By Kelly Neely and Gretchen Yoder, OGA Handicapping & Course Rating
Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives    

The renowned astrophysicist and oft-queried Carl Sagan once said, “There are naïve questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. There is no such thing as a dumb question. But every question is a cry to understand the world.”

Well put, Carl. This got us thinking that in our tiny yet insignificant corner of the golf universe, every question is a cry to understand the World Handicap System.

Exactly how many questions do we get? Probably fewer than billions and billions. Not sure. Don’t have time to count them as we’re too busy answering them. Here are a few random (but worthy) queries we’ve received recently, made even more random by not organizing them in any way, thereby tricking you into trudging through ‘til the end.
 

Q: Even though I believe golf is a game of honor and you should be trusted to post scores correctly even if you play alone, I know you're not supposed to. Is it the OGA or USGA who made that rule?

A: Though the OGA is your regional association authorized to implement and administer the Rules of Handicapping in our jurisdiction, truly we are not omnipotent or omnificent or any of those other big omni-words. We didn’t write the Rules of Handicapping nor do we make up our own Rules as we go along (although, come to think of it, that sounds like fun). The Rules of Handicapping were crafted by the USGA and The R&A in conjunction with other national authorities around the world, and one of those rules happens to render a score while playing alone unacceptable for handicap purposes.

However, the reason for this rule has little to do with mistrust. A Handicap Index is procured not singularly, but only through a Golf Club, which is a group of golfers who are typically able to play casually and / or compete with each other. Thus, a necessary mechanism called Peer Review – the process by which a score or Handicap Index can be confirmed or challenged – is actively occurring between players. A score made while playing alone prohibits Peer Review from taking place. So, while you might avoid your friends nagging you to play by the Rules, you’ll also miss a chance to show off your birdies.

----

Q: Is there anywhere in the GHIN Mobile App that I can see total number of rounds played / posted this year?

A: Yes. Tap on STATS, then RECENT & REVISION SCORES. Choose 2021 SCORES. Hit DONE. You will not only see all the nitty-gritty details of every good, bad and ugly individual round you’ve posted thus far this season, you’ll see the number of scores, your highest score, your lowest score, and your average score.

----

Q: How do I get the 74 deleted from my history? I’m just learning how to keep my handicap and I posted two nine-hole scores from short executive courses. The app combined them for a 74. As you can see from my other scores, I never shoot in the 70’s.

A: First of all, congratulations for jumping into handicapping for the first time! It can be a bit like throwing yourself into the deep end of a pool (make that a pond with raingear on in the dead of winter). It will be useful, entertaining and eye-opening for you to track your stats and see your handicap change over time.

With regard to your 74 combined score, it is a legitimate round that should not be deleted. The Course Rating system doesn’t contemplate a “short, executive course.” A course / tee is either regulation length (at least 1500 yards for nine holes) and must be rated or it is shorter than that and can’t be. You did the right thing and followed the rules properly in posting, though it might sting a little bit now. Keep playing, keep posting, keep swimming.

----

Q: If members post their scores on the day(s) after the greens have been plugged and sanded, would the PCC (Playing Conditions Calculation) potentially become a factor?

A: Any day could potentially become affected by a PCC adjustment (or not). Did the Superintendent start his day twirling his mustache like a cartoon villain, cutting every hole into the most difficult place on the green? Was the course set up for “US Open” style tournament? Maybe the tees were placed all the way forward (or back) and all the flags set on the front (or back) of the green. Rain, wind, sun, high pollen counts, drought, smoke from local forest fires…lots of different conditions can end up causing a PCC.

One of the key things to understand is that there is no person sitting in the background telling the GHIN system that scores should be affected. At least 8 acceptable scores must be posted the day of play. The system compares all scores posted scores and will assign a PCC adjustment if the composite of scores is significantly higher or lower than what is expected.

When it comes to aerating the greens, continue to putt and record your scores as normal. If the system warrants a PCC adjustment, then the system will work. Often golfers will invoke a “2-putt” non-rule {insert frowny face here} after aeration. This is not in The Rules of Golf. We understand that aerated greens play differently than in day-to-day conditions. Golf balls will bounce towards the hole just as often as away. Maybe the putt that would have missed would now be going in. If you wouldn’t add a putt in that situation, why would you subtract a putt if it missed?

