Is There Some Way I Can Post My \u201cFun Golf\u201d Scores?<\/p>\n
Dear Molly: I play with a couple groups that observe casual rules. These tend to include preferred lies anywhere, treating OB and lost balls like a penalty area (one stroke penalty, no loss of distance) and a maximum score of triple-bogey. And we might allow a mulligan or other casual breaches of the rules.<\/p>\n
Should I be posting those scores to GHIN, for handicap purposes?\u00a0One member of my club\u2019s Board of Directors insists that I shouldn\u2019t, but these scores, in general, mirror those of my competitive rounds and are a fair representation of my potential.\u00a0Believe it or not, some of my worst rounds are from these casual environments!<\/p>\n
If I don\u2019t post these, almost all my posted scores would come from tournament rounds at my home club, and that seems like a different problem. Thanks! \u2014 Filthy Casual \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n
The company line from the United States Golf Association and, thus, our Colorado Golf Association, would be that all golfers post every round played by the Rules of Golf, and that all golfers should play by the Rules of Golf.<\/p>\n
But Filthy, I have a feeling you\u2019re the rule, not the exception. In fun, recreational rounds, gimmes are more common than knee-knockers and other modifications such as mulligans and your relaxed OB-lost ball policy help move play along on our busy courses. In my experience with players of every level, including pros, only elite amateurs \u2014 conscious of benchmarks that allow them to enter certain CGA and USGA championships \u2014 take care to play even their fun rounds strictly by the rules.<\/p>\n
Two seasons ago I delved into this for \u201cReal Vs. Rec,\u201d<\/a> in the CGA Monthly. I found that golf\u2019s human overseers understand, accept and \u2013 when it comes to moving play along \u2013 may even endorse your adaptation of the rules, but the entity itself hasn\u2019t officially addressed it. Therefore the CGA and other regional associations have no common-sense answer for you.<\/p>\n So my very unofficial suggestions here, not endorsed by USGA or CGA rules or handicap officials, will be to find ways you can have your fun and still in good conscience post a score. After all, I am the CGA consultant on fun, not rules.<\/p>\n Preferred lies, anywhere??? Seriously??? On our gorgeous Colorado golf courses in the height of summer? I\u2019m going to suggest you AND your pals observe the universal tenet of the game and play the ball as it lies. Not only will this allow you to post in good conscience, I am betting you will all become better players. If they don\u2019t want to, tell them you are going to anyway \u2013 maybe you can guilt them into compliance.<\/p>\n Two-part suggestion here: First, change your maximum score to double par, 6 on par-3s, 8 on par-4s and 10 on par-5s. (Again, your friends don\u2019t have to go along with you on this, you can just do it on your own.) And, enter your scores in the GHIN app using the \u201cHole By Hole\u201d option, which will then adjust all your double pars to your personal net double bogey. This saves the trouble of figuring out your net double bogey on each hole based on your handicap.<\/p>\n You can also adjust your scorecard before posting. Get one of those pencils with erasers and remove the holes where you took a mulligan or blatantly disregarded a rule that would have cost you strokes. (Don\u2019t worry about gimmes or picking up early \u2013 we\u2019ll get to that next.) Now fill in double par and the system will adjust that to a net double bogey.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you could leave those holes blank and let GHIN assign your score differential based on how you played that day. To accomplish this in the app, after you choose the golf course you played, opt for entering \u201cHole-By-Hole Score.\u201d At the top of the page where you select which tees you played, you can see options for Number of Holes Played: 18, 9 or 10-17. Choose 10-17 (provided you played at least 10 holes by the Rules of Golf) and leave blank the boxes for the holes you did not play by the rules. When you\u2019re ready to post, the app will observe that you left some scores out but will let you proceed.<\/p>\n However, if you have more than one or two blanks, I suggest you fill in double par. That\u2019s because if the rest of your scores are pretty good and you have four or five (or, with your casual approach, six or seven!) where you feel you have to break the rules to keep pace, the system might assign you better scores on those holes than you deserve.<\/p>\n I emphasize: This is not official, but it\u2019s reasonable. Your club\u2019s board should find this acceptable, especially if it allows posting in cases where, say, lightning or an emergency shorten a round. Unless of course no one on your board has ever posted a round with a mulligan or a gimme!<\/p>\n As for those gimmes, you could use the handy USGA-supplied chart<\/a> in \u201cReal vs. Rec\u201d to determine where you should record a one-, two- or three-putt. The chart was designed for match play score posting, but it provides parameters for recreational golfers wanting to post their scores honestly. You can even use this, a CGA official pointed out, to figure out your likely score when you pick up more than 20 yards from the hole, even if you are off the green.<\/p>\n As I look back through these ideas, which I believe would bring you reasonably into compliance with the rules of handicapping, it seems most sensible for you to keep two scores, the one for your (no-doubt big money) game with your friends and the one you are going to post.<\/p>\n Try this a few times and revisit the topic with your board. What you\u2019re trying to accomplish isn\u2019t devious. You\u2019re not trying to get rid of your bad scores so that you have a vanity handicap, or forgetting to post your good scores so that you can be a sandbagger. You\u2019re trying to build a handicap that accurately represents the best you can play.<\/p>\n However, if you really want to win club tournaments, I suggest you make a point of playing by the rules, at least occasionally.<\/p>\n Do you have a question about golf etiquette, golf relationships or the culture of golf in Colorado? Email it to Molly McMulligan<\/a>, the CGA\u2019s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course, and follow @MollyMcMulligan on Instagram. Her creator, researcher and writer is golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff.<\/p>\n _________________<\/p>\n MORE FROM MOLLY<\/p>\n How Can I Turn a Negative Into a Positive?<\/a><\/p>\n