Gentlemen's rules.

[Saks]

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but beating one's handicap by a large number is a rare happening. I assumed it was in a recent tournament by the way you had said it, so the suggestion (which I should've said) was to see how he fared in other rounds. If the rest of the rounds matched his handicap, fine. But if he was consistently playing 10 strokes under his handicap during a tournament, it would be worth investigating.

Nope, wasn't in a tournament but I get what your saying.

The guy who "miraculously" shoots way under his so called index whenever he plays a tournament etc is the one to watch out for. My handicap is rapidly falling (1st year of golf) so I expect to have really good rounds mixed in with more realistic (according to my handicap) rounds. Eg last 5 rounds are 86, 87, 89, 91, 82. I aim to shoot low 80's. Some days it will blow out into the 90's as I'm still a bit inconsistent, but I am also well capable of going under 80. The great thing about most tournaments here is that they are not played off handicap!

[pom]

What sort of competitions do you play if they are not played off handicap & are they graded

[Shindig]

Nope, wasn't in a tournament but I get what your saying.

My apologies to your friend, then, that I may have inadvertently called a sandbagger, when in fact he's learning with you. My handicap is dropping too, although my low round so far is a 91. But I do occasionally hear things like my 24 handicap being compared to a playing partner's posterior.

What sort of competitions do you play if they are not played off handicap & are they graded

It could be by flights, or they could be skins games.

[JonnyGolf]

A 16 handicap shot a 79? Unless he was a 16 handicap at Oakmont and moved to a very easy course to play, I doubt a 16 handicap is shooting 79. Odds are you played against a sandbagger (or you conceded too many putts).

He was a sandbagger. And I didn't concede any putts over a foot. His two lowest scores were in tournaments. He made two birdies on the front and closed me out by the 13th hole. But, I'm not bitter, can you tell?

[DirtCheap]

Okay, on the "dangerous situation" thing..
I found where it talks about it in Golf magazine.
I don't want to type it word for word for fear it might infringe on some copywright, but its on page 27 of the November, 2007 issue of Golf magazine.

It says that under decision 1-4/10 you can take a penalty free drop, no closer to the hole, from a dangerous situation such as bees, snakes, or other dangerous situations.

[Saks]

What sort of competitions do you play if they are not played off handicap & are they graded

For interclub match play, there is no grading, the teams are picked by the clubs. The advantage of having a small club (our membership for men is 140!), the captains know the level of all the players. Our top team plays the next clubs top team etc. We have three teams. I am in the second one and end up playing guys from about a 12 handicap to a 19 or 20. But its all of the stick anyway. When the divisions are graded eg handicap must be between x and y, you run into the same problems.

Our club champs are graded (match play no handicap). But once again being a small club we know what people should be playing off and make sure they are! I can imagine how out of control it would be in a big club. How many members do you have in an average club there?