How to post a general play score in another country
How many of you had this experience last week? It was revealed that a World Handicap System pilot scheme allowing golfers in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales to put in scores when playing across their respective countries had gone live.
Players then fired up their apps to submit scores and… blank screens. It was as if nothing had changed.
We asked England Golf what you need to do. So, if you’re a member of an English club, for example, and have played a round in Scotland and want it to count towards your handicaps, here’s the answer:
A score has to be entered by the host venue into the WHS platform. Scores cannot be posted by the MyEG app when played outside England.
That’s not perfect by any means, although software companies have been given the specification to develop a link and NCG understands some are now testing that.
You would hope, in time, you’d be able to universally enter your scores into the club computer in the same way you would at your own venue when playing a competition or putting in a general play score.
So while it’s still not ideal, it’s probably a little less convoluted then what came before – where you were supposed to tell your own club you were going to put in a score, then tell the host club, give your card to that club when the round was over for the PCC, take a copy of that card and return it to your own club, who would finally submit the score to the WHS platform.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.