This week marks the beginning of the 76th PAL Interclub, the country’s longest-running and most prestigious team golf competition. This annual tournament sees top amateurs and club players battle it out for their respective home clubs.

Understandably, with high-stakes tournaments like this, special rules are put in place to keep competition as fair as possible.

Even before the tournament began, the buzz in golf circles was about the new rules added for this year. Conceptualized by PAL Interclub tournament director Buddy Resurreccion, the new rules focus on actual scores rather than declared handicaps.

Teams with players who “happen to shoot” unusually good scores get promoted to higher divisions. At least that is my basic understanding of this new rule. Based on the comments I’ve been reading on social media, the reception to this new rule has been very positive.

Very few sports can claim that players of different skill levels can compete on equal footing, at least in theory. Handicaps allow golfers to give and receive strokes based on their skill level. If everyone were honest, this would have been sufficient.

But the handicapping system is imperfect, as are the golfers who sometimes take advantage of the system. Sandbaggers, as those who have overly generous handicaps are called, carry handicaps that are too high for their skill level, ensuring they can easily score under par.

Oftentimes, sandbagging happens in higher handicap divisions, in Class C and D.

But elite golf is not immune to sandbaggers. Actually, from my observation, even elite amateurs and high-level club players sometimes carry handicaps that are much higher than their actual skill level.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I think clubs encourage this to increase their chances of winning team competitions or interclub golf leagues.

Players who easily score even par to a couple under would carry handicaps of 7 or 8. Club champion caliber amateurs who routinely shoot under par carry handicaps of 3 or 4. Is it just a coincidence that they play better under pressure and seem to shoot over 80 during practice? I don’t think so.

I’ve played within a handicap range of 4-7 for the past 20-plus years.

How many times have I shot under par? I’ve done it less than 10 times.

On a good day, I’d shoot 2-4 shots under my handicap. On an exceptionally good round, I might shoot even par or 6 shots under my handicap.

But on average, my score hovers around 78-82, maybe 85 on a bad day, and 90 when nothing is working. So, if an elite amateur carries a 3 handicap and gives me three strokes, what are the chances of me beating him? Zero. But if you check out the current handicap website and check the handicaps of some perennial champs, you might be surprised at how little strokes you’ll receive from them.

So, does handicapping, the way it is used currently, still work? I don’t believe so. That is why new ways of scoring and new rules to combat sandbaggers are such welcome news. That is why System 36 is such a popular tournament format — because it isn’t dependent on handicaps, it is based on actual scores.

Clubs should also be held responsible somehow. Too many players carry “competition handicaps” for team or league events, and this needs to stop.

However, if you sugarcoat it, misrepresenting your true skill level is still cheating. Whether you carry a handicap of 25 and shoot in the low 80s, or carry a 3 handicap and routinely shoot a few under par, sandbagging knows no limits.

So, until we can put an end to handicap abuse, we need more gross score-based formats and rules. Sadly, golf isn’t a gentleman’s game anymore.