Handicaps

cordy1969

Hello Everyone,

Having just moved here, I am a little confused about how the handicapping system works here.

Once I join a club and hand in my 2 or 3 cards I will be given a handicap I know that much. Will my handicap be the same for every other course I play on after that or does it change from course to course.

In australia we have a GA handicap as a base then each individual course has a slope rating which is then used to obtain a daily handicap for the particular course you are playing on.

So my question is how does the handicap system work here and differ from course to course.

Thanks

GreeBo

For the moment (the system is set to change to the global handicap method) your handicap is the same on every course (as is everyone elses under the CONGU system)

What can and does change is the SSS and CSS of the course.

The SSS is the Standard Scratch Score. This is the score that a standard scratch golfer is expected to have and its usually a shot or 2 either side of the par of the course.
CSS is Competition Standard Scratch and its the calculated "average" nett score for the competition. Any handicap adjustments are based on the CSS which is itself a function of the SSS and the scores of the competitors on the day (not all the scores are included, it varies depending on their handicap class.

So you can have a course with a par of 72
A SSS of 73 and on any particular day a CSS of 74 (for example)

Note that the SSS and hence CSS can be different depending on which tees you use.

This system works the same way on every course using the CONGU system (basically England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales)

cordy1969

Still confused so if I was playing on a handicap of 18 in Australia now I'm expected to play of a scratch score of 72 to 74? Or have I misread it.

GreeBo

cordy1969 wrote: »

Still confused so if I was playing on a handicap of 18 in Australia now I'm expected to play of a scratch score of 72 to 74? Or have I misread it.

You'll play three rounds here and hand them into your handicap sec.
They will assign you a handicap, usually towards the lower of your the scores after converting them to stableford.

So if your course is par 72, SSS 72 and you shoot 3 90's they'll most likely give you 18, assuming you were on our around 18 bogeys.
If you shoot 90 but had 17 pars and then +18 on the last, you will probably get 1

After that you just play off that handicap and it will get adjusted up or down based on how you score relative to CSS during any competitions you play. It won't go up or down as much as you are used to, max of 0.1 up per round and even then only if you are 22 over (assuming handicap of 18)

cordy1969

Thanks for the reply.

Now that makes more sense and would explain why I see so many posts/threads referring to bandits on here ;)