Your New WHS Index

Does anyone really keep track of what their playing partners are doing in a competition, outside of them doing something obvious? I certainly don't, you trust that they play to the rules, that's part of the ethos of golf. And if you're playing a casual round, it's likely to be with one of your friends anyway so I'd imagine you'd trust them not to cheat.

A bog standard Saturday competition doesn't provide tougher conditions/atmosphere - and that's what the majority of competitions are.

A counter point to not including casual rounds is the golfer who can't get out for competitions very often but is able to play a lot evening 9 holes. They're playing loads without any change to their handicap, so when they do enter a comp (likely a major if they can rarely enter), their handicap will not reflect their current playing ability.

I spoke too soon. Captain's qualifier last weekend. Leader is a 25 handicap in with a 59 net to lead by 8 strokes.

Looked at his record, has a round of 100, and three 99 in his best 8. His handicap on qualifying day was the highest it had ever been on his record.

Last 3 rounds, 103, 105 & 104, then drops in an 84 in strokes, off the blue, on a bad enough weekend weather wise.

Guy has a bit of a reputation for picking up a lot of prizes over the winter league then disappearing once qualifying season kicks in.

Bit disgusted to be honest

That's sickening.

laughable.

has anyone called him on it

That is the way our Captain's and President's prize went. Only paying the entry fee now because I like playing on a Sunday morning and I'm hoping to beat my 8th best score, no chance of a prize.

Qualifier you could play with your own group. Final is allocated groups.

And yes, he'll play off same handicap in the final round.

The 2 closest to him on the leaderboard look like genuine scores to me, they're records are pretty consistent and have actually been trending lower over the last couple of months. They scored well, but within reasonable range of their records.

I don't know if there has ever been anyone to call him out, but he couldn't have avoided hearing about it in the past i would think given he was generally on the lips of everyone you would play with in the Winter season.

Took a look there. His best 8 prior to the Captains were:

97, 99, 100, 99, 96, 93, 99, 100

He doesn't have the tag checked on his profile to see dates and details of the rounds, so only the scores are there.

I was wondering the same/opposite for Golf Ireland members playing abroad.

improvement of 20 shots in the space of a few weeks!!!!! 😱😱😱

I can only speak for clubs using Handicap Master, but would assume that other software does this too.

Your club basically adds a visitor and then selects their home club. Handicap Master has Ireland and England in as default options, but you can then choose other countries and Scotland is there among others.

The other way around (if you're abroad), not so sure, not having access to their software. But if you travel abroad and record a scorecard and want it taken into account on your handicap record, this can be done on the Golf Ireland clubhouse portal via the 'Scores' section. Basically, pick the member and then add the course. It doesn't do a lookup, you enter the course data yourself. This can only be done by your handicap secretary or other club official with access to the GI portal.

If I had been paying attention in the medal, I'd have known the consequences of the 36 points. would I have been tempted to put on the brakes? Interesting dilemma.

Maybe its just me, but I try to play my best golf at all times.

Here is my dilemma. Have been posting scores in the 90s. This week I have been playing like a 12 handicapper having suddenly got a solid tempo on my swing with an improved grip. Should I put on the brakes for a major this weekend in case people think I am a bandit? Simple answer "I will in my arse!".

Edit: Will probably play like sh!te anyway.

Two questions on match-play with the WHS system.

Do you take the difference between the two indexes and calculate the course handicap based on that or do you take the difference between the two course handicaps? Might make a difference of a shot either way.

Do you generally maintain the starting handicap throughout the competition or the handicap on the day? Match-plays can go on for months so there might be a huge variation between starting and finishing handicaps.

36 points is not a standard round of golf. It's almost certainly going to be in your top 8 scores and will result in your handicap going down most of the time

I always try to play my best. I've a few bad rounds where I lost focus when I knew a score was not on but alot of the time I manage to scrape in a low 30 point score with a strong finish. It's been to my detriment for match play comps because my handicap has dropped alot but I wouldn't have it any other way

The correct procedure is to calculate the course handicaps for each player for the set of tees played and play off the difference. In fourball, it's 90% of the course handicap.

The only thing that should matter to an amateur golfer (aside from ‘enjoyment’) is their handicap index. Whether I beat a load of auld lads in a handicapped competition is totally irrelevant to me. The only true competition is stroke play off scratch, that’s why they play that on the TV.