WHY THE GOLF HANDICAP SYSTEM IS LIKE SOCIALISM

I’m a golfer and I have run a highly successful golf league for more than 20 years. One of the most debated topics in any golf league is always the golf handicap system.

I first wrote this blog article on my corporate golf league blog. I made the comparison of the handicap system to socialism after being bombarded by both these topics back in 2012. This was a presidential election year and I remember hearing a ton of negative TV and radio ads about each of the candidates (Obama and Romney) on a daily basis. When we weren’t subjected to these infomercials, we were barraged with political talk show hosts ranting about the Obama administration and comparing its policies to socialism. Below is one of the Webster’s definitions of socialism:

a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the system and how the golf handicap system works, the principle is simple. It is a system that is intended to level the playing field so that bad golfers can complete with good golfers and have the same chance of winning. For example, if your handicap is a 5 for nine holes this means that your normal score on a Par 36 nine-hole course would be 41 (36 + 5). Let’s say you are matched up with a player whose handicap is a 12 on the same course. His or her typical score would be 48 (36 + 12). This means that the lower handicap player would immediately start the round giving 7 strokes away to the higher handicap player.

If you think about it, the golf handicap system, in of itself, is not much different from socialism. Just play along for a moment and you’ll understand why this analogy makes sense. There are many various levels of skill. You have the low handicappers, which I will refer to as the (A player) and the not so low handicapper, which I will refer to as the (D Player). The handicap system levels the playing field by taking strokes (money) away from the skilled players (the rich) and giving it to the lowly (D) players (the poor). This outrages the (A) players (the rich) because they’ve worked hard all their lives (at the practice range) and feel they shouldn’t be penalized for being successful (low handicappers). The (D) players on the other hand love the system since they don’t have to work (practice) to improve their game (increase their wealth). They are perfectly content with accepting strokes from the skilled players (redistribution of wealth).

I don’t see a difference, do you?

If this made you laugh or in some way question this crazy handicap system of ours, please feel free to leave a comment, share it with others or give us Like. Remember, this post was meant to be humorous and in no way advocates the principles of socialism nor do we imply any affiliation with one political party or the other. I’m just having some fun….