Don’t do this

Dear readers,
I recently read a column in a local golf newspaper that offered incorrect information regarding posting scores. In effect, the column was telling its readers to cheat on their handicaps in order to win more stroke play tournaments. I was so appalled to read this that I felt compelled to write a letter to the editor which I sincerely hope will be printed in the next issue of that newspaper. I thought that you, my readers, might be interested in reading this letter, so I have reprinted it below, deleting any references to the name of the newspaper and substituting for the real name of the writer.

Dear Editor,

My jaw dropped when I read the advice of Mr. “Don’t-Play-This-Guy-For-Money.” He suggests that golfers post only stroke play scores, and refrain from posting match play scores. The USGA requires that players post all acceptable scores, and match play scores certainly come under the heading of “acceptable.”

Section 5-1c in The USGA Handicap System manual states very clearly that “scores in both match play and stroke play must be posted for handicap purposes. This includes scores made in match play…competitions in which players have not completed one or more holes or in which players are requested to pick up when out of contention on a hole.” Players who do not post match play scores are in violation of USGA rules regarding posting scores.

I am flabbergasted that Mr. “Don’t-Play-This-Guy-For-Money” begins the article complaining about sandbaggers (which I prefer to label “cheaters”), and then gives the sandbaggers a new way to pad their handicaps, namely by not posting match play scores. Golfers do not get to choose which scores to post – they must post all acceptable scores.

Mr. “Don’t-Play-This-Guy-For-Money” suggests that players’ scores are unnaturally low in match play because they are picking up. What he fails to note is that when players record scores on holes where they pick up, they should be recording their “most likely” score. Simply because a putt is conceded does not always mean that the recorded score adds only one stroke to your total for the hole. Players should be adding two strokes to their score when putts are conceded from any length that they do not normally hole out with one stroke. Recording an accurate, “most likely” score is the advice that should be offered to golfers, rather than the advice of Mr. “Don’t-Play-This-Guy-For-Money” to ignore the requirements of the USGA.

For a complete discussion of what scores to post, readers should be directed to read Section 5 of The USGA Handicap System manual, which is available online through the usga.org site. Readers looking for a more user-friendly version of what scores to post might want to check out an explanation that is scheduled to post on my blog on August 11: “Ask Linda #142-To post or not to post.” My blog discusses golf rules in a question-and-answer format called “Ask Linda: Golf Rules You Can Understand,” and may be found on the Internet at http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com.

The USGA has provided golfers with a handicap system that allows golfers of varying abilities to have an even competition. The only thing golfers have to do to insure that this system works properly is to post every acceptable score immediately after the round or as soon thereafter as possible. Match play scores come under the heading of “acceptable,” and no one should be advising players not to post them.

Linda Miller