History[edit]
The earliest record of golf handicapping is thought to be from the late 17th century, in a diary kept by Thomas Kincaid, who was a student in Edinburgh, Scotland, although the word handicap would not come into use in golf until the late 19th century. The number of strokes to be given and the holes on which they would be in effect was negotiated between competing golfers prior to the start of play. According to The Golfer's Manual by Henry Brougham Farnie, examples of agreed terms included "third-one" (one stroke every three holes), "half-one" (one stroke every two holes), "one more" (a stroke a hole) and "two more" (two strokes a hole).[6][7]
During the late 19th century, taking the difference between the average of a golfer's best three scores during the year and par became the most widely used method of handicapping in England and Scotland. As the sport grew, so did discontent with the fairness of handicapping, with less proficient players being particularly unhappy as it was much less likely for them to play to the standard of their three-score average. Another issue was the lack of consideration in the system for the varying difficulties of different courses which meant the handicap was not very portable.[8]
In an attempt to remedy the problems with a fairly basic handicap system, along with many variations of that system and other systems also being used, the authorities in Great Britain and Ireland sought to standardize. One of the first standard and equitable handicap systems was introduced by the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) in the 1890s. This was largely achieved by means of union-assigned course ratings, instead of clubs using their own. It was not until the formation of the British Golf Unions Joint Advisory Committee in 1924 that the men's game fully coordinated to create an equitable handicap system, that included a uniform course rating, throughout Great Britain and Ireland; the Standard Scratch Score and Handicapping Scheme was introduced in 1926.[9][10]
In the United States there was a single authority governing the sport, the USGA, which made moving to a single standard handicapping scheme somewhat easier. Introduced in 1911, the first national handicap system was based on the British three-score average system. The biggest development was a "par rating" system that assessed the average good score of a scratch golfer on every course, which made the handicap more portable. It also made clear that a player's handicap was intended to reflect their potential rather than average play. Having initially allowed clubs to determine their own par ratings, the USGA quickly changed their minds and began assigning ratings. The USGA Handicap System has further developed through the years, with an increase in the number of scores used for handicap calculations, the introduction of Equitable Stroke Control,[11] and improvements to the course rating system. However the most significant change was the creation of the slope rating system, which enables handicaps to allow for differences in difficulty between scratch and bogey golfers. USGA Course and Slope Ratings now form the basis of many other handicap systems.[12]
As the sport grew globally, associations around the world each created or adapted their own rules relating to handicaps. By the early 21st century, there were six major recognized handicapping systems in operation around the world: USGA Handicap System, EGA Handicap System, CONGU Unified Handicap System, Golf Australia Handicap System, South African Handicap System, and Argentinian Handicap System. While these systems share some common features, e.g. most use a common course rating system, they are not easily portable because their differences create difficulties in converting handicaps between systems. In order to eliminate these problems the USGA and The R&A, working with the various existing handicapping authorities, devised a new World Handicap System which was phased in globally in 2020.[4][5]
Overview[edit]
Amateur golfers who are members of golf clubs are generally eligible for official handicaps on payment of the prevailing regional and national association annual fees. Official handicaps are administered by golf clubs with the associations often providing additional peer reviewing for low handicaps. Other systems, often free of charge, are available to golfers who are ineligible for official handicaps. Handicap systems are not generally used in professional golf. A golfer whose handicap is zero is referred to as a scratch golfer, and one whose handicap is approximately 18 as a bogey golfer.[13]
While the USGA administers its own handicapping system, the administration of handicapping systems in countries affiliated to The R&A is the responsibility of the national golf associations of those countries. These bodies have different methods of producing handicaps but they are all generally based on calculating an individual player's playing ability from their recent history of rounds. Therefore, a handicap is not fixed but is regularly adjusted to increases or decreases in a player's scoring. Some systems (e.g. World Handicap System, USGA, European Golf Association) involve calculation of a playing handicap which is dependent on the course being played and set of tees that are being used, whereas others (e.g. CONGU's Unified Handicap System) just use the allocated handicap rounded to the nearest whole number.
Contrary to popular opinion, a player's handicap is intended to reflect a player's potential or "average best", not a player's overall average score. Statistically, low handicappers will play to their handicap more often because they are likely to be more consistent than higher handicappers.
