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