| We likely all know the kind of player who always comes up big in net events. The talk varies from hushed whispers to outrage, but it revolves around a single word: sandbagger. That talk is habitually accompanied with a sense of resignation, along the lines of, “Dammit, Bill wins all the time, but what can we do about it?
It’s why George Thurner, a self-described data nerd from Cincinnati, created Cap Patrol, an algorithm-based software program that syncs with the U.S. Golf Association’s Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN) and course tee sheets and uses 43 data points over five primary criteria. Cap Patrol puts those numbers in a data blender and then recommends which handicaps need to be adjusted (and by how many strokes), as well as who to keep an eye on and who to leave alone.
For the complete story of how Cap Patrol is reigning in tournament cheats at 1,100 courses around the country, check out Golf Digest Equipment Editor E. Michael Johnson's feature, “How to catch a sandbagger.” |
