World Handicapping System: An ‘easy to abuse’ system or helping to increase golf’s popularity?
Through the club, there are 722,000 golfers affiliated with England golf, and that number is continuing to rise. Since November 2020, 38 million obstacle scores have been submitted to the federal central database, with 10m last year alone.
Players don’t have to be members of the club to get the barriers, while the Wood Hall Spa’s organization offers its Igolf app as a means for a growing number of more nomadic golfers.
Richard Flint, chief operating officer of England Golf, told BBC Sport: “We have seen an increase in the number of match scores, average match scores, 18 holes and 9 holes, which is great and may continue for a long time.”
However, complaints are encouraged and clubs are encouraged to take action to maintain the integrity of the game. “Grip is a big word, but I think those who complain are frustrated by the difference in it,” Tomlinson said.
“Golf has become more inclusive in winning opportunities for different people, especially as their obstacles drive on the way, they get into the golf ball and get better and better.”
“The disability system is about integrity. It’s more transparent than ever because it’s the score you do. But it requires checking and challenging.”
Sitting next to the English golf owner, Flynnn nodded in agreement. He said: “Sometimes, sometimes, let’s ban people with higher obstacles from playing because they always win the game.
“It’s a myth. Clubs can use competition terms and have categories so everyone can compete from an inclusive perspective. Win prizes for those with low barriers as well as intermediate and advanced barriers.”
Now, several county unions insist that more games than regular games are used to calculate low barriers when determining the qualifications of elite tournaments and representative teams.
“We reserve the right to be able to review any obstacles with more than four general game scorecards,” Tomlinson insisted. “We deny players entering some of our championships because they have too many general game cards.”
Tomlinson insists that authorities, including R&A and the American Golf Association, which brings WHS, are eager to further increase the probability of the mechanism.
“R&A is about to propose a specification within the system that will determine what they think is manipulation,” he said.
“This is another tool the club barrier committee can use to solve the problem. It’s not 100%, but it will help.
“Ultimately, any system – if people want to manipulate it, they will. It’s not that there is something wrong, it’s the individual.”
Tomlinson believes he is hosting a growing leisure sport that people have won as bounce golf for the first time after the 2020 Covid pandemic lockdown.
Hundreds of clubs in the UK are worried about their future when the country is closed. Tomlinson participated in emergency meetings for all British sports. “We were overwhelmed by the club and said we were going to go and we were ruined,” he recalled.
“It’s great. Since then, people have started to think about their health. Golf clubs are overwhelmed by people who want members and want to enjoy rights.
“And I assure you that after four weeks of the initial lockdown, I attended those meetings and I barely said a word because I watched in sports that their sufferings were incalculable compared to sports like swimming, track and field, and even cricket because they could not open facilities.
“We are building something and by May 13, when we stand out from the lockdown, our concerns almost reached zero across the country as nearly every golf club is reporting that they are filling.
“Of course, by the end of that year, they were already full of waiting lists. That’s the pandemic golf.”
Tomlinson believes that on the entertainment level, his exercise results have become healthier. Whether in traditional courses or driving range, simulator or on crazy golf courses, there are more people playing at all levels.
He wanted to harness that passion to develop the sport by creating avenues from these edge versions to actual courses, club memberships and obstacle courses.
Despite the compelling complaints, these numbers pile up to indicate that this movement is still happening. He said, “That’s great.”
“For those old-fashioned golfers who are crusty; we still love them. We still want to take care of them, but we need them to be more progressive in their thinking.”
