Got a sticky problem with a cheater? The U.S. Golf Association offers advice on such topics through the World Wide Web: http://www.usga.org

Here's one sample from a player dealing with a reverse sandbagger, the kind of guy who claims to be a lot better than he really is:

One of my regular partners states he is a 2-handicapper. However, he moves his ball all year long-I'm not aware of "summer rules"-and often picks up five-foot putts, stating, "I cannot take more than a bogey." He has never broken 84 on my scorecard. Can I report him, and if I did, what would his penalty be?

Our favorite response suggested the aggrieved should "Send a cab out to get this guy every day. Bet him house-house-car nassaus until he gets the message that 'vanity handicaps' are expensive. The guy to worry about is the one who carries a 17-handicap and is really a 2."

Dean Knuth, a former USGA staffer who specialized in handicapping, offers a more standard approach.

"The situation would be cause for the Handicap Committee to raise the Handicap Index of the player, or even remove it," he says. "Submit the evidence to your golf club handicap committee."

Preferably, we say, after you've won the guy's house and car.

Copyright © 1997 The New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc. All rights reserved.