Gemma Dryburgh, home from the summer holidays from David Leadbetter IMG Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida.

Gemma Dryburgh (a scratch player in America)

has UK handicap too high to get in British girls

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
An Aberdeen-born girl who has a handicap of scratch when she plays golf in America as a student at the David Leadbetter IMG Academy in Florida has a CONGU handicap of betweem five and six when she comes home to Britain for the summer.
Which means that 16-year-old Gemma Dryburgh, a member at Beaconsfield Golf Club, Bucks has no chance of being able to play in the British girls open amateur championship at West Lancashire Golf Club from August 10 to 14.
The cut-off point for entry to this year's championship was a record low maximum handicap of 3.5. All those who have entered with higher handicaps are placing on a waiting list.
CONGU (Council of National Golf Unions), the ultimate authority of the handicap system for men and women in Britain, has a rule that if a player has an American handicap and also a British handicap, then the British handicap is the one that is recognised.
Which means that Gemma Dryburgh’s current British handicap of 5.2 makes her 40th in the Ladies Golf Union waiting list to get into the field for the British girls' championship.
If her US handicap were recognised she would be guaranteed a place in the quality field which will gather at West Lancs next month.
Her father, John Dryburgh, said: “Gemma has only played in four qualifying rounds in the UK since last August and three of them have been since she came back from Florida for the summer holidays. Her CONGU handicap was 5.8 when she came home but her US handicap is +0.3.
“Her CONGU handicap has come down to 5.2 with the rounds she played this past week. Unfortunately the entry for the British girls championship stipulates that where a girl has a CONGU handicap they have to enter using that.
“We did ask CONGU if they would be willing to look at a general play adjustment but they would not.
“Last week she was pipped in the semi-finals of the England Midland South Region women’s championship, having played really well.
“Unfortunately, the LGU are also sticking to their conditions of entry which, to be fair, they published in advance.”
Gemma is playing in the Scottish Under-18 girls championship at Lanark Golf Club, starting on Tuesday and the Scottish Under-21 girls’ stroke-play championship, starting at Nairn Dunbar on July 23 and 24. Her CONGU handicap presents to problems for that.
But it is ironic that in golf generally we tend to complain about "bandits," people playing off "false" handicaps, i.e. they are far better players than their handicaps would suggests, so that they can win prizes.
In Gemma Dryburgh, we have a case of a girl who wants to play off a low handicap in this country but the powers-that-be will not permit it.

Any comments? E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com