This month we have the great pleasure of announcing our new title sponsor, OUTsurance, for your new HNA Handicap card, which will be sent to your club in a few weeks. We also remind golfers of what scores can and cannot be entered into the system and we look at some of the controls that the HNA system has in place to curb handicap manipulation.
HNA welcomes OUTsurance
HNA is delighted to welcome OUTsurance on board as our title sponsor for the next three years. As you know, corporate sponsorships go a long way in helping us deliver on our offering to our members, so we are proud to partner with one of South Africa’s most trusted brands.
We’d like to thank team OUTsurance for their patronage and encourage our members to look into their world-class, bespoke products on offer, including insurance for your car, home, business, life, investments and pets.
“OUTsurance is an insurance industry leader in South Africa and, like HNA, they have a proven track record of excellence. We believe that their well-priced product offerings will be of great benefit to our golfers,” said Paul Bezuidenhout, General Manager at HNA. “We are also delighted that our other loyal sponsors, Srixon, TAG Heuer and CourierIT, have renewed their sponsorships,” he said.
Carl Louw, OUTsurance Chief Marketing Officer, said, “There’s no doubting what Handicaps Network Africa does to add to the overall golfing experience and we’re extremely excited to play our part. Needless to say, we’re big lovers of this game and hope to see you all out on the course soon!”
If you would like to speak to an OUTsurance consultant, please click here.
Look out for the new HNA Handicap Card, available from your club in the next few weeks.
Invalid Rounds
Not all rounds of golf produce valid scores for handicapping purposes. For example, you are not allowed to submit scores into the handicap system in the following circumstances:
- If you are playing on your own (with no marker)
- If you are being coached while playing the round or you play with more than one ball at a time
- If you play in a format where you do not play your own ball for the whole round, such as Scramble
- When the number or type of golf clubs to be used is restricted
- When you play with non-conforming equipment
- When you don’t play the minimum required number of holes – i.e. fewer than 9 holes
- When you play an unauthorised format of play – i.e. Foursomes etc. (Rule 2.1a)
- When you don’t play according to the Rules of Golf (Rule 2.1b)
Controls to curb handicap manipulation
We all know that golf is a game of honour and we know that the vast majority of golfers are honest. Yet we are all aware of individuals who inflate their handicaps in order to win prizes by either entering the wrong scores or not trying their best when their partner has made a good score on a hole.
While the HNA system is not designed to catch people manipulating their Handicap Indexes, there are other controls in the World Handicap System, as implemented by GolfRSA, that, with the help of fellow golfers, can curb handicap manipulation:
Peer review
Peer review is the main control measure in the system. You can, and should, check the scores entered by the people you played golf with, especially if you have a question in your mind about their ability when compared to their Handicap Index. You can do this via the Lookup Golfer function on the HNA App, terminal or website.
Some players keep their Handicap Index inflated by “forgetting” to enter their good scores. This is why it is crucial for all rounds to be opened on the HNA system before play. The system also keeps a check on scores entered for which rounds were not opened before play, so please make sure you have either had your round opened on the system by the club (recommended) or on the HNA App or HNA terminal prior to teeing off.
If someone you play with fails to enter their score, or enters an incorrect score, please advise their Club Handicap Committee Chair or Club Manager and they will investigate the issue. You can advise the club whether you wish to remain anonymous to the golfer in question or not.
The Club Handicap Committee
The second key control in the WHS / GolfRSA System is the Club Handicap Committee. It is a key requirement of the system that every club has at least one person responsible for overseeing and reviewing their members’ handicaps.
It is strongly recommended that the Handicap Committee conducts a handicap review for each player annually. However, a handicap review may be conducted at the request of the player, or another player, at any time.
There are also a few extreme examples of players who enter fictitious scores (fake rounds) on the HNA system in order to manipulate their Handicap Indexes. Clubs can easily verify whether the player played on the day or not, and who they played with, and we trust that any player caught doing this would be subjected to a full disciplinary procedure, as per the GolfRSA recommendations. Severe penalties include having their handicap suspended by the club and their membership reviewed.
In summary, the controls we have in the system are a Round Opening function before play, Peer Review available for all scores entered or not entered, and we have a Club Handicap Committee overseeing their members’ handicaps, with a variety of reports generated to assist them.
Quote of the Month
“Hit the shot you know you can hit, not the one you think you should.” – Dr Bob Rotella.
