W
hat’s your handicap? If you play the
game, it’s typically one of the first questions you hear when you meet another
golfer. Problem is, handicap systems differ in various parts of the world. Your
handicap in America, for example, isn’t comparable to those in Europe or Australia.
That time you traveled to Scotland and broke 80 at North Berwick? You can’t
post that round here in the U.S. because North Berwick hasn’t been rated by the
USGA.
That’s all about to change.
Starting next year, it will never be
easier to keep up with your USGA Handicap and compare it to others around the
globe. Changes are coming, and the World Handicap System (WHS), developed by the
USGA and The R&A, is designed to provide all golfers with a consistent
measure of their playing ability.
The new WHS will be implemented on
Jan. 1, 2020, and follows an extensive review of systems administered by the six
existing handicapping authorities: the USGA, Golf Australia, the Council of
National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf
Association (EGA), the South African Golf Association (SAGA) and the Argentine
Golf Association (AAG).
The tenets of the new system focus on
three main objectives:
1. To encourage as many golfers as
possible to obtain and maintain a Handicap Index;
2. To enable golfers of differing
abilities, genders and countries to transport their Handicap Index to any
course globally and compete on a fair basis;
3. To indicate with sufficient
accuracy the score a golfer is reasonably capable of achieving on any course
around the world, playing under normal conditions.
The new system will feature the
following:
• Flexibility in formats of play,
allowing both competitive and recreational rounds to count for handicap
purposes and ensuring that a golfer’s Handicap Index is more reflective of their
demonstrated ability;
• A minimal number of scores needed
to obtain a Handicap Index; golfers will
be able to obtain one after 54 holes from any combination of 9-hole and 18-hole
rounds;
• A Handicap Index that is portable
from course to course and country to country through worldwide use of the USGA Course
Rating System that is used in more than 80 countries worldwide;
• An average-based calculation of a Handicap
Index, taken from the best eight out of the last 20 scores and factoring in
memory of demonstrated ability for better responsiveness and control;
• A calculation that considers the
impact that abnormal course and weather conditions might have on a player’s
performance each day;
• Daily handicap revisions, which is
a modern and responsive feature of the new system that relies on golfers to
submit their scores on the same day of play;
• Net Double Bogey as the
maximum hole score (for handicapping purposes only). Net Double Bogey makes it easier for golfers
to understand their maximum score per hole while also helping ensure proper
pace of play. Example: A player with a Course Handicap
of 18 receives one stroke per hole; the player’s max score is triple bogey on
any hole, which equals a Net Double Bogey;
• A maximum Handicap Index limit of
54.0, regardless of gender, to encourage more golfers to measure and track
their performance to increase their enjoyment of the game. The previous max handicap of 36 was seen as too high of a
bar for new golfers. By raising the max handicap to 54, it allows for more new
golfers to get a handicap and feel like they are good enough to have one.
Quantitative research on the WHS was
conducted in 15 countries around the world, through which 76 percent of the
52,000 respondents voiced their support for the system, 22 percent were willing
to consider its benefits, and only 2 percent were opposed. This was followed by
a series of focus groups, in which more than 300 golf administrators and
golfers from regions around the world offered extensive feedback on the
features of the proposed new system.
This feedback has helped shape the
WHS, which has been developed by the USGA and The R&A with support from
each existing handicapping authority as well as the Japan Golf Association and
Golf Canada.
“For some time, we’ve heard golfers
say, ‘I’m not good enough to have a handicap,’ or ‘I don’t play enough to have
a handicap.’ We want to make the right decisions now to encourage a more
welcoming and social game,” said USGA CEO Mike Davis. “We’re excited to be
taking another important step to provide a pathway into the sport, making golf
easier to understand and more approachable and enjoyable for everyone to play.”
When adopted, the World Handicap
System will be governed by the USGA and The R&A and administered by
national and regional associations around the world, with safeguards included
to ensure consistency as well as adaptability to differing golf cultures.
The USGA serves as the national
association in the U.S. and has been working with Allied Golf Associations like
the TGA to get ready for the changes ahead, including a comprehensive training
and education program. This includes a significant technology investment that
will, for the first time, centralize the computation of all handicaps across
the U.S., providing daily revisions to a golfer’s Handicap Index while adding
significant data security and integrity components.
For associations like the TGA that
also subscribe to GHIN services, the USGA will unveil redesigned Golfer Products, including a new Kiosk, website
(ghin.com) and mobile app. Some new features that will be
available to golfers are hole-by-hole score posting, stat tracking and enhanced
data visualization.
For more information on the WHS, visit usga.org/whs.