Barb Hanson

Marlene emailed the other day and said that she and her friends got into quite a “discussion” as to the proper procedure for posting a score when you don’t complete a round. I went to the MGA (Minnesota Golf Association) website for the answer. (www.mngolf.org)

First of all, whenever you play at least 14 of 18 holes or 7 of 9 holes, you must post a score. But how do you determine your score for the holes you haven’t played?

Here’s one possibility: Let’s say that you’re playing a match. On one of the holes, you’ve made a number of mistakes , so you decide to concede that hole to your opponent. Your ball is on the green, but you haven’t putted yet.

“If you do not complete a hole, write down the score you most likely would have made.”

So  you would add the number of putts you “most likely” would have taken to hole out.

Another situation: You have completed 15 holes when it begins to pour or darkness sets in. You decide to quit for the day.

“If you do not play a hole or do not play a hole under the Rules of Golf, write down par plus the handicap strokes you would receive on that hole. Such scores should be preceded by an ‘X’.”

One more situation (and one we’ve all experienced): You’re unhappy with your play on a particular hole and pick your ball up out of frustration. Think carefully before  you do this! If you’re playing in an event where everything must be holed out, you risk disqualification. Know, too, that there is no such thing as a “maximum score” in an event. Participants are expected to write down actual scores, no matter what the number. You adjust the score to your maximum when you post the score.