The point of 'No Returns'...

[viscount17]

different definitions of NR going on I think. I tend to think of it as Not Returned (card), where for many posts it's more like Not Recorded (hole).

The first I think should always be wrong, I'll concede that there can be valid reasons for the second.

 

[Ethan]

Surely only scores up to the n/r should count for standard scratch? Scores after that are no longer under competition conditions, and so are in a different category. Not fair to compare scores in these circumstances. A huge part of competitive golf is in the head. Once you have torn up the card you can relax, where others can't.

The card will still count. It just becomes a stableford card for handicap purposes.

 

[Parmo]

Sometimes when you know you have lost playing to your handicap, it seems pointless to carry on, sometimes I would rather be in the bar relaxing than getting tense on the course.

 

[doc17]

AN ODE TO N.R. by DOC17

Crikey!, some people will try anything to get into Golf Monthly magazine!

Far from it, I've heard this debate ramble on so many times in the past that i thought that i'd put a light hearted twist on it to add some variety. Lets face it, with the other end of the scale being the speed of play issue, both will be with golf FOR EVER!! so you might as well put up with it!!

 

[Imurg]

getting tense on the course.

Possibly the reason you're having a shocker?

Non-returned cards should be frowned upon. Poor form. Even handing it in un-completed is better than not handing it in at all.

And walking off the course is a big No-No in my book. Unless its forewarned as in a previous poster ref untimely parenthood!

 

[madandra]

Surely only scores up to the n/r should count for standard scratch? Scores after that are no longer under competition conditions, and so are in a different category. Not fair to compare scores in these circumstances. A huge part of competitive golf is in the head. Once you have torn up the card you can relax, where others can't.

The card will still count. It just becomes a stableford card for handicap purposes.

I am not sure my old club used this method as I once n/r'd on 18 sitting at 6 over and knocking my last 3 balls downtown and still went up by the seemingly mandatory 0.1

Everyone accepts the 0.1 so who else plays where they change from strokeplay to stableford if you N/R?

 

[Ethan]

Surely only scores up to the n/r should count for standard scratch? Scores after that are no longer under competition conditions, and so are in a different category. Not fair to compare scores in these circumstances. A huge part of competitive golf is in the head. Once you have torn up the card you can relax, where others can't.

The card will still count. It just becomes a stableford card for handicap purposes.

I am not sure my old club used this method as I once n/r'd on 18 sitting at 6 over and knocking my last 3 balls downtown and still went up by the seemingly mandatory 0.1

Everyone accepts the 0.1 so who else plays where they change from strokeplay to stableford if you N/R?

Your club was wrong. You should have a score of 0 points entered for that hole and the effect on handicap assessed accordingly. My club applies the rules correctly.

 

[TWM]

I have recently had to give up at half way feeling unwell, therefore NR.
However I remember back in about 1965 as a beginner playing for handicap I handed in a score of 148.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think my club were seriously looking into the number of NR's being put in by each player. I think HDID etc has revealed that a number of guys in medals were shall we say "serial NR's". The plan was to allow a maximum of 3 in any rolling year without any problem, four and you receive an official warning and 5 is a one month suspension.

I think that seemed a pretty even handed and fair way of dealing with the problem It gives everyone, especially at this time of year and in the rubbish conditions we've been enduring a chance to have three some real shockers and not have any pressure to put the card in. I think if you're struggling to play in medals four or more times and feel the need not to put a card in then perhaps it is actually telling you something about your game. I know that our medals are treated as stableford for handicapping so it is feasible to get a cut if you play 17 decent holes but I'm not sure how the members will feel if the plan goes through.

 

[Farneyman]

The plan was to allow a maximum of 3 in any rolling year without any problem, four and you receive an official warning and 5 is a one month suspension.

If my club tried this I would leave straight away. The worst idea I have ever heard and not a good idea for people starting the game....... so you have only started and nr 4 times and you get a suspension.....have i misunderstood this?

