Golf handicaps are meant to even the playing field between and among competitors, and not to give someone an advantage

Here are two true stories concerning handicaps at Lonnie Poole Golf Course (LPGC) on the NC State University campus:

Posting Lower Scores: Esse Quam Vederi, Hah!

There's a regular golfer who registers his handicap through LPGC's USGA GHIN system and, 99 percent of the time, posts scores lower than his actual score. That's what his fellow competitors, who through peer revue monitor his postings compared to his actual score on the scorecard, say. If it's true, all I can say is, "That's amazing." And ask, "Why?" It's a form of cheating even though he is posting lower scores to give him a lower handicap instead of the usual cheating, adding a few strokes for a higher handicap and thus gain an advantage in handicapped events, even casual rounds with friends. This guy obviously has "handicap envy." He wants to appear to be a better player than he is.

So why is it cheating to post lower scores? Let's say he's in a partner event, playing Net Four-Ball which uses the low net score of the two partners on the team to compete against another two-man team. In match play, low individual net score wins the hole. In medal (stroke) play competition against several teams, the low net score total for 18 holes of the two-man team competes against other two-man teams for total score. So, this guy who posts lower scores for a lower handicap is cheating himself and his partner out of possible stroke discounts. It also cheats competitors who deserve to be ahead of him in events/tournaments flighted by handicap. After peer pressure, hopefully he doesn't do the reverse, posting higher scores. Since handicaps are updated daily, correct scores should be posted immediately after the round, or before midnight that day.

This guy, we also understand, does not post scores during winter months because course conditions cause him to score higher, therefore raising his handicap. The playing conditions for him and everyone else are the same, and, usually, handicaps increase for everyone during winter conditions of cold, rain, thinner fairways, and stronger winds. Post every score, even nine hole scores, even if you feel it will not be used as one of your best eight of your last 20 scores.

North Carolina's motto is "Esse Quam Vederi," a Latin phrase that means "To Be Rather Than To Seem." I'm not sure of the Latin phrasing but this particular golfer's motto must be, "To Seem Rather Than To Be." The NC motto is from Cicero's essay on friendship, according to a Google search. In this case, the golfer in question is no friend of a partner on the golf course. A cure for what ails him -- to make him realize he should posting what he scores throughout the year and accept a higher handicap -- is to play individual 18-hole net scoring or net skins. When he pays in to play and walks away with no reward, he may thirst for the day he posts his true scores and plays with a higher handicap, his real handicap.

The Course Doesn't Fit My Game

Then there's this other regular golfer at LPGC who was posting scores from the course but with a course rating and slope not shown on any of the seven sets of men's tees. As it turns out, he was playing the Red Tees (Course Rating 70.8 / Slope 132) on some holes, the Wolfpack Tees (68.8/123) on some holes, and Gray Tees (66.4/111) on some holes. Using a USGA guideline, he was adding and subtracting Course Rating and Slope as he moved from course tee to course tee, developing his own special LPGC course.

The Carolinas Golf Association strongly suggested that he stop doing that and play a set of tees at LPGC especially rated for LPGC. Playing different tees to suite his game does not a course make, said a CGA official who also said normally such scores would be vacated from his GHIN, but, since he had been creating his own course for many, many rounds, just get him to stop his course creation going forward. He stopped and now plays and post his rounds from one set of tees.

Such course changes are possible but are for special and official course competitions to create a shorter or longer course. For instance, there could be a tournament in which one set of tees (Wolfpack) is played for six holes, another (Red) for six holes, and then another (Gray) for six holes, determining the Rating and Slope for that competition and telling the participants to post using that revised Rating and Slope. Doing that regularly by individual golfers is a no-no, even if you don't like where the tees are located on a particular hole for a specific set of tees.

Example at LPGC: Someone usually playing the Wolfpack tees moves up to the Gray tees on the 5th and 18th holes, the two longest par 4 holes. While the USGA offers a chart to make adjustments to Rating and Slope, to do so is frowned upon and creates a score that should not be posted or used in competition, even for a friendly game, except of course if the course is holding an official competition.

Handicap Stories To Tell and FAQs

Do you have handicap stories you'd like to share in this space. If so, drop me a note at and I'll add it in the comments section, or click on the comment link and go at it. In the meantime, click this link -- USGA Handicap FAQs -- to answer some of your questions about handicaps and posting scores.