‘We Tell Him He’s A Cheat, But It’s Water Off A Duck’s Back’ – Club Golfer Details Blatant Sandbagging

The discourse around the World Handicap System continues to take place at golf clubs all over the world on a daily basis. While tools like iGolf have allowed those with no fixed abode to submit general play scores, there’s a clear divide developing between nomads and members.

Many who pay a membership believe handicaps should only be forged during competition rounds, some don’t see the point in nomads having official indexes at all and others believe the current system is more open to manipulation than its predecessor.

However, cheating isn’t solely confined to the unattached ranks, and some efforts to manipulate are more flagrant and offensive than others – like the one below.

I’ve personally witnessed a member play a casual round with no handicap pressure, shoot a good score, decide to submit a scorecard as a result and sit in the bar for a couple of hours afterwards until it was accepted. I’m sure many others have too.

I’ve also seen plenty of golfers not holing out on every green during general play rounds. Many members and nomadic golfers have stories of dubious submissions, ‘impossible winning scores’, handicap inflation and more.

I was recently contacted by a golf club member, who shared details of his friend’s duplicity.

“I don’t think I'm the only person who is sick of the World Handicap System,” he said. “Not the system itself, which is probably fairer than the old system! But allowing individuals to manipulate their handicap however they like by adding cards which are often played from the comfort of their home.

“My friend was cut to 21.2, but he then put in a card at his and my home club (he lives close enough to the golf course for that to work).

"He was at work and there was no booking on the sheet! It is ridiculous. If they are allowing cards for general play, another member must surely sign as verification.

“I’m a 62-year-old trying hard to keep his handicap down at 10.2 when his friend cheats to put his handicap up.”

Naturally, I followed up and informed the reader that someone has to attest your score when you put in a general play card. He’d never done one – being firmly of the belief that handicaps should come from competition scores only – so was unaware of the process.

I explained he must have been sending his cards to someone else to sign off, meaning another person was in on it. Whether that person knew he was submitting cards from the comfort of his own home or not is another matter.

Not an isolated example

I’ll admit to having attested friends’ cards in the past when I wasn’t playing with them, because I know they’d never cheat. While I acknowledge this is wrong – and it’s not something I’ve done since being investigated by England Golf – it shows how the system can be manipulated if someone is determined to artificially inflate or lower their score.

“I’ve never done a general play score so I don’t know how it works, but I do know that while playing in a four-ball with me and two others, he put in a card without the knowledge of any of the group.

“He put a wrong score in on 18 and, more importantly, putts were being given. He always does stuff like this to increase his handicap.”

Such blatant cheating would surely lead many to stop playing with the person in question, but I assume the bond of friendship in this case is strong enough to preclude that from happening.

I presume the same reason is why he hasn’t been reported to the club and formally investigated. Either way, it’s shocking behaviour.

“We tell him he’s a cheat to his face, but it’s water off a duck’s back.”

While particularly egregious, I’m sure it’s not an isolated example. I’d be shocked if others who live close enough to a club to trigger a potential submission haven’t done the same thing.

Hopefully it’s a very small number of people, but this sort of behaviour does happen, especially in the summer. You’ve probably seen WhatApp messages from someone at your club that are accusatory in nature.

I subsequently took to X in search of more anecdotal evidence. I asked our followers this question: “Are you aware of anyone submitting a general play scorecard when they’re not on the golf course but are in the vicinity for the purposes of handicap manipulation (could live/work nearby)? Some 68% replied ‘no’, but a startling 32% said ‘yes’.

Cheating, banditry and sandbagging in golf is nothing new, but has the introduction of the World Handicap System made these practises easier? You’d struggle to argue it hasn’t.