The new World Handicap System (WHS) will start at the beginning of November, a requirement of which is that handicap qualifying scores from Competitions and General Play must be recorded the same day that the round is played.

With these requirements in mind, the Golf Committee has decided that scorecards with respect to Club competitions, Supplementary rounds and New Handicaps will need to be submitted electronically. The old-fashioned method of putting cards in a box will no longer be accepted. This method is already in practice for NPGC Men's competitions.

As well as complying with the WHS requirements regarding “same-day” score recording, the Committee has also considered the following ;

• COVID-19 regulations restrict the handling of scorecards, which in turn unnecessarily puts competition organisers at risk
• Manual handling of cards results in several day’s delay in publishing results and updating member handicaps
• R&A, CONGU and WHS rules have been updated to allow the electronic submission of scorecards for handicap purposes

With effect from 1st October 2020, all scorecard submissions must be made electronically using the Mobile Score Input system of HowDidIDo and via email. A detailed description of how to fill out a scorecard and submit the results is available on the V1 Members Hub app under the Club Docs section, but in simple terms the process is ;

1. On completion of the round, players should check scorecards verbally

2. The Marker must sign the card to confirm agreement between Player and Marker

3. A clear photograph of the marked card must be taken from close-up such that the card(s) fills the image

4. An email containing the photograph must be sent to scorecards.npgc@gmail.com no later than 7PM on the date of the competition - photographs of cards may all be sent by one person in the playing group, or individually by each player

5. The title of the email should include the name of the player(s)

6. It is your responsibility to ensure that your scorecard is emailed in good time - if your signed card is not received, you will be disqualified

7. Players should retain the scorecard they marked until after the competition has been closed and the results published on HowDidIDo.

Players are also requested to enter scores on-line by visiting www.howdidido.com or using the HowDidIDo mobile app. All players are requested to make every effort to enter their correct score using the system.

This process has been fully tested and has now become the standard method for scorecard submission in the Men’s Sunday competitions.

It is strongly recommended that, during September, cards for all competitions are submitted using this method so that Members who may be new to this process, in particular Seniors and Ladies, can get used to the process involved. From 1st October, any scorecards that are not received by this method will not be considered for competition and/or handicap purposes.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact your Competition Secretary.