Suspect a golf sandbagger? How your club can minimize the effects of golf sandbagging.

 

Beginning on January 1, 2020, with the introduction of the World Handicap System, the USGA has added to or modified existing protections agains inflating one's handicap, or "sandbagging."

 

• Indexes are calculated using only the best 8 score differentials rather than the previous 10 scores
• The Playing Condition Calculation (PCC) adjusts for daily anomalies in playing conditions
• Features called the Soft Cap and Hard Cap will modulate upward movement of Index
• Handicap committees have discretion to lower player Indexes, if warranted
• Exceptional Score Reduction (ESR) may lower a player's Index
• Rounds played alone cannot be posted

Please refer to the Rules of Handicapping for the World Handicap System at USGA.org.

• 2.1 Acceptability of Scores
• 5.2b For 20 Scores
• 5.6 Playing Conditions Calculation
• 5.8 Limit on Upward Movement of a Handicap Index
• 5.9 Submission of an Exceptional Score

 

Note: The information below applied prior to the introduction of the World Handicap System on January 1, 2020.

 

There's an excellent article in pdf form titled, "Fairway Felons," by David Barrett in the Chicago District Golfer magazine. He begins by stating,

"Sandbagging. No one likes to admit that it happens, but we all know it does. Here’s how to spot it and what your club should already be doing to get rid of it once and for all."

According to Barrett "virtually all" forms of sandbagging fall into three main types:

1. "Oops! It just slipped my mind." In this type the golf sandbagger "forgets" to enter some of his best scores.
2. "Did I enter '91'? Must have pushed the wrong key." This devious type of manipulation has the golf sandbagger intentionally entering a score higher than he shot.
3. "Gosh, my putter really went cold in those last few holes." In this more subtle form of sandbagging, the golf sandbagger misuses match and better-ball play to inflate his score when the opportunity to inflate his score in a situation where the outcome is no longer in doubt.

Barrett points out that the USGA Handicap System includes a number of buffers against golf sandbaggers. Chief among them is the protection against those golfers that mysteriously - or not - step up their game for tournaments. Throwing out the 10 best handicap differentials from the most recent 20 scores also mitigates against sandbagging, as does multiplying the average by 96%. Barrett goes on to offer eight guidelines for clubs to use to protect the integrity of the handicap system from golf sandbaggers. Read the full "Fairway Felon" article.