Great Harwood Golf and Social Club
World Handicapping System
Welcome to our World Handicapping pages , which we have put together to try and explain to you ( our members) about the significant changes that are being implemented on how handicaps are to change and will be maintained.
If you have not already done so I would recommend you sign up for your England Golf account at https://www.englandgolf.org/my-account-member/. Hopefully from 2nd November you will be able to track your handicap through the England Golf WHS Platform.
WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM
The WHS is due to be upgraded to stage 2 on the 1st April 2024
This page will be replaced by the new criteria shortly
As you are no doubt be aware the new World Handicap System (WHS) comes into force on Monday 2nd November 2020. From that date you will be issued with a Handicap Index. It is based upon the number of Acceptable Scores you have submitted since January 2018 up to a maximum of the average of the best 8 scores from your last 20 results. A sliding scale is used if 20 records are not available.
The Handicap Index is intended to be taken to ALL courses you intend to play on. Once there you
- Decide which Tees are to be used,
- Locate your Handicap Index and its corresponding Course Handicap on a Chart which should be posted clearly at each Club. An example of the Chart for Great Harwood Gold Club is posted on the notice board for reference. Eg H.I. of 17.1 off Yellow Tees = 18 Course Handicap.
If you wish to view your early HANDICAP INDEX then please go onto the England Golf website and log into your account. You may need to re-register as a new member using your CHD No .
Up to date email addresses and Dates of Birth have previously been requested by the Club. If you did not provide them it may not be possible to have a Handicap Index issued by England Golf.
A list is posted on the Notice Board if additions need to be entered.
There is also details of how your Handicap Index has been determined , and useful graphs.
An advantage of registering with England Golf is the fact that you are afforded Golf Insurance. ( Again see their site)
You should also be aware of England Golf Privacy Notice which has been the subject of previous emails and a copy is also on the Notice Board.
It is a major change to the Handicapping Process and may seem complex. However , a Handicap Committee* are here to try and assist where they can.
*Darren Masterson,( Chairman ) Tony Skellern, Peter Kirtlan and Ged Bolton.
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1. WORK ALREADY DONE
To prepare for its introduction work has already been completed in relation to our Course;-
COURSE RATING – In Autumn of 2019 the Course was measured and an assessment made of difficulty of the course for a Scratch Golfer for each different hole. This is similar to our current STANDARD SCRATCH.
GHG&SC Course Ratings are;-
WHITE TEE 71.2
YELLOW 70.4
RED 72.4
SLOPE RATING This represents the relative difficulty of the course for a Bogey golfer compared to a Scratch Golfer. A Male Bogey Golfer has a Handicap of 20 whilst a Lady has a 24 Handicap.
Slope ratings will be higher on a course with longer carries, narrow fairways and thicker rough.
Slope Ratings fall within the range 55 to 155
For Handicap Purposes the Neutral Slope Rating is 113.
GHG&SC Slope Ratings are;-
WHITE TEE 119
YELLOW 115
RED 120
2. WORK IN PROGRESS HANDICAP INDEX
You currently have a Handicap . Under the WHS you will have a HANDICAP INDEX.
This will be computed as the average of the best 8 scores from your last 20 qualifying scores posted since 1 January 2018.
If you do not have 20 scores a method similar to allocating a new handicap will be used.
You are encouraged to play as many INDIVIDUAL Single strokeplay or Stableford rounds as possible in order that your current ability is reflected in your results. All QUALIFYING SCORES must be registered BEFORE commencing play. Hopefully HDID will be modified shortly. If these scores are to be used outside a Club competition they are regarded as Supplementary Scores.
3. COURSE HANDICAP
So we have a SLOPE RATING and a HANDICAP INDEX.
Your Handicap for the day is calculated with reference to the Course you are playing and the Tees used.
Your Handicap Index is multiplied by the Slope Rating and then divided by the Neutral Slope Rating.
EG
If you play off Tees with a SR of 119 with players with a Handicap of 10 , 16 and 22 then your Course Handicaps are;-
10 x 119/113 = 10.5 ( 11)
16 x 119/113 = 16.85 ( 17)
22 x 119 / 113 = 23.17 ( 23)
BUT if the Slope Rating was 140
10 x 140 / 113 = 12.39 ( 12)
16 x 140 / 113 = 19.8 ( 20)
22 x 140 / 113 = 27.3 ( 27)
DO NOT WORRY ,A Look Up Chart should be available at each Club so you do not need to do the calculations yourself.
Please remember it is the Handicap Index that should be entered onto your scorecard.
Once your COURSE HANDICAP is calculated this must be adjusted to match the format you are playing ie Singles 95% and Betterball 85% ( these are currently proposed figures) This gives the PLAYING HANDICAP
4. SUBMITTING SCORES
On completion of a round you should input your scores asap. Either on your phone or the PSI at the Club. Handicaps are reviewed at Midnight of that day.
5.ADJUSTINGYOUR HANDICAP INDEX
Currently if you have a good score your handicap reduces by a bigger margin than had you had a poor score, i.e. it reduces depending on your category of handicap ( 0.1, 0.3 etc for each shot under CSS) but increases by 0.1 once out of the Buffer Zone.
The WHS will readjust your best Average 8 from 20 but with a CAP if too much movement results.
For Handicap Purposes a big score is reduced to a net DOUBLE BOGEY.
6. ACCEPTABLE SCORES
There are two Categories;-Competition Scores . ALL single Competition Rounds ( Stroke or Stableford) over a Qualifying course.
General Play Scores Again over a Qualifying Course and can be 9 or 18 Holes . These MUST be pre- registered.
NB Currently Team and Match Play formats are excluded from WHS scores but can be used for Annual Reviews.
7. PLAYING CONDITIONS CALCULATION
As with the current system an adjustment will be made automatically if weather conditions have affected the “normal” scores. Liken to CSS against SS.
8. CHANGES YOU WILL NOTICE
a) No Competition Handicap Status “c” Status
b) No Handicap Categories for adjustments
c) No Standard Scratch
d) No 0.1 Handicap Adjustments
e) No Buffer Zones
9. FURTHER INFORMATION
a) Look on YOU TUBE some great videos (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=world+handicap+system+2020+uk)
b) ENGLAND GOLF website (https://www.englandgolf.org/whs/)
c) Our Notice Board