Golfers To Face Penalties For Not Entering General Play Rounds In Time
England Golf has warned that players will face penalty scores for not entering scorecards in time
England Golf is cracking down on players who don't enter their scores within an "acceptable period" by warning that penalty scores will be enforced.
Currently, players can pre-register their general play rounds on the MyEG app or on-site at their local course where they are then required to enter said score immediately, or as soon as possible, after completion of the round.
However, it sounds as if players are not always entering their scores despite pre-registering for a handicap round.
This could be for a number of reasons but one of them may be due to players performing badly and not entering their scores to stop their handicaps to go up.
So, from the 29th November, golfers who do not enter their scores as soon as possible will be reminded by email, and if the email is ignored a penalty score will be designated to the player's record.
The penalty score will be marked as a 'P' and could affect handicaps in both ways, by going up or down.
According to the USGA, "The Handicap Committee can decide the appropriate penalty score based on the intent of the player and can select a high or low penalty score equal to the highest or lowest Score Differential in the player’s scoring record. If discoverable, the Handicap Committee can also post the actual score."
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England Golf also reminds golfers to certify any score submissions witnessed as soon as possible.
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"It is your responsibility to ensure any scores that are pre-registered are returned as soon as possible to avoid being designated as a penalty score," an England Golf statement read.
"Should you have any issues submitting your score or have a reason why the score cannot be submitted, you should speak to your club.
"As part of this new process, should your score not be submitted you will receive a reminder email (service email) asking you to complete the process.
"If you do not act, an automated penalty score will be applied to your handicap record, which could adjust your handicap index upwards or downwards.
"The application of automatically applied penalty scores can be reviewed by your club, however changes will only be made at the discretion of the handicap committee."

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.