Handicap systems

Hi all how does the handicap system work, my handicap was 19.8 i played a round i scored a 89,  stapleford points 40 i was 4 under par. after entering my card i was chopped 0.3 now 19.5. i dont understand how i only got chopped 0.3. Can anyone help me out.

thank you peter

Hi Peter, we use the SSS for the final adjustment not the par.

Regards, Darren.

Hi Peter, you shot 89 on a course with an SSS of 70.  So that's 19 over.  Your handicap prior to play was 19.8 which is rounded up to 20 thus you played one shot under your handicap and hence had a one shot adjusted of 0.3 bringing you down to 19.5

This is a good link for full info/breakdown

How to Calculate Handicaps

Might be worthwhile double checking the card to ensure we have the right data.  Is the card you having showing the SSS at 70?

Darren

I was just wondering, would i be cut the same if i scored 38 pts and i scored on all 18 holes, as i would if i scored 38 pts but blobbed 4 holes, on the same course which is a par 72 and a SSS of 72.

Chris, technically yes you could be.

Darren

lets say i was an 18 handicap and the card that scored 38pts and scored on all 18 holes, had 2 pars and 16 bogeys, and the other card that only scored on 14 holes but still scored 38pts, had 10 pars 4 bogeys and 4 triple bogeys, if you then asked most people on here which one was the bandit they would all say eg: 2, as anyone shooting 38pts but not scoring on 4 holes should not be playing off that handicap, yet both examples get cut the same.

Slight difference actually Christopher. The triples are rounded down to net double for handicap purposes (although an 18 handicap would not see a change as they would get a shot on these holes). Handicaps are calculated on strokes, not points, and SSS not par so it is possible to score 38 points on a course and not be cut one day and score 38 and be cut on another

Chris

not if you score 38pts on the same course and the SSS was the same as par, what i'm trying to say is if you played an 18 handicapper in a comp and he beat you by 1pt by scoring 2 pars and 16 bogeys you would shake his hand and say well played, if you played the same player and he beat you by 1pt but got 10 pars 4 bogeys and 4 blobs you would probably go home and kick the cat while screaming bloody bandit. So should a blob be taken into consideration when calculating a handicap, say for instance if you shoot 38pts with no blobs and the SSS is to par then you get cut 0.3, if you shoot 38 pts with 2 blobs then you get cut 0.4 and if you have 4 blobs then 0.5 and so on, would that be a fairer way of calculating the handicap. Just a thought.

ChrisH, you have hit the nail on the head realising the vast difference in actual play between 2 players with the same handicap.

I am just like your first player, I was 16, which meant I needed 2 pars and 16 bogies to play to it. The length of my course dictates that, for me I can only reach one green in regulation figures, so for me to play to my handicap I just cannot afford any disasters and have to find a couple of pars from somewhere on a very difficult course.

So you can imagine how difficult it is to compete with the sixteen handicapper who can hit the ball well and who makes 7 pars and a birdie (Recent match I played). It is a no contest and I am on the losing side always in this situation.

The club has finally accepted that my ill health deserves an increase in handicap with an increase to 18. This will not make the slightest difference to me at all, I will still be unable to play to that handicap at my club. The course is just too long for an 74 year old with problems.

John,

I'm afraid that it will come to us all eventually. We have a 90-year old who plays twice a week off a 26 handicap. In his younger days he was off 11. Healthwise he has been more fortunate than you but you must both rather still be playing golf than the alternative.

Yes, James I am pleased that I can still get out on the course, have many good friends of a much younger age than me who make sure that I do.