What do we do when a player keeps failing to submit scores?

1. Decide whether the reason was justified.

• Can be justified: unforeseen events such as sudden injury, illness or an emergency that affected the rest of the round. Then the score isn't posted.
• Not justified: forgetfulness; things that only delayed submission (no clubhouse access, a power cut); holes not played for a valid reason (that score should still be posted with expected scores); trying to stop the index going up or down.

2. If not justified, post the actual score if you can find it. If you can't, post a penalty score suited to the circumstances (for example, the highest Score Differential in the last 19 scores if the player was trying to lower their index).

3. Repeated failures. The Handicap Committee or GolfRSA should consider withdrawing the player's Handicap Index or other disciplinary action, such as barring them from club competitions for a set period. An index should be withdrawn from a player who deliberately or repeatedly fails to meet their responsibilities. Before withdrawing it:

• tell the player and give them a chance to respond, and
• tell them how long the withdrawal will last and any conditions.

4. Reinstating. When the period ends, you may reinstate the index at a level reflecting the player's current ability, allocate one as if they were new, or reinstate the last recorded index. Then monitor their scores closely.

Source: Rules of Handicapping (2024), Rules 7.1b, 7.1c and 7.1d.