The Clubs of Kingwood Handicap Policy

Transcription

1 The Clubs of Kingwood Handicap Policy (Rev 1, December 6, 2015) Revision Summary The Handicap Committee has met and reviewed the feedback from members of the Clubs of Kingwood post implementation of the Handicap Policy. As a result, there are significant changes to the Handicap Policy that the Committee believes to be appropriate. They are detailed in the Policy below, but the following is a brief summary of the revisions: While upward adjustments will be calculated, there will be no upward adjustments used except as specified at the discretion of the MGA or club for specific events. No adjustments will be posted to GHIN through Downward adjustments will be posted to GHIN starting January 1, For the host of the event will determine the index that will be used in the event. A report of all tournament indexes will be available on the MGA websites, in the pro shops and men s locker rooms. Due to 2016 USGA rules changes, 50% of scores posted to rounds played will be considered adequate. Advance notice of tournament scores not posted by one of our club professionals is not required. However, if the score cannot be authenticated, it may result in removal of your GHIN account for one year. While this has always been true, the following wording has been added. All adjustments are subject to appeal by the player, if he feels that he has special circumstances that need to be considered in the adjustment calculation. Appeals should be submitted in writing to one of the following (see below) and a request for a meeting to discuss should be included. Preamble For some time, there have been complaints regarding the integrity of handicap indexes at The Clubs of Kingwood, both indexes that are suspiciously high and ones that are too low. As a result, several months metrics have been gathered and audited for all members with a USGA Index on the GHIN system. The data gathered will be used to adjust a player s USGA Index where appropriate, up or down, based solely on acceptable scores. The following explains the process. Precept According to USGA guidelines you should shoot your target score (course rating plus course handicap) 20-25% of the time (see the article at the end of this document). You should play by The Rules of Golf and try your best on every shot, in every round and post your adjusted gross score. Adjusted, means

2 Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) must be used. ESC limits the maximum gross score for any given hole based on the player s handicap that can be used. See USGA table below for that information. With few exceptions one is not likely to have a higher target score percentage in tournament play than non-tournament play. Discovery What was discovered in the audit process for the last 12 months of data was very disturbing. More than 60% of indexes are subject to adjustment due to one or more of the following metrics: All scores are not being posted for rounds played. For our purposes we chose 70% of rounds played as our goal to determine if all scores are being posted. The USGA would prefer that this be 100%, but due to circumstances beyond our control at this time, a requirement of 100% is not feasible and would be unfair. Target score percentage for non-tournament play was not consistent with target score percentage in tournament play. In many cases the non-tournament play target score percentage was much less than 25% and the tournament target score percentage was much greater than 25% Acceptable Index In order to have a USGA Index on the GHIN system that is considered acceptable a member s scoring history must meet the following criteria: An adjusted gross score must be posted for a minimum of 50% of non-tournament rounds played. Any less than 50% renders non-tournament scores unacceptable as they are only a partial indication of the player s scoring potential. Non-tournament play target score percentage and tournament target score percentage must meet one of the following: Adjustment 1. Both are 25% or less and tournament play is greater than non-tournament play 2. If both are greater than 25%, non-tournament play target score percentage must be greater than or equal to the tournament target score percentage. Failing to meet the above criteria will result in the calculation of an index adjustment based on the last 24 months of acceptable scores. If the adjustment is down, the player s USGA Index on the GHIN system will be adjusted down by the calculated adjustment starting January 1, Up adjustments will not be posted to GHIN. An index that has been adjusted will appear on the GHIN system followed by the letter M. The MGA or club may specify for any specific ABCD event that up adjustments will be used. All adjustments will be recalculated semi-monthly. Any adjustment will be removed once a player s scoring history meets the criteria for a legitimate index stated above. During the period of adjustment,

3 the GHIN system will continue to calculate the player s index as usual on the 1 st and 15 th of each month. When the adjustment is removed the index calculated by the GHIN system will be used. For the host of the event will determine the index that will be used in the event. A report of all tournament indexes will be available on the MGA websites, in the pro shops, and men s locker rooms. Adjustment Down (if any of the following exist) Scores posted less than 50% Tournament target score % is greater than non-tournament play target score % and greater than 25% Adjustment Up (if ALL of the following exist) Scores posted equal to or greater than 50% Tournament index is greater than 0.0 Tournament target score % is less than non-tournament play target score % Tournament target score % is less than 25% Adjustment Appeal All adjustments are subject to appeal by the player, if he feels that he has special circumstances that need to be considered in the adjustment calculation. Appeals should be submitted in writing to one of the following and a request for a meeting to discuss should be included. Darrell Fuston, Director of Golf for the Clubs of Kingwood o darrell.fuston@clubcorp.com o George Sullins, Handicap Chair for the Clubs of Kingwood o gsullins11@gmail.com o Tournament Scores Advance notice of tournament scores not posted by one of our club professionals is not required. However, if the score cannot be authenticated, it may result in removal of your GHIN account for one year. Implementation This policy revision is effective as of December 6, All handicap adjustments have been removed from GHIN.

4 Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) ESC is an adjustment of individual hole scores in order to make handicaps more representative of a player's potential ability. ESC is applied after the round and is only used when the actual score or the most likely score exceeds a player s maximum number. ESC sets a limit to the number of strokes a player can take on a hole depending on Course Handicap. Apply ESC to all scores, including tournament scores. Below is the maximum number a player can take: Course Handicap Maximum Number 9 or less Double Bogey and above 10

5 TARGET SCORE - DID I PLAY TO MY HANDICAP? By Eric Lahman, Coordinator, Handicapping & Course Rating To acquire a better understanding of the USGA Handicap System, wouldn't it be nice to know what "Playing to Your Handicap" means and whether you should do this every time? The system is built around the concept of Course Rating, which impacts us all even though its definition ties to a "scratch" golfer. When you are given handicap strokes, you receive the number of strokes necessary to play to the level of a scratch golfer. If the scratch golfer is supposed to shoot the Course Rating, then those handicap strokes relate to the Course rating as well. We use the phrase "target score" regarding playing to your Handicap. How is a target score determined? First, go through the normal process of converting a Handicap Index to a Course Handicap. Then add that Course Handicap to the Course Rating. For example, a player with a USGA Handicap Index of 16.3 decides to play a course with a USGA Course Rating of 68.9 and a Slope Rating of 129. That player converts the 16.3 to a Course Handicap of 19 (using Course Handicap Tables or "Conversion Charts"), then adds 19 to 68.9, for a total of 88 (rounded). If the player shoots 88, that player has played to his or her Handicap. So playing to your handicap is not exclusively a matter of whether you have hit the ball well or the number of putts you had, but a measurable number. It is NOT how your net score relates to par. How often should a player do this? Recognize that your worst scores are not truly utilized in the calculation of a Handicap Index; only the best 10 scores are utilized and the worst 10 are disregarded, then the best 10 are averaged. This ratio tells us playing to a handicap happens less than half of the time. Including all of the handicap formula, the resulting probability is that playing to your handicap happens only once out of four to five rounds. The USGA isn't out to discourage you, but in order to maintain a semblance of equitable competition for players with differing skills in varying formats, we have determined this probability as the best choice for our formula. If we used all scores, those players with higher handicaps would see their values increase significantly, while those with lower values would not increase as much. This would tip the balance of the system heavily toward higher handicap players. We believe there should be an incentive toward improving one's game. We can't all be scratch golfers, but we can set a target to strive for to play to our handicap - and we can determine what that means. And don't get discouraged if you only play to your handicap percent of the time.