ABUSES of the handicapping system in so called classics and other forms of team golf, are being targeted by the Golfing Union of Ireland. The feeling at GUI headquarters is that the situation in these events is almost out of control.

This mood is reflected in a letter which has been sent by the union's general secretary, Seamus Smith, to all affiliated clubs throughout the country. Their support is "earnestly" requested in order to combat a problem which the GUI consider to be of "very serious concern."

Effectively, the union want any club which promotes such an event to return copies of prize winning cards to the relevant provincial branch. From there, the information will be forwarded to the clubs of the individuals concerned.

Clubs allowing their courses to be used for these events are also being asked to make it a condition of such an arrangement that copies of prize winning cards be forwarded to the branch. In addition, clubs are being reminded that it is also their responsibility to ensure that the value of the prizes on offer conforms to the limits laid down in the rules of amateur status.

"We are taking this action is response to concern which has been expressed to us, both at club and individual level," said Smith yesterday. "The feeling is that clubs may not be aware of the frequency with which certain of their members are appearing in team events."

Crucial to the success of this move is the application of Rule 19 of the Standard Scratch Score and Handicapping Scheme, which has been highly controversial since its introduction in 1983. And, sadly, there is little to suggest that the GUI will be any more successful in their current action than they have been in various other efforts in the past.

Indeed there is an clement of cart before the horse in this latest move. When one looks at the whole area of handicap abuse, it is accepted among rank and file club golfers that so called bandits are often hand picked on the basis of club performances for team events in which valuable prizes are on offer.

Particularly attractive in this context are the middle of the range players, off 13 to 15 handicap, and those in category four who are considered "handy competitors" capable of making good use of their two strokes at low index holes. And clearly, they wouldn't become "handy competitors" if their handicaps were properly monitored at club level.

Apart from handicaps, it is acknowledged that, by their very nature, team events are open to further abuse in terms of certification of scores. In effect, they can involve four friends playing together, with nobody to dispute the accuracy of their return for each hole.

Meanwhile, Rule 19 (1) states: "Whenever the handicap committee of a player's home club considers that a player's exact handicap is too high and does not reflect his current playing ability, the handicap committee must, subject to the provisions of sub clause (3) of this clause (referring mainly to category one players), reduce his exact handicap to the figure it considers appropriate."

In the last paragraph of its letter to the clubs, the union admits that it will be unable to eliminate the root cause of the problem "without the total support and co operation of your club's handicapping committee in tackling this abuse". Some good may come of the move, however, if only in highlighting the intriguing frequency with which certain players compete in team events.

. Bord Failte report a significant increase in golfing visitors to this country, arising largely from the high impact of television coverage of important tournaments here. From 174,000 people who spent £73 million while visiting Ireland to play golf in 1994, the figures for last year were 224,000 people spending £88 million.