Golfers all, there is this virus that preys on the heart of the public good. The virus feeds off sloth and breeds low expectations among deadbeats who should be seeking help in the first place. We are talking about the game’s handicapping system here.
The whole thing is porous and it’s biting and beating hard on the game of golf. From the backyard, the game of golf is regarded as an honourable game, even to those who have not swung the golf club before. But from the inside, the game is becoming rotten as cheats are presently feasting on this good game that should be placed on the altar of purity.
And just for unnecessary reasons, golfers now cheat at will. You would hardly believe this, but a billionaire of uncommon status could grind his wedge in a bunker just to get off easily. A prominent personality would drop a new ball in the rough when the original ball is forever lost in the forest. And you won’t believe it that all these indecent proposals are happening just for some bets or silverwares that could cost nothing more than some N20k. As if this is not enough, some even kick their balls right in the middle of the fairway so they can gain in yardage. Some even belittle themselves when they hopelessly tutor caddies on what to do when an errant ball is lost in a thick rough. But this is just a tip of the iceberg. You won’t believe these golfers now embark in heinous misapplications that could fetch direct red cards in football just to get an edge over the other fellow who pretends to look the other way when fouls are being committed right on the fairway.
And this is the bad thing about golfers. They believe it is part of being a “gentleman” not to shout when you see a hapless folk kicking the ball all over the rough. Sure, this is close to insanity. It is abominable. It is wrong and can never be right. It is one of the reasons that cheating in golf has climbed a few steps up the ladder. It is because some people pretend to be so decent that they can’t fish cheats out even though every golfer knows who cheats right on the course.
But why bring this sordid thing to a sacred thing like the Handicapping system? This is where we must see new and strong reasons to stop the cheats. And we must start today to stop them. If you know nothing about golf, then this is to prick your mind on what the Handicapping System is all about. Really, it’s nothing but a little way of ranking the good golfers from the bad ones. It’s like if your Handicap is reading something like 28, you are either a starter or one whose game has refused to develop. But if you play from 15 Handicap to Scratch (this means Zero Handicap), then you are a good player who could give a professional golfer a decent game.
For sure, course betting is becoming the monster that is eating up the Handicapping system. And it is sad since betting is decent and practised all over the world. It is only in Nigeria we stay put in ridiculous Handicaps just because some cheats want to go home with some filthy electronics as prizes at some tournaments. Some don’t even take them home. They fling the prizes for some ‘getaway’ funds or give them to … well, I won’t tell you for this could draw blood from the females.
Yes, golfers are supposed to be saints, and that is what they are, and you dare not laugh. Well, let’s say it may be fun for weekend hackers who prefer to remain on 28 Handicap so they could be taking undeserved prizes back home or to other places. But what of the real men, the 15-handicapper to scratch players who perceive the fairways like minting press where money is printed? Truth is the real men of honour need not be afraid of being cut simply because some bets (jamming-jamming) could go awry.
It’s high time we took Handicapping as a serious feature of the sport. It is time we allow Handicap 5 to scratch golfers enjoy some privileges like special areas in clubs’ car parks. This may be one of the ways to encourage people not to cheat on their Handicaps, or to work hard on improving.
Handicap cheats should cover their faces in shame even though this is a scarce commodity in our country today.
