The R&A, in collaboration with the golfing associations of GB&I has launched a social media and e-newsletter education campaign to address concerns about handicap manipulation under the World Handicap System (WHS.)
The campaign is two-pronged, aiming to give guidance both to players and to handicap committees on their respective responsibilities under the Rules of Handicapping.
It comes after feedback from GB&I golfers raised concerns that general play scores allowed too much scope for handicap manipulation and that committees need more power to deal with it.
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An e-newsletter and flip-book videos have gone to clubs and registered golfers in GB&I, describing to players that, if doing general play scores, they are expected to abide by the Rules of Handicapping.
They should pre-register for rounds, try to finish holes and rounds to the best of their ability and certify the scores of the player they are marking. The final advice sums it up - “be honest,” act with integrity and don’t abuse the Rules to gain unfair advantage. Basically, in the politest possible way, The R&A is saying, “Don’t cheat.”
Handicap committees are reminded of their responsibilities and those are – to understand the Rules of Handicapping and to educate members, to oversee members, to make sure they’re submitting scores in accordance with the Rules, to conduct regular handicap reviews to see if any unusual trends appear and to take action if players are in breach of Handicap Rules.
The R&A does not believe that the problem of handicap manipulation is widespread but accepts there is sufficient feedback to warrant an educational campaign.
Golf Monthly spoke to Grant Moir, Executive Director – Governance at The R&A.
“Through our research it’s clear that in GB&I there are some specific concerns around the system and particularly the perception that there’s a small minority of players that are manipulating the system,” he says.
“Even if a small number are doing this then it can impact on the enjoyment of competition golf, and it negatively impacts on golfers’ opinion of WHS.”
Moir is clear that wilfully breaking the Rules of Handicapping is a form of cheating, the same as breaking the Rules of Golf.
He stresses that this campaign aims to give players and committees the information they need to understand their responsibilities and to act, and play within the Rules of Handicapping.
“Part of this awareness campaign is that sometimes people are not aware of the responsibilities they have, so we want to point them out,” he says.
“If these have been pointed out, and you’re then deliberately doing something that isn’t in accordance with the Rules of Handicapping then it’s the same as doing something not in accordance with the Rules of Golf. We call that out as cheating, and we’re prepared to call out handicap manipulation as cheating.”
In 2024 The R&A conducted a global survey on WHS with 72,000 respondents. A large proportion of those respondents were from GB&I and Ireland. A recurring theme in responses was a concern over handicap manipulation through general play scores.
“We took that on board and our aim here is to help golfers better understand the behaviours and actions that are in breach of the Rules.
We want to emphasise that deliberately breaching these Rules is unacceptable and to call out deliberate manipulation for what it is. Which is cheating,” says Moir.
“The Rules of Handicapping, just like the Rules of Golf rely, to a certain extent on player integrity, and we all need to be prepared to challenge behaviour that lacks that integrity.”
Players are being encouraged to pre-register and committees are being encouraged to oversee that happens correctly. Players are also being advised by the campaign to play with integrity and to submit honest and accurate scores.
Committees are being encouraged to monitor individual players’ score entries and to challenge discrepancies.
“Clubs are encouraged to review all members handicaps at least once a year and the system should flag up any abnormalities,” says Grant Moir.
“If there’s a concern then the system should provide the necessary information to raise it with a player to seek an explanation.”
Moir is keen to point out that the majority of feedback on WHS has been highly positive but that there will be ongoing consultation with the home associations, clubs and players about any concerns they have and action will be taken where necessary, as this campaign demonstrates.
“One of the key issues we’re tackling is handicap manipulation, and the responsibilities that golfers have around submitting scores and maintaining their handicap,” says Hannah McAllister, CEO of Wales Golf.
“This joint campaign gives us a valuable opportunity to address some of the concerns.”
Golf Monthly Opinion
It's great that the golfing powers that be in GB&I are taking concerns around handicap manipulation seriously, and this education campaign will give players and committees the information and authority they need to call out those who are cheating the system.
There is far too much anecdotal evidence to deny that handicap manipulation is a problem and some of the winning scores in Texas Scrambles and Stableford events since the WHS was implemented in 2020 demonstrate that players are masquerading off inaccurate handicaps.
The excellent thing about this campaign is that it formalises these concerns and gives both players and clubs the ammunition needed to call out the cheats.
If your responsibilities as a player are clearcut and you are shown to be, knowingly, shirking those responsibilities, committees can take action and can alter handicaps accordingly, or even hand out firmer sanctions.
Golfers should take note of Grant Moir’s words that, wilfully manipulating handicap is the same as kicking a ball out of a bad lie or dropping a ball down the trouser leg – it is cheating, and it’s not acceptable.
All golfers should want WHS to succeed and to perform as well as it can. We need general play to work if that is to happen.
We all need to put in as many general play scores as we can to make handicaps as reflective of our ability as possible. But to encourage the maximum number of people to embrace general play, they need to feel confident that others are using it fairly and squarely.
This campaign is a great starting point for reinforcing in golfers and committees that general play is a vital part of WHS and it should be taken seriously.
General play rounds must be carried out correctly and with integrity. Committees at every club must carry out regular reviews to insure that is happening. It's a good step in the right direction
