Your Responsibilities as a Player

The new domestic golf season is officially here and we hope you have a fantastic year on the fairways! Before you tee up, we would like to remind you of your player responsibilities under the Rules of Handicapping™.

The World Handicap System™ (comprising of the Rules of Handicapping and the Course Rating System™) was launched in 2020 and is now being used in over 130 countries, providing benefits to golfers across the world through a single, consistent measure of playing ability.

But did you know that – just like the Rules of Golf – you have certain responsibilities for handicapping when you play a round?

The R&A has created a flipbook to try and increase player awareness of their responsibilities under the Rules of Handicapping. The information below highlights what players must do in order to comply with the Rules of Handicapping.

Pre-register

The pre-registration process is an important safeguard to ensure you decide to submit a score for handicap purposes at the start of the round rather than at the end, depending on how you played. It is the responsibility of all golfers not to:

• Circumvent the process by selecting which scores you submit to your record.
• Submit scores that have not taken place or that are not accurate

Try

When submitting a score for handicap purposes, you must try to make the best score possible on each hole. It is manipulating the system if you:

• Deliberately play badly to increase your score and your Handicap Index.
• Deliberately start playing badly during the round in order to submit a higher score.

Certify

If you're marking someone else’s scorecard, it is your responsibility to ensure that everything is correct. So be sure to:

• Double-check that all scores are accurate.
• Refuse to attest any scores that seem incorrect or altered (and notify your playing partner!)
• Golfers can reject a score via the MyEG app, allowing their playing partner to correct any errors before re-submitting for attestation.

Submit

The more scores that you submit, the more reflective your Handicap Index will be of your demonstrated ability. It is manipulating the system if you:

• Deliberately play a general play round to remove a good score from your scoring record and increase your Handicap Index for a competition or match.
• Use general play rounds for the purpose of increasing your Handicap Index in time for a big prize handicap event; or to decrease your Handicap Index to be eligible for an elite level event.

Be Honest

The Rules of Handicapping rely on all players to act with integrity and not to use or circumvent the Rules of Handicapping to gain an unfair advantage.

• It is dishonest if you and your fellow players deliberately manipulate your Handicap Index, in whatever way and for whatever purpose.
• Make sure you and your fellow players are fully aware of your/ their responsibilities when submitting a round.
• Ask for guidance if you are unsure of when a score can / should be submitted.

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Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.