Supreme Court Rules for USGA

America's Supreme Court has refused to revive a lawsuit from a Michigan company that accused the United States Golf Association of unlawfully trying to dominate the business of calculating individual golfers' handicaps.

The court turned down Handicomp's argument that it should be allowed to pursue its claim that the USGA gave unfair advantages to the company it created to compete with firms such as Handicomp, which began providing computerised calculations of golfers' handicaps to regional golf associations in 1968.

In 1981, the USGA, which governs golf in the United States, formed the Golf Handicap & Information Network to begin selling handicap calculations. Handicomp's lawyers contended that the USGA eventually signed exclusive contracts with more than 70 per cent of the 94 state and regional golf associations across the country.

Handicomp sued the USGA in 1996, accusing it of unlawfully monopolising the handicap-computing service. But a federal judge in Trenton, New Jersey, ruled for the USGA in April 1999 because Handicomp had not shown that the USGA had tried to control prices or harm competition, saying that any financial losses Handicomp suffered were caused by increased competition.

The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, saying Handicomp did not show competition had been harmed and that "a skilled teen-age hacker" would have no trouble creating the computer program to produce handicap figures.

Handicomp's lawyers told the Supreme Copurt that the lower courts ignored evidence that the USGA "abuses its position as golf's supposedly neutral governing body in order to gain competitive advantages'' for its handicap-computing company and claimed that the USGA changed the rules for setting handicaps to ban innovations offered by other firms.

But the USGA's lawyers said Handicomp's own trial witnesses said the governing body had done nothing to harm Handicomp.