Vanity handicappers vs banditos

[HomerJSimpson]

I know what I’m like likely to score…but that’s almost not quite the point - that being I’m deliberately getting rid of my best diff, by a mile, and that will almost certainly see my HI and CH go up. And that doesn’t sit comfortably with me.

A round of golf is a round of golf. No gurantees what you'll score. I'd play put the card in and get on with it.

 

[Slab]

I know what I’m like likely to score…but that’s almost not quite the point - that being I’m deliberately getting rid of my best diff, by a mile, and that will almost certainly see my HI and CH go up. And that doesn’t sit comfortably with me.

Isn't it pretty clear cut. If you had no looming matches, would you have played and put in / not put in card, on the preceding days?

That kind of gives the motive or lack thereof

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Isn't it pretty clear cut. If you had no looming matches, would you have played and put in / not put in card, on the preceding days?

That kind of gives the motive or lack thereof

Not midweek or Sunday. I would probably have put a card in on Saturday.

But the point is I DO have a match on Saturday and another on Monday. - and THAT's my problem...and I admit it's just how I feel - I know there is nothing at all untoward about what I feel uncomfortable about doing. It can't be S/F CH vanity since my CH will almost certainly go up to 10+ in the coming weeks as the six oldest rounds on my record are ALL counters towards my HI...

 

[nickh]

How do these vanity players get into teams and more importantly still get picked after preforming poorly in the matches.

When I played in a team for my club. We had a weekly training session. Which was everyone turned up and played alt shots with various partners. The team selector drove around and watched the pairings. We handed in our cards at the end and the final team was selected from that.

Anyone cheating to get into a scratch team should really stick out or at least not perform to the expected level when it comes to the crunch in games and wouldn't get selected again.

When applying into comps with a limited field size, say 120 players, if 130 enter, quite often it will be the lowest handicap 120 that play, 10 will lose out.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

When applying into comps with a limited field size, say 120 players, if 130 enter, quite often it will be the lowest handicap 120 that play, 10 will lose out.

I think the point in the post quoted related to team matches for a club. Why keep picking someone if they are clearly not as good as they claim?

Your point stands entirely in Opens/ comps.

 

[Soft hands]

I can’t stand Vanity handicaps.

I’ll end up getting balloted out of the better opens in our area and then I’ll play against these people or see the scores they post, and no offence it’s clear what goes on, so annoying.

 

[richbeech]

How exactly do you determine a vanity handicapper ? Monday I shot +10 didn’t actually play that bad greens had been just cored and greens full of sand and putting was horrible as a result. This morning I shot -2 on probably a harder course. I’ve noticed myself mid/ high handicap players seem to think low single figure golfers are robots and don’t have blow up games. I can play horrible sometimes like everyone but difference is I can also beat the course regularly as well.

It's actually quite easy to spot when you know what to look for. It's that person who has an EG HI of around 0-2 but in comps always either shoots 84 or NR. You look at their scores on EG and see some level par rounds and 1 or 2 overs...but they're always on a Tuesday or Thursday, basically supplementary cards. There might be one competition round in there that's 2-3 over, but generally they're in the 80s. You might also play with them in the roll up but they rarely play anywhere near their handicap in that too. However you then hear about them trying to play for the scratch team or entering scratch opens at high end courses for £50.

 

[richbeech]

I also heard a bit of a naughty one recently where a known bandit at the club goes out and shoots 46 points in the pro shop roll up where prize money for 1st place regularly gets to over £100. Said bandit goes into the clubhouse after and tells another member (who hasn't gone out yet) that he's only shot 30 points so as to not deter him from going out and putting his fiver in the pot. I haven't verified that the story is 100% true but it came from a good friend of mine who has no reason to make stuff up.

 

[richbeech]

How do these vanity players get into teams and more importantly still get picked after preforming poorly in the matches.

When I played in a team for my club. We had a weekly training session. Which was everyone turned up and played alt shots with various partners. The team selector drove around and watched the pairings. We handed in our cards at the end and the final team was selected from that.

Anyone cheating to get into a scratch team should really stick out or at least not perform to the expected level when it comes to the crunch in games and wouldn't get selected again.

This is a good point. Eventually they do get found out, but you'd be surprised how long they can get away with it. They can get paired with their mate who's a genuine low handicap and he drags them through on the day. No one is expected to win all the time so loosing a game or two won't really raise any alarm bells, especially if the team wins overall.