Features of handicapping systems[edit]
Scoring[edit]
The total number of strokes taken for a hole (or round) before accounting for a golfer's handicap is called the gross score for that hole (or round), and the number of strokes taken after subtracting any handicap allowance is called the net score.[14]
Note that the gross score in 'world handicap system' is calculated as the number of strokes taken for a hole + the handicap allowance for that hole. The adjusted gross score in 'world handicap system' is the gross score adjusted such that the maximum on any particular hole is the number of strokes taken for a hole + the handicap allowance for that hole + 2 strokes (i.e. net double bogey).
In handicap stroke play competitions, a golfer's playing handicap is subtracted from the total number of strokes taken to produce a net score, which is then used to determine the final results. In handicap Stableford competitions, a player's handicap is distributed according to predetermined hole ratings (stroke index) and strokes deducted accordingly from each hole score before calculating the points for that hole. In match play, the handicap difference between players (or teams) is used to determine the number of strokes the high handicap player should receive from the low handicapper during the playing of their round; each of these strokes are received on the lowest numbered stroke index holes.[14] Stroke allowances may sometimes be reduced by a set percentage in order to maintain the level playing field; this is especially common in pairs and team competitions.
Course Rating[edit]
Course Rating, (Standard) Scratch Score, Scratch Rating, and Standard Rating are largely equivalent ratings that are used to indicate the average "good score" by a scratch golfer for a set of tees on a golf course. For a par 72 course, the course rating is generally between 67 and 77. There are different methods of calculating the Course Rating, with the length of the course and its obstacles being the biggest factors. Some systems use only these two, or even length alone, but most modern handicapping systems now use the USGA Course Rating system which assesses the difficulty of all aspects of the course, e.g. altitude, wide or narrow fairways, length of any rough, the size and contours of the greens, etc.[15][16]
Some handicapping systems provide for an adjustment to the course rating to account for variations in playing conditions on any given day, e.g. course setup and weather, and it is against this adjusted rating that handicaps are assessed and maintained. Examples of adjusted ratings are Playing Conditions Calculation (World Handicap System), Competition Scratch Score (CONGU Unified Handicapping System), Daily Scratch Rating (Golf Australia Handicap System), and Calculated Rating (South African Handicap System).
Analogous to course rating is the bogey rating, which is a measure of the playing difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer.
Handicapping systems[edit]
World Handicap System[edit]
Due to the many different handicapping systems in use around the world, and the many inconsistencies within them, which makes it difficult to compete on an equal footing where another handicap system is in use, the sports major governing bodies, in 2011 The R&A and the USGA began work on creation of a single uniform handicapping system to be used everywhere.[18] In February 2018, they announced that the World Handicap System (WHS) would be launched in 2020.[19] Once introduced, the World Handicap System will continue to be governed by The R&A and the USGA with the six existing major handicapping authorities (the USGA, the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association (EGA), Golf Australia, the South African Golf Association (SAGA), and the Argentine Golf Association (AAG)) administering the system at a local level.[20][18]
The WHS is based on the USGA Course and Slope Rating system, and largely follows the USGA Handicap System while also incorporating features from the six major existing handicap systems. For example, 8 differentials (like the Golf Australia system) are used after net double bogey adjustments (like the CONGU and EGA systems) for handicap calculations, and the WHS course/playing handicap includes a course rating adjustment (like the EGA system).[20] For players with current handicaps, their handicap records in the old systems will be used to produce WHS handicaps; the expectation is that most players will at most see a difference of one or two strokes, if any.
A new WHS handicap requires several scores to be submitted; the recommendation is a minimum of 54 holes made up of any number of 9 or 18-hole rounds in order to achieve a reasonable fair and accurate result, although handicaps may be issued from a smaller sample. Handicap adjustments will be made upon submission of any 9 or 18-hole scores with updates published daily; unlike some other systems both competitive and recreational rounds may be submitted by all players (e.g. CONGU's Unified Handicapping System only allows submission of non-qualifying scores by golfers in Category 2 or above). Ongoing handicaps are based on the average of the best 8 differentials, but with an "anchor" to prevent rapid increases that would not necessarily reflect the player's true potential. There is also a hole limit of "net double bogey" for handicapping purposes in order to prevent one or two bad holes from having a disproportionate effect.[18]