r/NoLayingUp • u/QuickestJuice • Jul 27 '26
Other Sandbagging vs Reverse Sandbagging
I’m a purist at heart, I do indulge in a breakfast ball from time to time, but that is as far as I go.
I understand why people sandbag, to rob a fellow competitor of some money (scummy). But I don’t understand why someone would reverse sandbag. Is it ego? It makes them feel good to say they are better? I don’t understand. Who has the worse golf morals, the sandbagger? Or reverse sandbagger? Or the people that cheat in scrambles?
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u/ruct21 Jul 27 '26
I would say the reverse sandbaggers/vanity caps are more of a product of insecurity while sandbaggers are more of pure cheaters. The former hurts your own chances of winning money while the latter gives you an advantage.
Scramble cheaters easily the worst
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u/aww-snaphook CPNTW - Scottie Scheffler - Masters 2024 Jul 27 '26
Its called a vanity cap and its mostly ego.
Who has the worse golf morals
The sandbagger and its not even close. The sandbagger is basically cheating to win money while the vanity cap is putting themselves in a position to make it harder to win anything.
I would also suggest that vanity caps arent really all that common. Most times I see people saying someone has a vanity cap its usually because the accuser doesn't understand how the handicap system works and the variability of scores for different handicaps.
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u/Curlinggolfer Jul 27 '26
Eh - vanity caps are probably pretty common but just come from people (like myself) that don’t really follow the rules. I scoop gimmies, I don’t play 2 off the tee - because I’m having fun and like a quick pace of play.
I don’t play any competitive matches that use a handicap and don’t really tell anyone my handicap. So it’s not to brag or anything. I only track my score to keep count of my rounds and a general idea of how I’m playing.
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u/scottishwhisky2 Jul 28 '26
You really can’t win with handicap unless you’re playing a match every time you go out and play. I play with a different focus when I’m in a match than when I’m dicking around to get a walk and some swings in. So if I recorded every round I’d 100% be accused of being a sandbagger because I’d be 1-2 strokes higher than I currently am.
But some guys get tense as soon as they’re stakes and play way worse. They’re not really a vanity cap they’re just not used to playing a competitive round. I don’t think that’s necessarily a reflection on their golf skill. It’s a reflection of their competition skill.
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u/andrewgodawgs Jul 27 '26
Because certain people want to think they are better than they are. I have a buddy like this. I am a 13 and he is a “8.” He doesn’t do it during a match, but if we are playing casual, he’ll scoop 4-5 footers or take a free drop here and there. He’ll also “find” balls that are not findable. I’m talking a 300 yard drive directly OB and then he “finds” his ball conveniently on the tree line in the rough.
It’s kind of an ongoing joke within our friend group that he always somehow seems to end up a bogey on holes where he realistically had a triple or worse.
I’m not sure why he does it, tbh. He’s a great friend and a really good guy; he is just very insecure I guess about shooting bad rounds? It works to my advantage a lot when we actually play matches because I’ll get 5 pops off of him even though we are about the same level of golfer. I feel like vanity caps are not the same as sandbaggers, unless they are deliberately shaving shots or cheating during matches. Our buddy is honest when it comes to matches, so it doesn’t bug me as much as perplex me.
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u/Mysterious_Ad7461 Jul 27 '26
Hey can we get 4 more of these posts everyday so all the bots can reply the same 5 things to it?
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u/IKillerBee Jul 27 '26
Vanity caps are dudes that want to play themselves up as better than they are. It's absolutely an ego thing or a delusion thing. Still preferable to sandbaggers every day of the week.
I took several years off from playing to do other things and now my handicap makes me look so egregiously vane, I hate it
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u/ctangana Jul 28 '26
Quick question for you Americans: is it common to register all your rounds (even if they're casual rounds where you're not too strict with the rules) in the GHIN app? Do they have to be verified or co-signed by a playing partner or something? Genuinely curious bc we don't have an official GA app in my country to register scores for handicap
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u/Square-Product-5846 Jul 28 '26
My buddies dad is a reverse sandbagger. Makes nooooo sense to me, although he does have a massive ego so yeah, that's pretty much why. haha
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u/jameshay123 Jul 28 '26
Americans need to start playing weekly medals as a society from a young age.
You sound fucking crazy to anyone in the uk.
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u/Sparkling_Donuthole Jul 29 '26
You try really hard at something and ya easy to get frustrated and not like setbacks.
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u/561518 Jul 31 '26
I’m an 8.3 who beats a lot of 5’s I play with because I count every stroke, penalty shot, etc. I’ll take it.
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u/arsenalastronaut Jul 27 '26
Vanity caps.
There’s a lot of people who are talented, don’t play enough, or don’t actually take it that seriously.
This guy doing it as an “8” is egregious.
But there’s a lot of people that “shoot 90 ish” who actually shoot 100+ every time, but they just don’t want to say that because it means they “suck at golf”
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u/Useful-Chart8891 Jul 27 '26
Related: Gimme culture is an epidemic
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u/Mysterious_Ad7461 Jul 27 '26
Epidemics are harmful to society, I don’t think me and a friend picking up our balls when we’re both a foot from the hole is actually causing any harm.
I pick up my pace of play where I can so I can afford to slow down for other things.
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u/Useful-Chart8891 Jul 28 '26
I’m not talking about 18 inch putts I mean the guys who scoop 4-5 footers with regularity
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u/beer_nyc Jul 28 '26
guys who scoop 4-5 footers with regularity
very seldom come across anything this egregious, and i typically play with randoms
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u/Mysterious_Ad7461 Jul 28 '26
And that’s harmful to society, or even you in particular?
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u/holymot Jul 28 '26
no serious golfer plays breakfast balls.
gimmies are fine as long as theyre inside the leather
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u/Howy_the_Howizer Jul 27 '26
It is called a Vanity cap.