PGA OVERSEAS PRO AM HANDICAPPING POLICY The PGA Overseas Pro Am Handicapping Policy is designed to explain how PGA staff manage handicapping for PGA Overseas Pro Ams. The policy is necessary because each governing body territory has a fundamentally different handicapping system, thus golfers from these different areas are accustomed to different methods on handicapping, each of which ultimately has a different affect on the numbers of strokes received by each player. Equally, amateur golfers with handicaps from Europe or America require their handicaps to be converted for every competitive round depending on which course, or set of tees they play from that day. This is completely alien to amateurs from the UK. The objective of the PGA Overseas Pro Am Handicapping Policy is to find the most equitable system possible when amateur golfers originating from different governing body territories are competing in the same event. GENERAL For the purpose of this document please note the following words and abbreviations, and their meaning; CONGU EGA USGA Council of National Golf Unions The authorising body of the only official handicap for golfers resident in Great Britain and Ireland. European Golf Association Governing body for the EGA Handicap System which is used for handicapping all golfers based in Europe. United States Golf Association Governing body for the USGA Handicap System which is used for handicapping all golfers based in America. DEFINITIONS Course Rating Slope Rating Course Handicap Table An evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions. It is based on yardage and all other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring ability of a scratch golfer. Indicates the measurement of the relative difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers, compared to the Course Rating. A course of standard or neutral playing difficulty has a slope of 113, more difficult courses have higher values while easier courses have lower values. Also known as a Slope Table. A pre-calculated table which allows a player to convert their Handicap Index into a Course Handicap for the particular course being played that day. See example at the end of this document.
Handicap Index Course Handicap Also known as EGA Exact Handicap. Indicates the measurement of a player s potential ability on a course of standard playing difficulty (Slope 113). It is expressed as a number taken to one decimal place (e.g. 18.6) and is used for conversion to a Course Handicap. The handicap given to an EGA/USGA player after his Handicap Index has been converted using the Slope Table for that course or tee. Competition Playing Handicap The handicap the PGA will assign to a CONGU player in an overseas Pro Am after his CONGU handicap has been converted into an EGA/USGA type handicap. This figure will be a number to one decimal place initially. It must then be rounded either up or down to the nearest whole number as normal in order to give the Competition Playing Handicap from which any ¾ handicap allowance can be calculated.
BACKGROUND In each calendar year the PGA administer up to 30 overseas Pro Am tournaments including those on behalf of The Pro Am Tour, Golfbreaks.com, the PGA s of Europe as well as various PGA County, Regional and National Pro Ams. Unfortunately the handicapping policies adopted by governing bodies worldwide (i.e. how amateur s handicaps are achieved, maintained and applied) are not the same. In the UK and Ireland the CONGU handicapping system is used, in mainland Europe the EGA Handicap System is used and in America USGA Handicap System is used. Here is a brief outline of each system; CONGU a competition scratch score (CSS) is calculated on each tournament day derived from the percentage of players from each handicap category and their score in relation to their handicap. Player s handicaps are then adjusted after the tournament depending on their score in relation to the CSS. Players full handicap remains unchanged regardless of which course or which tees the player uses on any given day. EGA Handicapping System each golf course is allocated a slope rating depending on its pre determined difficulty. Players handicaps are then adjusted using a pre determined slope table to give them a new handicap for the course and tee they are playing that day. For example this may mean that a player with a handicap of 11 may get 12 shots on a particularly difficult course or 10 shots on an easier course or forward tee. As in the CONGU system handicaps are based on all previous results. USGA Handicapping System each course is allocated a slope rating in the same way as the EGA system, however a players handicap is based only on their last 20 rounds so as to give a more accurate reflection of their current level of play. Note: It is important to realise that amateurs from outside the jurisdiction of the USGA, EGA or CONGU may play in a PGA administered event. In such cases it is likely that this policy will still be appropriate to use if the originating handicap has been formulated ina similar way to any of these methods. PGA staff should seek to clarify this provenance before deciding which part of the policy to use for such individuals. Throughout this policy however, only EGA and USGA handicaps will be referred to.
APPLICATION OF HANDICAPS IN TOURNAMENTS Difficulties will inevitably occur when golfers from different handicapping systems play in the same tournament. Since all three systems are different there is no way of completely unifying all three systems. This is an emotive subject. Very often amateur golfers are understandably unaware of the mechanics of alternative systems to their own. There are, however, several formulas proposed by the various governing bodies to help convert handicaps between various systems in order to minimise any relative advantage or disadvantage to players in the same event. With this in mind the PGA adopt the following policy to create as near to parity as possible although it should be noted that no policy, this included, can ever create 100% parity and fairness for all competitors in an event. The following examples constitute the likely field composition of PGA Pro Ams and try to explain how handicaps will be administered by the PGA in each case. (i) Overseas Pro Ams with only CONGU handicap players All players to play from their CONGU handicaps with no consideration for course ratings or slope. Usually the PGA will apply a ¾ handicap allowance to each players full handicap. (ii) Overseas Pro Ams with only EGA or USGA handicaps All players to slope their Handicap Index depending on the slope rating of the course and/or tee to be used that day, which will give them a course handicap. (iii) Overseas Pro Ams with a combination of CONGU and EGA or USGA handicaps There is no way to convert an EGA/USGA handicap to CONGU but there is a formula, documented by the EGA and USGA, to convert a CONGU handicap to a sloped handicap. Therefore when there is a mixture of handicaps the PGA follow the guidelines set out by these organisations and convert the CONGU handicaps using the following formula; Competition Playing Handicap = CONGU exact handicap + (course rating par) This is as close as we can get to a level playing field as both EGA/USGA and CONGU handicaps can be adjusted to reflect the difficulty of the course and/or tee being used that day. (iv) Use of different tees for amateurs during same tournament (Women or Seniors) Some operators of overseas Pro Ams would like for some of their customers to play from different tees to make the competition more enjoyable for all e.g. allowing seniors to play from a forward tee to make the course more playable for them by reducing carries to fairways, making par 3 s more accessible...etc.
