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    Devil Ball Golf

    Man sues golf club for $13.2 million for lowering handicap

    By Jonathan Wall | Devil Ball Golf – Wed, Feb 22, 2012 12:51 PM EST

    GolfTips.comHow much is your handicap worth to you? For one golfer in Ireland, it's apparently worth €10m (about $13.2 million USD). In a bizarre story that, honestly, belongs in The Onion, 75-year-old golfer Thomas Talbot is suing his former club, Hermitage Golf Club, after the handicap secretary reduced his handicap by 7.7 shots between 1999 and 2004.

    As the Irish Independent reported, Talbot claimed the handicap reduction took a personal toll on him over the last six years, as friends at his former club refused to play with him and labeled him a cheat.

    The golf club claimed  that based on GUI Rule 19, it had an obligation to lower his handicap if it felt it was too high relative to his ability on the course. But Talbot didn't see it that way, and so here we are ... talking about a guy suing his golf club for a lowered handicap. A LOWERED handicap.

    "This case has been going on for the past six years. It has been hugely stressful. I didn't care so much about the handicap issue, it is more the principle of it.

    "I'd turn up for a competition and there would be nobody to play with. I have learned the hard way that friends are a funny species -- they're never there when you want them.["]

    On one hand, I feel bad for Talbot because playing golf with friends is one of the best things on earth. But on the other hand, I want to know how he went five years without questioning his handicap. If this was such a big deal back then, why didn't he just talk to someone at the club and get things cleared up? That's the real question that needs to be answered.

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    • Mike
      Mike  •  Atlantic City, New Jersey  •  2 months ago
      LOLOLOL, who's his attorney? Sure takes all kinds... lol
      • paul
        paul 2 months ago
        jose biaez
      • RS2004
        RS2004 2 months ago
        Jackie Chiles
      • Big E
        Big E 2 months ago
        Gloria Allred. Even though he's not a woman, he sounds like a #$%$
    • fauxbot5000
      fauxbot5000  •  Salt Lake City, Utah  •  2 months ago
      He is an inspiration to sandbaggers everywhere!
      • scott
        scott 2 months ago
        Well said. Most clubs know who the sandbaggers are and my guess is that this guy was posting a 20 handicap and playing to an 8.
    • Hugh
      Hugh  •  Farmington, Michigan  •  2 months ago
      Golf is a game where the ball lies poorly but the player well.
    • Donald
      Donald  •  2 months ago
      He's probably a jerk, and is rationalizing it has to be the club's fault.
      • No Way
        No Way 2 months ago
        no
      • Dave
        Dave 2 months ago
        You're giving him the benefit of the doubt by saying "probably"
    • teacher extraordinaire
      teacher extraordinaire  •  Lake Geneva, Wisconsin  •  2 months ago
      He was 75 years old - you can't tell me that because of his lowered handicap, no one would play a round against him...something is fishy here! Heck for the fun and entertainment, I would play against him...probably get beat, but have fun with a great golfer...It is a game folks!
      • Craig
        Craig 2 months ago
        sir, I have played or caddied at a country club for 30 years...you can actually smell a sandbagger......he is the guy that when he is out of the hole dubs his chip shot, then 3 putts for a 7...but EVERYTIME he can win a hole makes no worse than a par....you either are a moron or simply do not play very often....BTW very few country clubers play for nothing. The country club simply got tired of this guy winning the money every Sat/Sunday on the overall tournament that the golf pro puts on every weekend . It ususally is 5-10 per person and a different game everyday. The prize money is in pro shop merchandise credit idiot...this is how the pro makes money. When members play fair and lose every week they stop playing . When you add in the individual bets within the foursome..you get members not wanting to play with him either......... nuf said, Like I said you can smell a sand bagger and YES its only a game, BUT not when you keep taking other peoples money everytime..it gets old real quick pal.....I spent too much time explaining this already. Sir you simply are a very naieve person.....BTW I hope you can play with him all the time as a twosome.
      • brian b
        brian b 2 months ago
        Craig, it is the know it all (or so you think) people like you that make this world a more difficult place to live in. Blah Blah Blah!!!!! You are just jealous cause the 75 year old can probably kick your #$%$
    • Ted H
      Ted H  •  Seattle, Washington  •  2 months ago
      Sounds to me that this man has an ego problem. Isn't golf where you call penalties on yourself? He sounds like a cheater and wants the high handicap so he can win all the time.
      Golf doesn't need him, but does he need golf? For $13.2M it seams he needs more trophies.
      Go out and buy 10 of them and let him be the only one who plays.
      Maybe that is how he makes his money, by cheating.
    • Don'tEvenGoThere
      Don'tEvenGoThere  •  Medford, Oregon  •  2 months ago
      How does one say "loser" in Irish?
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Irvine, California  •  2 months ago
      No one would play golf with him? that's what the handicap system is all about, leveling the playing field for players with different ability.
    • Wadde
      Wadde  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  2 months ago
      Judge should throw this whiner in jail for 6 months for frivilous lawsuit.
    • D T
      D T  •  2 months ago
      This case belongs right up there with the $1,000,000 Dry Cleaner lawsuit over the ruined pair of pants (which put the cleaners out of business due to legal fees). And you wonder why there needs to be tort reform? This attorney should be immediately disbarred.
    • John W
      John W  •  Conroe, Texas  •  2 months ago
      What an old jerk. He's just p-o'd because he can't hustle his buddies anymore. Calling him a cheat is dead on. He sandbags in order to take their money knowing full well that his handicap is overstated. Good for the club.
    • Boat Drinks
      Boat Drinks  •  2 months ago
      Somebody use his putter and beat this douchebag in the mangina.
    • J. Cody
      J. Cody  •  2 months ago
      How was he labeled a cheat? Did he continually claim a higher handicap on his scorecard than the club had declared? The club would regulate which bracket of a tournament he could register in. It wouldn't even be possible for him to cheat his handicap then. Sounds like he is just crying that he CAN'T cheat.
    • Baradakas
      Baradakas  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  2 months ago
      WHAT ?!!!
    • nobody
      nobody  •  2 months ago
      CRY me a river
    • sardonicus
      sardonicus  •  2 months ago
      Not the only handicap he has.
    • james n
      james n  •  2 months ago
      The ball was on the cart path Shankapotamus.
    • Usmann
      Usmann  •  Shrewsbury, Massachusetts  •  2 months ago
      Anyone else think he was suing his actual golf club? (Like the thing you use to hit the golf ball)
    • 2 Party System is BROKEN
      2 Party System is BROKEN  •  2 months ago
      Wow, I've heard it all...
    • ENDO-
      ENDO-  •  2 months ago
      Sounds like senility setting in..
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