Handicapping Rule Change

[AlfaGolfer]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Not sure I follow you. Either you're honest or not. The same goes for the person with not many posted scores as they are casual rounds or the one's who claim they've really practiced a lot and not posted scores or only on unfamiliar courses but play solo at the lub and are not allowed to post their score.

Heck may as well play lights out and miss those 3'ers here are there and post a higher score.

Seems pretty stupid to me.

Agreed.

Not posting rounds suggests that one is playing less than they actually are. Someone who plays regularly and doesn't post scores, then shoots an event score that would be more likely for someone who plays regularly will likely be called a sandbagger. Not posting scores results in a less than accurate reflection of one's potential, which is what the system is based on.

[Weirfan]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Not sure I follow you. Either you're honest or not. The same goes for the person with not many posted scores as they are casual rounds or the one's who claim they've really practiced a lot and not posted scores or only on unfamiliar courses but play solo at the lub and are not allowed to post their score.

Heck may as well play lights out and miss those 3'ers here are there and post a higher score.

Seems pretty stupid to me.

my apologies, perhaps I misinterpreted this part of your post.

"Most of my social rounds were just fun too, with very little regard to follow every rule to the nth degree. I posted my scores and if anything would be accused of a vanity cap."

I interpreted this to mean that you didn't always follow the rules properly and as such posted lower scores than you might have obtained and thus falsely lowering your cap. I took The second part of your post as , if you now posted accurate scores under the new rules and your cap went up that you would be concerned about people calling you a Sandbagger. ( because your cap is now higher) of course they would be wrong since your cap is now accurate, but that stigma was created by your not adhering to the rules before , is what I guess I am trying to say.

so, if you had properly followed the rules from the beginning that you would not have to worry about your handicap going up , if you now so choose to change your ways and play by the rules. That is your decision either way and has nothing to do with the USGA.

as for solo rounds not counting, behavioral studies have shown that people tend to take more liberties with rules and regulations when there isn't a witness than when there is. eg: not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign in the middle of nowhere late at night.

it works both ways I suppose , but I don't care if a player shaves strokes off their score, I do if a guy plays a round and changes an 80 to an 85 because he doesn't want his cap to go down. I suppose that the intention of the new rule is to help eliminate that part by having a witness.

I've had rounds that I play by myself, where I will practice on a green , re putt a miss, drop a ball and hit a second shot, not take the flag out to putt, play 2 balls a hole, carry an extra club I might be testing etc. these are all rules contraventions and so these scores are not entered just serve as practice rounds.

I do feel for those who play a lot of solo golf, they will now need to find a partner if they want those scores to be input.

[Weirfan]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Agreed.

Not posting rounds suggests that one is playing less than they actually are.

what about practice rounds, scrambles, match play, playing 5/6/7/8 holes before dark, even range time. These are all examples of people playingthe game more and are not counted towards one's cap.

I see solo rounds being just like practice rounds now.

I'm not sure how they will enforce this new rule, and if its simply on the honor system then well then as has been said, if people want to cheat they will cheat, nothing we can do about that , but that goes for all the rules of golf.

[LobWedge]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

..match play, playing 5/6/7/8 holes before dark...

If played within the Rules, these count too.

I'm not sure how they will enforce this new rule...

It'll be a check/balance system, most likely. I post that I played today with X, and X verifies on the system that he/she did, and my score is accurate.

[Weirfan]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

If played within the Rules, these count too.

yes I suppose they are , if I'm not mistaken its left up to the individual to fill in what they think they would score on the missing holes played ?

It'll be a check/balance system, most likely. I post that I played today with X, and X verifies on the system that he/she did, and my score is accurate.

which is in itself problematic for me as outside of my US buds that I hook up with once or twice a year, I only have 2 regular golf partners who track their h/c and could serve as attestors .

[LobWedge]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

yes I suppose they are , if I'm not mistaken its left up to the individual to fill in what they get on the missing holes played ?

Correct. There's provisions in the HC manual for partial 9 and 18 hole rounds.

which is in itself problematic for me as outside of my US buds that I hook up with once or twice a year, I only have 2 regular golf partners who track their h/c and could serve as attestors .

