By Kelly Neely, Sr. Dir., Handicapping & Course Rating
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Since last month’s “Just a Quick Question…” article seemed to spark favorable comments (thanks again to my One Reader – your loyalty is humbling), I decided to regale you with more riveting handicapping and course rating Q&A.

Frankly, I could do this format every month as there is no shortage of material to work with. These sticky subjects just naturally bring out a bit of head-scratching and the occasional furrowed brow which tend to translate into copious emails and phone calls.

And once in a while, the indignant outburst. No matter – it comes with the territory. You’ve got to have thick skin to deal with handicapping and course rating. After 26 years, I might very well be a rhinoceros (I have been referred to as other animals on more than one occasion, come to think of it).

Since golfer-type humans seem to love shiny new things, there is heightened interest in the World Handicap System so the “quick questions” are pouring in. Here are a few more with not-so-quick answers. Brace yourself.

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Q: In the previous Handicap System, Tournament (T) scores were tracked and could lower your handicap. I see in the new system that my T scores have changed to C scores. What’s up?

A:  As with many handicapping questions, this one is multi-layered, so let’s tackle the part about Score Types. Now Ts are Cs and former Cs are Ns. Confused yet? You’ll get used to it. This is a very good change that makes a lot of sense. Here’s the new list:

H – Home (should be used for a score where a golfer is an active member)
A – Away
C – Competition
N – Combined Nine Hole
P – Penalty
E – Exceptional

Those last two are deserving of their own Handicap Hub articles (something to look forward to. Or warn you about).

When the WHS launched in January, all former T scores were switched to Cs and not only that, the prior procedure to reduce the Index of a player for “Exceptional Tournament Scores” went by the wayside (I can hear a collective cheer from OGA members.) No more dreaded Rs! That said, club Committees are still encouraged to post certain scores as competition scores. Although C scores alone do not have a direct impact on the calculation of the Handicap Index, they serve as necessary identifiers. A Handicap Committee must review members’ Indexes when comparing demonstrated ability in competition rounds vs. general play, and proper C score designations will make that job easier.

While Handicap Index reductions for “Exceptional Tournament Scores” have ceased to irk golfers, the WHS provides a more worthy replacement. Enter the Exceptional Score. Yep, now ANY score can now be considered exceptional, not just competition scores. Which leads us to the next question…

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Q:  I notice that one of my scores is tagged with an E, and my Handicap Index has gone down. Not only that, I see -1 reductions on all my prior rounds, too. YIKES!

A:  Okay, I took creative license in this question by changing the word YIKES from the more colorful one that was actually used. This is a family show, after all.

When a score – any score – is posted to a player’s scoring record, the system compares that score’s differential to the player’s Index in effect when the round was played. If the score differential is 7.0 – 9.9 strokes lower than the Index, the reduction will be -1. If the score differential is 10.0 or more strokes, the reduction will be -2. Overnight! The WHS is nothing if not responsive.

When the old USGA Handicap System applied a reduction for an Index, it did so when at least two Tournament (T) scores that were at least three strokes below the Index. All well and good on the face of it, but the player could shoot great rounds in September, and “back into” a reduction months later due to their handicap climbing upward. We frequently saw this in the spring when players would take the winter off and come back to less than desirable course conditions during a wet spring – causing higher Indexes to compare those low fall T scores to. Those T scores had been forgotten, then boom – they would suddenly rear their ugly heads in the form of a reduction. Try explaining a plummeting Index to someone who is now playing poorly!

The new Exceptional score procedure is a vast improvement. Since a Handicap Index is supposed to be reflective of the player’s best demonstrated performance, and updates occur nightly, it makes sense that a much lower round would cause a reduction promptly.

You will know if you have an ESR as you will see -1s or -2s next to the score tagged as an “E”, as well as the previous 19 scores in your record. Yes, all 20 rounds. Then you will call me. Please use the word YIKES instead of a few others you might have at your disposal.

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For these final three questions, I’ve brought in my partner in Golf Association crime, Gretchen Yoder, as she is a bona fide Course Rating Master of the Universe.

Q:  Will you raise our Course Rating (or Slope Rating) so my Handicap will go up?

A:  Funny thing, this will actually do the opposite! Careful what you wish for. Imagine shooting the same score on 2 different courses. One is “easier” the other is “harder”. The score on the higher rated course would end up giving a lower differential, causing the Course Handicap to also go down.

