If a golfer is suspended by a home club, so is their handicap

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in action during practice for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on May 11, 2016. PHOTO | RICHARD HAEATHCOTE |

What you need to know:

  • The state of the golf course is a matter that is entirely in the hands of the golf course management team and Mother Nature.
  • When one is suspended, for any reason, by his home club, his handicap is suspended.

I believe that the things that most influence our enjoyment of the game of golf are: One, how well we play; Two, the state of the course that we play; Three, the company we find ourselves in.

The first requirement is entirely up to us and when we are playing well, it does not matter on which course we play in. The state of the golf course is a matter that is entirely in the hands of the golf course management team and Mother Nature.

The company we find ourselves in on the golf course is a different matter altogether. The golfing fraternity, just like any other society, has its share of errant individuals.

The gauche and the bad-tempered golfers abound on different courses. There is also a sprinkling of unscrupulous individuals who play the game. It is virtually impossible to enjoy the game when we find ourselves drawn with one such character.

It gives me a profound feeling of disquiet when I play with a crooked golfer. Once I saw a golfer pull out a strand of a growing plant immediately behind his ball.

When I told him that what he did was wrong, he denied that he had pulled anything behind his ball. The other gentlemen we were playing with were undoubtedly wondering whether I was hallucinating because of how articulate the other player was. I let it slide since it was quickly degenerating into a battle of wits. Furthermore, the blundering golfer was my father’s age mate; I was taught to always respect my seniors. I intend to never play with him again, if I can help it.

It is my belief that when a golfer is in the habit of cheating, like the golfer I had the misfortune of playing with, they eventually get caught. The quarrelsome golfers also eventually find themselves in quandary when they go overboard. When their clubs decide to put their membership on ice in an effort to tame the behaviour, it helps bring back order. Some of the errant ways are known to disappear after such suspensions.

So can a suspended golfer play golf in other clubs?

When one is suspended, for any reason, by his home club, his handicap is suspended. This means that the golfer is not eligible to play in any competition that requires a handicap as a condition for entry.

The golfer can participate in friendly rounds with his/her friends in other clubs. The same thing applies when golfer ceases to be a member of his home club. For all intents and purposes, he will not have a handicap until he/she joins another club.

If a golfer ceases to be a member of his home club while serving suspension, then joining another club cannot reinstate the golfer’s handicap. He/she must wait out the suspension period before regaining a handicap. The suspended golfer is also not allowed to transfer his/her handicap while serving suspension.

For golfers who are members of more than one club, a suspension by a club other than his home club does not affect his handicap. The other clubs, which are not the players home club, have no right to suspend the player’s handicap.

However, it is gratifying to note that the Nairobi District Captains forum this week resolved to uphold the suspension of any golfer suspended by any club. Be it his/her home club. What this means is that an errant golfer who misbehaves in any club, cannot hide behind this rule as they are going to enforce this suspension.

It is, therefore, of utmost importance that a club that has suspended the playing handicap of its members to communicate this information with the Kenya Golf Union and, through the union, the other clubs. It should not be seen as double jeopardy for the suspended golfer in giving out the information to the union.

There is another category of golfer who, for lack of a better word, shirks responsibility in order to win prizes. These are the “Corporate Golf Days” golfers who hop from one club to the other without adjusting their handicaps.

They will ignorantly claim that their golf administrators did not adjust their handicap so they shall continue playing off the previous handicap, despite winning a night for two at the Masaai Mara with an impressive score of 10 under than their handicap the previous day.

Such golfers need to be educated that the responsibility of adjusting their handicap after playing a very good round rests with them. It is important that they are not allowed to keep prizes that they have won with wrong handicaps.

One Nairobi District Captain said that as a Captain, his responsibility is not to nurture talent as he is only in office for one year. His responsibility is to ensure that his members enjoy the course and also that administratively, things are done right.

I believe that this is the right attitude for all Captains and I would like to add that for them to do the right thing, they will need to familiarise themselves with the Rules of Golf as well as the handicapping system.

A wise man once said that people would not look forward to posterity, who never looked backward to their ancestors.

It may be beneficial for the present generation of golf captains and other golf leaders, into whose hands the future of golf in Kenya is committed, to look backwards to those selfless stalwarts who did so much to foster the true spirit of the game of golf.

We will do well to not only learn how to beat bogey, but how to leave a lasting legacy to the future generations on how the game of golf is meant to be enjoyed.

The author is a Kenya Golf Union Executive