I'm certain these, and many other questions are being addressed in the move towards a unified system.

[Galted]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Can you give me the Course Rating and length of the course?

69.0 117 6152

[OKHC]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Hi Galted;

at first glance it does seem like the slope rating is taking wild swings at your course, but:
slope rating = (113/21) * (bogey rating - course rating);
so, assuming (somewhat unreasonably, but not crazily) that the course rating stayed at 69.0 at your course,
a bogey rating (BR) of 90 yields a slope rating (SR) of 115;
BR 91 yields SR 117;
BR 92 yields SR 124;
BR 93 yields SR 130.
So if the course raters, over the years, vary the BR from 90 to 93, as the trees grow, etc., the SR varies from 115 to 130, and I'll suggest that these swings aren't as wild as you were thinking.

[aaagc]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Thanks for doing the math OKHC. I agree with your suggestion.

Incidentally, with only an average difficulty allowance, I calculate the course rating is actually pushing 70.

[gotogolf]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

I get a headache reading all of this.....

Have fun and record a score as accurate as you can and don't sandbag..... All this quibbling over a game that is supposed to be fun.

I play alone and will continue to post and sure it won't help me at all in any club event I do participate in.

Every time I read or hear a story about a career round or core well below one's cap in a competitive situation I have to wonder.

[AlfaGolfer]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

what about practice rounds, scrambles, match play, playing 5/6/7/8 holes before dark, even range time. These are all examples of people playingthe game more and are not counted towards one's cap.

I see solo rounds being just like practice rounds now.

I'm not sure how they will enforce this new rule, and if its simply on the honor system then well then as has been said, if people want to cheat they will cheat, nothing we can do about that , but that goes for all the rules of golf.

If a competitive golfer, one who plays in net or flighted events, plays, for example 60 rounds a season and declares 40 of those as practice rounds and therefore doesn't enter them in their record, then I would say that is inappropriate and a form of sandbagging.

Match play rounds must be recorded in one's record.

Yes, if someone wants to cheat, they will, whether there's another golfer present or not so, why provide an opportunity to avoid peer review through scrutiny of one's scoring record by disallowing rounds played alone?

[AlfaGolfer]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Hi Galted;

at first glance it does seem like the slope rating is taking wild swings at your course, but:
slope rating = (113/21) * (bogey rating - course rating);
so, assuming (somewhat unreasonably, but not crazily) that the course rating stayed at 69.0 at your course,
a bogey rating (BR) of 90 yields a slope rating (SR) of 115;
BR 91 yields SR 117;
BR 92 yields SR 124;
BR 93 yields SR 130.
So if the course raters, over the years, vary the BR from 90 to 93, as the trees grow, etc., the SR varies from 115 to 130, and I'll suggest that these swings aren't as wild as you were thinking.

What is the 21?

[Weirfan]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

If a competitive golfer, one who plays in net or flighted events, plays, for example 60 rounds a season and declares 40 of those as practice rounds and therefore doesn't enter them in their record, then I would say that is inappropriate and a form of sandbagging.

Match play rounds must be recorded in one's record.

Yes, if someone wants to cheat, they will, whether there's another golfer present or not so, why provide an opportunity to avoid peer review through scrutiny of one's scoring record by disallowing rounds played alone?

without playing out the hole in match play ,particularly 2 man team play which is what I play most, how is one to establish a valid score without playing out the hole to completion. A player can be out of a hole after a tee shot, holes are conceded with out players even reaching the green.

[Pingnut]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

Hopefully it is not too late to pull my scoring record out of the gao/rcga website.. Don't think I will be using this year. I play most of my rounds as a single. Will find another system to track my cap and keep my scoring.

[OKHC]

Re: Handicapping Rule Change

hi AlfaG:

the 21 comes from the equation in the Handicap System Manual;
I think that Dean Knuth, the inventor of the Slope Rating System, would say that 21 is the handicap index of a bogey golfer.

(Americans have handicap indexes; Canadians have handicap factors but that's a different discussion).