I love scorecards, but precious few golf courses actually do them correctly. More often than not, they're glossy, oversized and overly fussy (though I do have a soft spot for muni course scorecards that are packed with ads for the local divorce attorney and pancake house). Size is the biggest misstep, in my opinion, as anything that has to be contorted or folded to be stored in a pants pocket inevitably becomes a grubby mess and an inferior keepsake.
And don't even get me started on scorecard-related hardships as a lefty! When the back nine rolls around, I have the worst time writing scores down because there's nothing for my hand to rest on while writing. It makes my already poor penmanship downright abominable, and I had grown to accept it as a permanent curse on us southpaws until my recent trip to Oregon, when everything changed.
Now, I'm happy to declare the Reserve Vineyard & Golf Club as the owner of the most lefty-friendly scorecards I've used. They're standard in size, so they still curl a bit in the pocket, but rather than the standard hamburger fold, they're trifolds, which is a game changer. Rather than the one crease between nines, the two creases come after holes 6 and 14, and there is always just that little bit of support that makes writing down scores a hundred times easier than the old way. Now, if some company can develop a smudge-free golf pencil, we lefties will really be set!
Ok, scorecard rating criteria:
- must have slit(s) where you can keep the pencil so it's easily available and doesn't fall out of your pocket if you are walking. Yes, I know the trick about folding the corner and poking a tee through it, but why should you have to do that?
- should fold over so player names you entered on the 1st tee are visible on the back 9 - you shouldn't have to glance back or enter initials or remember the order on the back 9 side.
- should have check boxes next to the left margin so it's easy to note which tees you are playing.
Both my home courses already do this. Really folks, how hard is this? You are paying good money to play a course and all the above together cost a fraction of a penny per card.