Index And Handicap--Part 2 The "Vanity" Handicap

     The other night, I went over to a good buddy of mine's house to play cards and talked golf, of course. He had played that day with anothe good friend of ours who plays to a twelve handicap. Oh really, he's a twelve handicap?  That handicap is what I call a "vanity" handicap.
     Let me define what a "vanity" handicap is.  You may kind of know, but for the sake of this post I will define it, and it differs from the handicap of a sandbagger.  A sandbagger posts only his or her highest scores inflating artificially their handicaps so that when they play in tournaments they are given more strokes or put in a different play flight. In effect, this is a very bad form of cheating.  having a "vanity" handicap really isn't cheating but you are hurting yourself. The "vanity handicap" golfer wants to appear to others as a better player than they really are, so they only post their lowest scores.
     "Vanity handicappers" only hurt themselves, and the people that they normally play with know that the players handicap should be higher.  Even people that they don't play with on a regular basis will guess that their handicap is not right, by the way they play. Let's face it, you can tell a twelve handicapper from a twenty handicapper once you have played with them. In a handicapped event, you wouldn't want them as your partner because you give up too many strokes to the field.
     There is one very important rule in golf that most golfers abide by.  That rule is, count every stroke.  This includes penalty strokes. Along that lines, there is another important rule and that is play the ball where it lies. Yes, there is taking relief and dropping your ball and the rules of golf are very specific when you can do that. But, if you don't like where your ball comes to rest, you can't generally move it. A true golfer takes their penalty strokes and plays the ball where it lies.
      What about "The Vanity Handicapper"? That issue can also be debated.  Some take their penalties and play their ball where it lies. At the end of the round, if their score is higher than usual, they don't post. At least when they post, the score is accurate and all strokes, including penalty strokes, are counted. At least they are hurting themselves legally. There is no hint of "cheating".
     I will say this bluntly.  some "vanity handicappers" flat out cheat. They don't count penalty strokes and improve their lies.  When they miss a short twelve inch putt, they don't count it.  If it goes into the water, they either hit the ball again and not count the "water ball" or drop and not count the penalty stroke.  Should the ball go out of bounds, either hit it again or play it from where it went out and not count the strokes.  This is not golf, folks, this is out and out cheating. Into the computer goes a low number, or if it is a high number it doesn't get posted even though the golfer wasn't exactly honest about their score.
     I post everything.  Yes, when my index goes up, I cry. When the index goes down, I jump for joy.  At least, my numbers are accurate and I post everything according to the way they are supposed to be posted.
     That';s it for today.  Have you checked out the new U-tube videos I have posted on my website.  Take a look. Go to http://the-golf-course-travel-bag.com and see.  I'm very proud of them and more are coming. Until the next time, hit 'em long and straight.  Don't leave that birdie putt short.

Left side outside of the fence is out of bounds.  Two stroke penalty.