Whose responsibility is it to ensure our card records the correct handicap?
What happens if it is the wrong handicap?
It has been unfortunate that some who returned a card with no handicap entered have been disqualified. While it is the player’s responsibility to ensure the correct handicap is on the card, having it printed on our card for us has made us lazy, as there has been the expectation from continued practice that the ‘machine’ would print it for us.
But the rule remains - it is our responsibility to ensure our correct handicap is on our card!
I guess the new technology has made us lazy. When our ‘new’ computerized timesheet system added card printing at the golfshop, we got used to our GolfLink handicap being printed on the card for us. Occasionally, when the printer had a ‘spackattack’, your handicap may have been omitted.
Rule 3.3b states: "You are responsible for making sure your handicap is shown on your score card. If you return a scorecard without the right handicap:
- if the handicap on your scorecard is too high and this affects the number of strokes you get, or no handicap is shown, you are disqualified from the handicap competition;
- if the handicap on your scorecard is too low, there is no penalty and your score strands using the lower handicap. "