That said, if players are completely avoiding putting out, Most Likely Score adjustments should be applied. This is the number of strokes taken, plus the number of strokes it will take the player to finish based on their own (exemplary) judgment.

----

Q: Should a player post an 18-hole score from three different tees? We played RED WHITE, BLUE on the 4th. First 6 holes we played red, then white, then blue tees. Should the score be posted as a normal round from the white tees?  

A: Yes, the scores should be posted. But posting to the white tees shouldn’t be assumed as there may need to be an adjustment to the course rating. First, add up the lengths of all of the tees played. Find the set of tees closest to that total yardage. Use the closest tee for starting point. If the RED/WHITE/BLUE yardage is less than 100 yards different from the WHITE tees, then you would post to the WHITE. If the set of tees played is between 100-300 yards different than an officially rated set of tees, there is a handy chart in the WHS Rules of Handicapping, Appendix G, section f. Modification of Courses.  

Please note that if both Men and Women are playing, there are different adjustments for each. The chart shows how much the Course Rating and Slope Rating should be adjusted for posting to GHIN. For instance, if the tee was 175 different than the White tee rating, Women’s rating should be adjusted 1.0/2 and Men would be adjusted 0.8/2.

Example from the White tee:

When posting, the golfer would choose “Manually Input Course Rating/Slope” and enter the adjusted rating. This same method can be used for calculating the adjusted Course/Slope Ratings if a hole(s) has been shortened due to construction of tee boxes or work on a fairway. This same method would not be appropriate for temporary greens.

If the adjusted yardage is more than 300 yards, that is when you would contact Course Rating Guru, Gretchen Yoder and let her do the icky math for you.

----

Q:  With a Hard Cap of my Handicap Index what use is there to post? Please remove it.

A:  There are (almost) always reasons to post scores, and very few reasons not to. Yes, even if your Handicap Index has undergone a Hard Cap. Remember that the reason for the capping procedure is to serve as a safeguard – to slow or stop a Handicap Index from extreme increases from the player’s lowest Handicap Index. We always want to know the very best the player is capable of, right? So, the system keys in on demonstrated ability over a span of time. That’s why the system compares your current Index to your Low Index over the last 365-days to see if a cap is warranted. A Hard Cap kicks in when the player has gone 5.0 strokes above their Low HI. This represents a significant rise.  

Players not only need to stay aware of what their Low HI is, it’s important to note when it was established. Are you reaching its anniversary date? If so, your Low HI is about to change, and therefore your Handicap Index will likely change, too.

----

A Hard Cap cannot be removed simply because a player wants it to be. It would only be modified should the club’s Committee deem it necessary for fair play and only if the player has a medical condition that has caused the loss of form.

Q:  How do I view scores posted of other golfers? And, can you please change my settings so it won’t show the date I golfed on, just the month and year? I’ve seen this on other profiles but can’t figure out how to change it on mine.

A:  What you are referring to is the display of scoring records depending on who is viewing them. Members of your own club can see the month-day-year of your score and the course name. Members who are not in your own club can only see month-year with no course name. What might surprise a lot of golfers are that these displays are actually compliance issues per the Rules of Handicapping and have nothing to do with the GHIN tech platform or mere setting changes. The members of your club must see all scoring details to comply with Peer Review standards (there’s that pesky Peer Review again acting like the adult in the room!).

To see this info, you would go to ghin.com or the GHIN mobile app and go to GOLFER LOOKUP. You can look up ALL GOLFERS or MY CLUBS. The My Clubs golfers are your fellow members. For ALL GOLFERS you would type in the First Name (optional) and the Last Name or GHIN #. Once you have the list come up you will be able to click on the player’s name to get into their record.

If you wish to “FOLLOW” a golfer, you will see a star by their name – click the star to enable it. Then you can build a list of FOLLOWING in your app or online. It’s a more benign and acceptable way of stalking.

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