Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ask Linda #507-Wrong date on scorecard


Dear Linda,
Normally we have a printer connected to our weekly club competition computer - when we enter the club competition, the printer prints out our name, handicap, the name of the competition, and date of competition.  Last week, this printer broke, so we had to fill out our scorecards by hand.  One of our competitors filled out her scorecard with her proper name and handicap, the proper name of the club competition, but instead of writing June 10, she wrote June 11 on the card.  She was a new golfer, a 36 handicapper.  She came in with the winning score, and the competition committee disqualified her, as she had written 11 instead of 10 as the date.  I understand that, as far as handicaps are concerned, her handicap is still reduced for her good score.  However, the 'conditions of competition' in our fixture card say that the date on the scorecard must be correct.  Just curious as to whether there is any actual ruling on this, or if conditions of competition are solely up to the competition committee.   I know that our conditions of competition also state that a player MUST enter her scores into the computer hole by hole, which is often not done, and is corrected by the competition committee with no repercussion, and frankly thought that the disqualification was unfair.  Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks and regards,
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

The Conditions of the Competition should include matters that are not covered under the Rules of Golf. For example, if the Committee wants to limit players to the List of Conforming Golf Balls, impose the One Ball Condition, permit or prohibit the use of caddies, or require that players walk, these rules would be listed separately as a Condition of the Competition.

The player’s responsibilities regarding scorecards are included under the Rules of Golf. The competitor is required to record her correct handicap, check to see that the gross score recorded for each hole is correct, and ensure that both she and her marker sign her scorecard. That’s it! The player in your scenario met all of her responsibilities [Rule 6-6].

The Committee is responsible for providing each competitor with a scorecard containing her name and date. The Committee adds the scores and applies the handicap recorded on the scorecard [Rule 33-5]. The Committee in your scenario was negligent in its duty to record the date on the scorecard.

The Committee may not assign responsibilities to the players that are assigned to the Committee under the Rules. Since the Rules specify that it is the Committee’s job to write the date, if the date is incorrect, it must be corrected by the Committee.

A player may no more be disqualified for writing the incorrect date than she could be for adding the scores incorrectly. These responsibilities are not hers.

The Committee erred in its decision to disqualify this player. She should be reinstated as the winner.

Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.