Can You Decide To Put In A Handicap Card After A Round?

Okay, so you deliberated long and hard about putting a card in before you went out for a non-competition round with your mate, but ultimately decided against it as you weren’t sure you were playing well enough. Four hours later, you’re sitting in the clubhouse staring at a scorecard displaying a net 65 after playing a blinder.

It would comfortably have been one of your eight ‘counters’ if you’d decided to put a card in, bringing your index down and giving you a bit of breathing space in your quest to keep your handicap as low as possible (assuming you’re not one of golf’s disreputable handicap bandits who seek to keep things as high as possible!).

For some, the temptation can be there, can’t it? You’re having a bite to eat and a couple of drinks – why not register now to put the score in and then wait long enough for the My England Golf app (or equivalent in your country) to let you press ‘submit’. This, undoubtedly, does happen but can you legitimately decide to put in a handicap card after a round has been played? The answer, of course, is no to maintain the integrity of the whole system.

According to my home country’s union, England Golf: “When submitting a score for handicapping, a golfer needs to create a ‘score intent’. This is done by creating a scorecard and pre-registering a round. By creating a scorecard, you are confirming your intent to submit a score for handicap purposes and this must be done prior to starting your round.”