 

[Ethan]

The plan was to allow a maximum of 3 in any rolling year without any problem, four and you receive an official warning and 5 is a one month suspension.

If my club tried this I would leave straight away. The worst idea I have ever heard and not a good idea for people starting the game....... so you have only started and nr 4 times and you get a suspension.....have i misunderstood this?

I assume Homer means not handing in a card at all, not handing one in with a blob/ding on it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

That's correct. I meant chucking it in the bin or not signing it and putting it in the box. As I said we are having a problem with a number of guys who as soon as they have one bad hole just chuck the card away and are doing so on a regular (3 out 4 of the last medals by four different guys). Its about completing the 16/17 holes every time and using the stableford system to see if there was still a cut due.

I can't see how it will be a bad thing for new golfers. You are going to have to out three cards in warts and all for handicap purposes so what's the difference once you are in a medal? OK I accept that you are nervous (first few comps etc) and that the chances of playing to the handicap are 50/50 but if you start your competitive career and get in the habit of N/R then it becomes a hard one to break

 

[Farneyman]

Thought you just meant nr in general. If the cards dont get returned physically then I agree with you 100% Espically with repeat offenders.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

No I think the general consensus (unless I'm mistaken and not for the first time) on here is that its pretty OK to N/R a hole as long as you play (and I guess try) the rest and stick your card in so it can be reworked via stableford. I guess if you're 3 or 4 under you handicap and lose a ball on say 16 and then net par in then on your card you'll be a couple under on stableford. My understanding is that you could then be cut and if your on the cusp say x.6 or x.5 then potentially you could lose a shot.

 

[haplesshacker]

So are we talking NR the hole, or the round? With regard to the OP. As I must admit that I thought we were talking holes and not rounds. I'm easily confused

 

[USER1999]

To me, an N/R is still put in the box. The only time I have not done this is when I have got home, and found the card in my back pocket. Ooops. Not going back to the club to put in a rubbish card.

 

[didsbury_duffer]

This has proved to be quite an interesting thread, with many forumers showing their true colours, some of which I find a tad worrying. There seems to be quite a few who are quite singular in their approach:
- I do this, I do that
- I'm not going to put a crap card in
- I'm going up 0.1 anyway, so why bother
- I'd rather be in the bar than struggling round the rest

Now I know that golf is generally not a team game, and that in medals and single stablefords you are just playing for yourself, but this great game was based upon more than a self-centred attitude towards your own score on any particular day. Let's not resort to the methods and tactics of other less creditable sports.

 

[Smiffy]

I have only ever jacked it in during a round once in competitive play. Stableford at Crowborough, I couldn't hit a bloody thing and after 4 holes hadn't scored a point. Got to the 5th tee, put one in the trees, reloaded and did exactly the same again. Made my excuses and walked off the course. I got a severe (and I do mean severe ) rollocking from the organiser the following week and have never done it again since.
Played in a medal at Highwoods in October, really played badly but despite the suffering I recorded a score on every hole.
There were a number of N/Rs that day but the thought never entered my head.

 

[Ethan]

No I think the general consensus (unless I'm mistaken and not for the first time) on here is that its pretty OK to N/R a hole as long as you play (and I guess try) the rest and stick your card in so it can be reworked via stableford. I guess if you're 3 or 4 under you handicap and lose a ball on say 16 and then net par in then on your card you'll be a couple under on stableford. My understanding is that you could then be cut and if your on the cusp say x.6 or x.5 then potentially you could lose a shot.

That is correct. All medal scores convert to stableford for handicap purposes, so a NR on a hole is simply 0 points and the handicap system should adjust your handicap accordingly.

 

[bobmac]

I played in a 36 hole tournament a few years ago with 2 young guys.
One guy who had his dad caddying for him had a tidy 71 in the morning but threw in a few bogeys in the afternoon.
He needed a par on the last for a 74.
He missed the green left, duffed his chip into the bunker, walked in and picked it up.
NR on the 36th hole.
I was amazed.
If I had been his dad, I would have kicked his a**e all the way home.