Improve your fishing skills
 

Welcome to our ishing Archive. Have fun browsing!

 

Article #289: The Golf Handicap System

(Browse for more articles)

 
The handicap basically allows people of hole played much easier (or harder!) than
very different golfing ability to compete its stroke index would indicate. One
with each other. Other sports do have a thing you can guarantee the stroke index
handicap system, but nowhere does it work 1 hole has been given that status for a
as effectively as in the game of golf. very good reason!
Lets take an example of a 9 handicap Qualifying competitions
player meeting a 16 handicapper in a These are normally club competitions
Matchplay singles match. They would take which qualify for handicap adjustment
the difference between their handicaps 7 purposes. These is a complex area and not
and apply the (a three quarter) of for these pages! Purely as an example, a
difference principle if their club uses competition may be declared non
this rather than the full difference qualifying if it is played when many
(equals 5.25) rounded to the nearest temporary greens are in use, affecting
full number (Equals 5). The 16 handicap the overall length of the course.
player would get an extra stroke over his Standard Scratch Score (SSS)
opponent at the first 5 stroke index This is a fixed number agreed by the Club
numbered holes on the course. with the ruling bodies. This is the score
Handicaps are administered by the Golf it would be expected a scratch golfer
Clubs themselves, according to rules laid would go round in. This can differ from
down by their responsible national union. the course par by anything up to plus3 to
Officially, there is no other way, minus 3 of the course par. It is this
despite the claims of a number of bodies number which is used for handicap
to being able to award official handicaps adjustment, rather than the par of the
(except where low handicaps are course.
administered by a regional body rather Competition Scratch Score
than a club) This is arrived at as a result of
Most golf clubs have a committee calculations on the day of a competition,
(council) member responsible for this. A taking into account the degree of
players handicap can be varied upwards or difficulty (climactic conditions) size of
downwards as a result of his/her field and generally how the different
performance in qualifying competition. handicap categories performed. If this is
The committee also has the right under different to the SSS, it replaces it for
the rules of golf (rule 19b) to make that day
merit adjustments to a members handicap. Qualifying score
Handicaps fall into 4 categories for men Any score, including a no return returned
and 6 for ladies, as follows: in a qualifying competition
Category Handicap range Net differential
1 0 5 Is the difference plus or minus between
2 6 12 the nett score returned by a player in a
3 13 20 qualifying competition and the
4 21 28 competition scratch score
5 29 40 Buffer Zone
6 41 45 Adjustments. Changes to handicaps are
Clubs often have names rather than made in accordance with a set of rules
category numbers for the different administered by the national regional
levels, ranging from the Gold/silver etc authority. For simplicitys sake, a
to the Tigers and Rabbits and the like. players handicap may increase or decrease
Stroke Index by a tenth of a point for every full shot
All golf clubs are required to publish a that player is above or below the CSS
HANDICAP STROKE TABLE, indicating the multiplied by the number of their
order of holes at which handicap strokes category. So a 10 handicap player
are to be given or received. This always (category 2) coming in 3 below the CSS
appears on the course scorecard under the would expect to see his handicap reduced
heading stroke index. This is a list of by 3 multiplied by 0.2 shots equals 0.6.
numbers from 1 to 18 where handicap There is a so called buffer zone which
strokes are taken. The lower numbers prevents handicaps increasing quite so
indicate a higher degree of difficulty, directly. Again, the category number is
hence a person receiving, for example, 9 used, but this time as a whole number,
strokes, either in a handicap competition and this is applied before any
or from a playing opponent, would receive adjustments are made. So a score of 3
an extra stroke at each of the holes with over CSS for our 10 handicapper (category
a Stroke Index from 1 to 9 inclusive. 2) would result in an increase in
The degree of difficulty is a relative handicap of just 0.1.
term, as the Club Committee is requested Exact v Playing handicap
to observe a number of recommendations It will be immediately apparent that
when setting the stroke index such as there is no point moving handicaps up and
balancing the numbers between the two down by the odd decimal place if there is
nines of an 18 hole course. This is no record kept of other than round
especially noticeable if you visit a numbers. Every player has an exact
course which has 3 or more nines which handicap as well as a playing one. The
can be played in different combinations playing one is simply the rounded whole
allowance must be made for the balancing number of the exact one. Thus 8.4 equals
and other factors, when wondering why a 8, 8.






1- A- B- C- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- 10- 11- 12- 13- 14- 15- 16- 17- 18- 19- 20- 21- 22- 23- 24- 25- 26- 27- 28- 29- 30- 31- 32- 33- 34- 35- 36- 37- 38- 39- 40- 41- 42- 43- 44- 45- 46-