The USGA Handicap System In Brief

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The USGA Handicap SystemIn Brief

• Compliments of the Georgia State Golf Association

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• The USGA Handicap System is designed to allow
  golfers to compete fairly on any course.
• Every golfer wants to enjoy a fair match on any
  golf course.

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The Basics

• There are things that golfers need to know before
  play, during play and after play.
• Adhering to the rules of the game can eliminate a
  great deal of confusion.

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Before You Play

• 1. Know your USGA Handicap Index
• 2. Check the Course Handicap Table for the tees
  you will be playing to determine the number of
  strokes you will receive.
• 3. Determine how many strokes you get for the
  tees you are playing and apply the handicap
  allowance for the type of game you are playing.

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As You Play

• 4. Write your hole-by-hole scores on the
  scorecard.

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After You Play

• 5. Adjust your score properly using Equitable
  Stroke Control (ESC) and then post your score for
  handicap purposes.
• 6. Post where you play.remember your GHIN
  number!

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Section One

• Know Your Handicap Index

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• Your USGA Handicap Index is the number that
  indicates your potential scoring ability on a
  course of standard difficulty. The USGA Handicap
  Index is expressed as a number taken to one
  decimal place.
• It is updated and reissued on established
  revision dates. This number will lead you the
  number of strokes you will receive on any given
  course.

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Please remember, a player is responsible for
knowing his/her USGA Handicap Index issued at the
most recent revision.

• Georgia State Golf
• Association
• Joe Golfer
• USGA Handicap
• Index- 11.6

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Check the Course Handicap Table

• A Course Handicap Table is located at every golf
  course, usually near the first and tenth tee, in
  the golf shop, in the locker rooms, or on the
  GSGA computer under option 3 on the score entry
  screen.
• There are separate tables for men and women and
  for the specific sets of tees from which you
  choose to play, so be sure to refer to the
  correct table, for the correct tees!

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The Course Handicap Table is crucial to your
game.

• Without it, you wont be able to know the number
  of strokes that you are supposed to receive.
  Please refer to the table on the next page for
  the following example
• Joe Golfer has a USGA Handicap Index of 11.6
• By looking in the left hand column for the 11.6
  range, you will see that the corresponding course
  handicap for the day is 13.

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Make sure you do this everywhere so you play a
fair game...
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How Many Strokes?

• The number of strokes you get or give another
  player depends on the type of game you are
  playing. Are you playing
• -one other person
• -three other people
• -in a stroke play event
• -playing against a person who is playing from a
  different set of tees than you are?

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Section II Allowances

• The end of this presentation will include a
  summary for each of the different forms of play.
  Each hole has a handicap allocation number, based
  on its difficulty. The hole with the handicap
  number 1 is the hole where you are most likely
  to need a stroke.
• The hole with the handicap number 18 is the
  hole where you are least likely to need a stroke.

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• In individual net stroke-play events, simply play
  with your Course Handicap determined from the
  course conversion chart and deduct it from your
  actual score when you have finished the round.

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Playing From Different Tees

• Men vs. Men
• Men vs. Women

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Men vs. Men

• If Joe Golfer and Bill Birdie are playing a match
  from different tees, the golfer playing from the
  tees with the higher Course Rating receives
  additional strokes equal to difference between
  the Course Ratings.
• First, the Course Handicaps should be determined
  and then additional strokes are added to the
  Course Handicap of the player playing from the
  higher-rated set of tees.

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Men vs. Men cont.

• If Bill Birdie plays from the middle tees, where
  the Course Rating is 70.9, and his Course
  Handicap is 20, and Joe Golfer plays from the
  back tees, where the Course Rating is 73.5 and
  his Course Handicap is 13, Joe gets three more
  strokes.
• Joe Golfer would give Bill Birdie four instead of
  seven. The difference between the Two Course
  Ratings is 2.6 (73.5-70.92.6), but the decimal
  of .5 or more is rounded up to the higher number.

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Men vs. Women

• The same procedure applies when women and men
  compete. Check the Womens Course Rating for the
  set of tees she will use.
• For example, the Womens Course Rating is 73.5
  from the forward tees, and the Mens Course
  Rating is 70.5 from the middle tees, she will get
  an extra three strokes added to her Course
  Handicap (73.5-70.53).

