously saved time, but they were still playing the fourball match.

A roll up is also a bit more formal than just playing with your mate, but ultimately it is a bounce game and there is a matchplay element to it.

a few things wrong with your description. you can't play matchplay and a comp at the same time i believe. so shouldn't be putting the score in for a comp

and the new system will be best 8 scores from last 20. SSS is getting done away with so slope rating used instead. but if you want you could still just put comp scores in if you wanted and leave the bounce games out, or put them all in if you like from my understanding.

 

[Foreplay]

What are you talking about? If you're in a comp and you hand in a bad round it's 0.1, if you toss the card in the bin, it's still 0.1. Where's the cheating?

Every round of golf counts for me whether it's social or competition, so I suppose what i'm getting at is if you played a par 70 in a comp and shot 80 (10 over) and then played 4 more social rounds and shot 100 (30 over) in theory you would have averaged 96 (26 over) but because you discarded your social rounds you would walk around saying i am a +10 golfer when in fact you are a +26 golfer, so are you cheating yourself is my question.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Every round of golf counts for me whether it's social or competition, so I suppose what i'm getting at is if you played a par 70 in a comp and shot 80 (10 over) and then played 4 more social rounds and shot 100 (30 over) in theory you would have averaged 96 (26 over) but because you discarded your social rounds you would walk around saying i am a +10 golfer when in fact you are a +26 golfer, so are you cheating yourself is my question.

And if you shot 100 in a competition & 80 in a social round (much more likely) would you be cheating the other way? There's only one way to calculate a handicap & that's the method laid down by CONGU. By definition, a mid teens handicapper is only expected to play to his handicap around 10% of the time. Using your "method" everyone would be higher.

 

[Grant85]

a few things wrong with your description. you can't play matchplay and a comp at the same time i believe. so shouldn't be putting the score in for a comp

My point is that many people do. They will play a social round that will involve a matchplay format and a strokeplay sweep. So would these people be expected to hand the cards in and would they have to putt out on every hole etc.

and the new system will be best 8 scores from last 20. SSS is getting done away with so slope rating used instead. but if you want you could still just put comp scores in if you wanted and leave the bounce games out, or put them all in if you like from my understanding.

If you can just leave the bounce games out, then nothing has really changed? People will still record their handicap based on competition only. There is already a mechanism to hand in cards for bounce games and for this to influence your handicap. Of course most people don't do this, as what is the point of shooting -6 in a bounce game and your handicap coming down when you won't win a prize / money / trophy etc.

Possibly it is the culture that has to change, not so much the rules.

 

[PJ87]

Mate of mine never understood why his handicap was a lot lower than mine but we were similar standard at the time

when I pointed out I dont miss any rounds off my app (golfshot at the time) and you only ever saw his good rounds on there for the world to see he then went a bit red and released his handicap was kidding himself

 

[Foreplay]

And if you shot 100 in a competition & 80 in a social round (much more likely) would you be cheating the other way? There's only one way to calculate a handicap & that's the method laid down by CONGU. By definition, a mid teens handicapper is only expected to play to his handicap around 10% of the time. Using your "method" everyone would be higher.

NO because you would still be recording both scores, that's the whole point of this conversation not dismissing any scores.

 

[ademac]

If you are asking if people are cheating themselves then yes I suppose they are.
Its a bit daft but ego is rife in the world of golf, just look at this forum!