There Types of Handicaps
Generally speaking, there are 3 types of handicaps out there which are honest handicaps, sandbagger handicaps and Hollywood handicaps.
Honest handicap is the most common one. This is a handicap that is determined by using a standard and accepted formula as defined by the governing golf body in a particular country. The golfer who carries an honest handicap is conscientious about keeping accurate scores by his great golf clubs, adhering to the accepted rules of golf and of considering all rounds played when applying the handicap formula.
The golfer who can be considered to be carrying a sandbagger handicap goes out of his way to make sure that his “official” handicap is somewhat higher than what it should be. The reason for doing this is pretty obvious. When competing in Net Score competitions (often involving money or prizes) he can have a distinct advantage. One can get more advantages by doing this than using good golf equipment.
A proper handicap, as mentioned above, must be based on all rounds played – good or bad. One “not so subtle” way to achieve the status of an elite sandbagger is to conveniently forget to enter good rounds but to be diligent to the extreme when it comes to entering bad rounds. If the golfer is “on a roll” with nothing but good rounds being shot, it may be necessary to make the supreme sacrifice and actually purposely play a bad round. “Gee, I just couldn’t hit a fairway today!”
The third type of golfer is the one who carries a Hollywood handicap. This type of player is extremely interesting. This golfer has his heart in the right place – he takes the game seriously and desperately wants to improve and, perhaps more importantly, to be recognized as an accomplished player by his friends and peers. For the typical Hollywood handicap player, the handicap is everything. He would rather carry a low handicap and lose money than carry an inflated handicap and win money. A rare, but interesting breed!
For Hollywood handicapper, you can enjoy a cold beverage after a round of golf and discuss nonchalantly his final score. It would never occur to him that his 9 on the eighth hole should have any bearing on the validity of the score he discusses – a result where a 7 appears on the scorecard.