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Adjusting Scores
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Equitable Stroke Control

• Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) keeps an
  exceptionally bad hole from changing your
  Handicap index too much. ESC is used to adjust a
  score back into its normal range. Be sure to
  adjust your score with ESC before you post it for
  handicap purposes
• The tables on the following page will be used to
  set the maximum hole score for posting purposes.

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18-Hole
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9-Hole
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Incomplete Holes

• If you pick up on a hole, record the score you
  most likely would have made. This score
  consists of the number of strokes already taken,
  plus the number of strokes in the players best
  judgment, to complete the hole from that position
  more than half of the time. This number may not
  exceed the players equitable Stroke Control
  limit.

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Conceded Strokes

• If a player is conceded a stroke, he shall record
  for handicap purposes the score he most likely
  would have made. The most likely score consists
  of the number of strokes that the player would
  need to complete the hole from that position more
  than half the time. The most likely score may
  not exceed the players Equitable Stroke Control
  limit.

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Holes Not Played

• When a hole is not played, your score for the
  hole is par, plus any handicap strokes to which
  you are entitled, based on your full Course
  Handicap. This also applies to any hole that you
  do not play by the Rules of Golf. For example,
  when Joe Golfer uses a mulligan on the 17th
  hole, then he would consider that hole a hole not
  played and take par, plus any handicap strokes
  for handicap posting.

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Posting Your Score

• Always post your scores if

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• You play at least 13 holes in an 18-hole round,
  or 7 holes in a nine hole round. On the holes
  you did not play, record par plus any handicap
  strokes you would have received.

OR
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• You play two nines (even if it is the same nice),
  even if you play them on different days. Simply
  combine the nines into an 18-hole score. Add the
  nine-hole Course Ratings together and average the
  Slopes.
• (Note Our GSGA/GHIN computers allow you to post
  a nine-hole score and will do all the combining
  work for you.)

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Do not post your scores if

• You play fewer than 13 holes in a 18-hole round,
  of fewer than 7 holes in a 9-hole round.
• You play in a competition limited the types of
  clubs used, such as one-club or irons-only
  tournament.

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Additionally

• An 18-hole course is less than 3,000 yards.
• A majority of the holes are not played in
  accordance with the Principles of the Rules of
  Golf, as in a scramble.
• It is an out of season score. Each regional
  golf association has its own season. If you are
  traveling, check to see if you are playing in an
  active season at the course you visit.
• When scores are made on a course with no USGA
  Course or Slope Rating.

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Course Rating

• USGA Course Rating is the USGAs mark that
  indicates the evaluation of the playing
  difficulty of a course for scratch golfers under
  normal course and weather conditions. It is
  expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place,
  and it is based on yardage and other obstacles.
• Example- Course Rating 68.5

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Slope Rating

• USGA Slope Rating is the USGAs mark that
  indicates the measurement of the relative
  difficulty of a course for players who are not
  scratch golfers compared to the Course Rating.
• The lowest slope rating is 55, the highest is
  155. A golf course of standard playing
  difficulty has a slope rating of 113.

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How Slope Affects You

• Slope makes your handicap portable.
• You will get more strokes on a course with a
  higher slope than on a course with a lower slope.
  Currently slope ratings range from 55 to 155.
  The higher the slope, the more difficult the
  average golfer will find the course.

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Lets Review

• Take your handicap index and determine what the
  slope rating of the tees you will be playing and
  then convert your handicap index to your course
  handicap.

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Section II

• Handicap Allowances

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An adjustment in strokes is sometimes required in
such competitions

• Foursome match play
• In foursome match play, two play against two and
  each side plays one ball. During any stipulated
  round, the partners play alternately from the
  teeing grounds and alternately from the play of
  each hole. After handicap allowances are
  determined, apply Section 9-3c (iii) in
  competitions from different tees, or in
  competitions between men and women from the same
  tees. Men get 80 of Course Handicap Women get
  90.

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Handicap Allowances

• Individual stroke play Everyone plays at full
  Course Handicap.
• Four-ball stroke play, better ball Men get 90
  of their Course Handicap Women get 95.
• Best-ball-of-four stroke play Men get 80 of
  their Course Handicap Women get 95.

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The End