Here’s how the math works:

• Course A: 70.6 / 131 Par 72 and 6104 yards
• Course B: 71.2 / 134, Par 72 and 6342 yards
   

Geek Alert: Calculation of a Score Differential = (113/Slope Rating) X (adjusted gross score – Course Rating-PCC adjustment if applied)

For a score of 85 on both courses:

• Course A Differential: (113/131) X (85--70.6) = 12.4213… rounded to 12.4
• Course B Differential: (113/134) X 85-71.2) = 11.6373… rounded to 11.6
   

The whole system is made to address an important little concept called Relative Difficulty. Since this player shot the same on a course that had a higher relative difficulty, even though it is the same score, the score on the higher rated course is “better” and would cause their Handicap Index, and subsequently their Course Handicap, to actually go down and not up.

We have one goal with the Course Rating process, and that is to make it as correct as possible, so that the golfer’s Handicaps are portable and accurate.

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Q:  Do we still need to apply Section 3-5 if players are using different tees? Or if there are Men and Women playing?

A:  Good ole’ Section 3-5 (difference in Course Rating between tees) has gone away with the inception of the World Handicap System (sure - take it away just when we were all used to the extra math). Since Par has been thrown into the Course Handicap calculation, the only difference that needs to be accounted for now is the difference in Par, if it exists between different tees, or different genders. This is covered by Rule 6.2b in the WHS Rules of Handicapping - click here for more.

For Stroke Play and Match Play formats, where results are recorded as gross or net scores:

If most of the golfers are playing from one set of tees and the par is 72 and there are also golfers playing from a forward tee, and that tee has a par 70, the difference in par needs to be addressed. The Tournament Committee can choose to either take 2 strokes from the Playing Handicap of golfers on the forward tee or add two strokes to the players playing the par 72 tees.

If Men and Women are playing the same or different set of tees, and par is 73 for Women and 72 for Men, one stroke would be added to the Women’s Playing Handicaps or subtracted from the Men’s.

Note: No additional strokes are applied to the Playing Handicap in Stablefords, since the score is already relative to Par for the set of tees being played.

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Q:  My course is much harder than the other course I play almost as often, so why is the Slope lower?

A:  You might hate a question answered with a question, but sorry, but we just have to: More difficult for whom? Slope Rating by itself is meaningless. Slope Rating in comparison to the Course Rating will let the golfer see the Relative Difficulty (there’s that concept again) between a higher handicapped golfer the Scratch golfer (Course Handicap of 0).

Definitions are important:

• Course Rating: An indication of the difficulty of a golf course for the scratch player (71.6)
• Bogey Rating: An indication of the difficulty of a golf course for the bogey player (98.2)
• Slope Rating: An indication of the Relative Difficulty of a golf course for players who are not scratch players compared to players who are scratch players
• Par: The score that a scratch player would generally be expected to achieve on a hole under normal course and weather conditions, allowing for two strokes on the putting green
   

I remember having a conversation once about a particular golf course where one of the members was concerned that their rating was incorrect. This assumption was automatically made because the slope was lower at their course (a very hilly course) than a neighboring golf course (mostly flat with considerably fewer obstacles). Without taking the rest of the factors into context, that might have appeared the case.

However, the course with the slightly lower Slope Rating was over 500 yards (think a good par 5 yardage) shorter than the other course, and yet the Course Rating was only less than 2.0 difference. Looking at all the pieces, it told me that the member’s home course was actually much more relatively difficult.

The key points to remember here are that Course Rating, Slope Rating, yardage – and now Par – need to all be thrown into the comparison pot if you are looking at the relative difficulty between 2 courses.

Take for example five courses each with a tee between 6530 and 6535 yards, five yards at the most between them. For the sake of this example, I’m keeping the courses anonymous. I am adding in the Course Handicap of a player with a 20.0 Handicap Index. All of the courses are Par 72. Remember that the golfer’s Target Score (“playing to your handicap”) is par plus Course Handicap.

• Course A:  70.8 / 138 (CH 23)
• Course B:  71.4 / 131 (CH 23)
• Course C:  71.7 / 123 (CH 21)
• Course D:  71.7 / 128 (CH 22)
• Course E:  71.7 / 136 (CH 24)

Course A has the lowest Course Rating, but the highest Slope Rating. That tells me that it is the least difficult for a scratch player, but relatively more difficult for the higher handicapped player.

With 3 courses at 71.7, higher handicapped golfers would find course C with SR of 123 would be less difficult than D (128) which is less difficult than E (136). Scratch golfers would find an almost equal level of difficulty comparing the three. Isn’t math fun?

Questions? Contact Kelly or Gretchen in the OGA Handicapping & Course Rating Department at (503) 981-4653 x226 or Click Here to Email Your Question