Quote:
Originally Posted by nfotiu
If you don't enter hole by hole or adjust for ESC, then you are sandbagging your handicap, which will piss some people off if you're playing for money.
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I disagree. I find ESC is a crutch for a lot of players. I play with several mid to high handicap players who rely on it to keep their scores down and not finish holes, because... ESC. That's not right. Play the ball to completion, no matter how painful it is. As someone who has carded a 13 (on a par five), while shooting 75 on a par 70 course, I believe you honor the game and take your lumps. That 13 is a badge of honor and the card still hangs in the shop of the course it was shot on. I'm not a massive stickler for the rules, allowing preferred lies and giving reasonable gimme's to speed up the round, but I demand that players finish out the hole and take their lumps. It's a learning experience and builds character. After all, golf is a game about character, and finishing every hole and taking the odd kick in the nuts is part of the game.
Sandbaggers are going to sandbag regardless of what scoring method you use. I know guys who have the "oopsies" every round, just to keep that handicap up there. I know guys that add two to four strokes when entering their scores, just to keep the handicap up there. Guys will sandbag because they're dicks, not because of a scoring system. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are guys who reverse sandbag and try to maintain an ego handicap. They only enter their good scores which keeps their handicap artificially low. Not that big a deal, until you draw one of them and have to play a team game! Golf is a game of honor and keeping score is a honor thing. If you're really that concerned about sandbaggers, play match play and give handicap advantage through tee differential (one tee box on holes where the player strokes) rather than stroke advantage. You'd be surprised how quickly those sandbaggers get washed out in this format.