The only way to do this fairly would be to convert all CONGU handicaps to USGA handicaps using the formula, regardless of whether any USGA or EGA amateurs are in the event or not. Competition Playing Handicap = CONGU exact handicap + (course rating par) This way each player s handicap would be adjusted fairly to reflect the tee they play from e.g. players would likely get relatively fewer shots if they played from a forward tee or easier course than the majority of the field. The same process would occur in the event of women amateur competing in the event. In the past there has been a requirement for the PGA to move the ladies tees to ensure the course rating for the men and women was about the same (thus no courtesy shots would be required). By converting all CONGU to USGA handicaps there is no longer a need to do this as handicaps are adjusted to reflect the comparative difficulty of the tees being used by the women.
CASE STUDIES The following 6 case studies attempt to put the policy in context: Case Study 1 Question: A player with a CONGU handicap of 18.6 plays in the BEKO pro-am in Turkey a country which adopts the EGA handicapping system. He is one of only a handful of non Turkish nationals that are playing in the tournament. All amateurs will be playing from the yellow tees. At this particular course the par from the yellow tees is 72 and the course rating from the yellow tees is 71.2. What is the player s handicap for the tournament? Answer: Using the formula the player s competition playing handicap will be; 18.6 + (71.2-72) = 18.6 + (-0.8) = 17.8 Therefore his competition playing handicap would be 18 for the tournament (this is the handicap before any ¾ allowance deductions) Competitors with EGA handicaps will apply the slope from the Course Handicap Table to their EGA Exact Handicap to give the Course Handicap. Any ¾ allowance necessary to apply will be calculated on the Course Handicap. Case Study 2 Question: In a Golfbreaks pro-am at Valderrama in Spain all competitors have a CONGU handicap from the UK. Do we have to convert all their handicaps to EGA? Answer: No, there is no need to convert handicaps in this case as all amateurs will be playing from the same tees and the fact they are all CONGU means that the comparative handicaps will be fair. However, if there is a desire to play amateurs from different tees (e.g. if women are playing) then please refer to Example 4. Case Study 3 Question: In Example 2 above, what would be the case if one Spanish amateur was playing in the event who has an EGA handicap? Answer: In this case you would have to convert all CONGU handicaps to EGA competition playing handicaps as per the formula as there is no way to convert the Spanish player s handicap into CONGU. This is the only option to ensure the competition is fair to all amateurs. Case Study 4
Question: An American Golf Holiday Pro-am is being played at TPC Sawgrass. All competitors are from the UK with CONGU handicaps but the tour operator want to play the amateurs from different tees depending on their age, handicap and sex to make the competition more enjoyable for all. Is this possible? Answer: Yes, by converting all CONGU handicaps to Competition Playing Handicaps this is possible. In doing so it would mean that two players with the same CONGU handicap could play from different tees and the player playing the harder course would get more strokes. E.g. Black Tees Course Rating 74.2, Par 72 White Tees Course Rating 72.9, Par 72 Yellow Tees Course Rating 71.8, Par 72 A player with an exact handicap of 12.2, for example, could play from any of the three tees and his handicap would be adjusted accordingly; Black Tees 12.2 + (74.2 72) = 14.4 Competition Playing Hcp 14 *** White Tees 12.2 + (72.9 72) = 13.1 Competition Playing Hcp 13 *** Yellow Tees 12.2 + (71.8 72) = 12.0 Competition Playing Hcp 12 *** (the Competition Playing Handicap is subject to any ¾ reductions necessary). Case Study 5 Question: What happens if a course does not have a slope rating and you have a player with a USGA/EGA handicap in the competition (e.g. The Pasha in Turkey or any UK course)? Answer: For CONGU handicaps the slope rating is deemed to be neutral meaning they just play from their exact CONGU handicap. For USGA/EGA handicaps you can calculate their handicap by; EGA Exact Handicap x (slope rating of their home course 113). The course rating of their home course can usually be found on their handicap certificate. If the information of their home course is not available then it is acceptable to use their EGA exact handicap. Case Study 6 Question: How do I use a slope table to determine a player s course handicap? Answer: This is very straightforward. Using the enclosed slope table as an example - a USGA player with an exact handicap of 7.1 you would simply find the range that she falls
into (i.e. 6.9 to 7.6 in this case) and therefore her course handicap would be 9 for that set of tees on that golf course. The slope table also provides you with a course rating (77.1) which allows you to convert a CONGU handicap to a competition playing handicap. Let s assume the par of the blue course is 74, so a lady from the UK with a CONGU handicap of 10.0, for example, would have a competition playing handicap of; 10.0 + (77.1 74) = 13.1 -> 13 *** IMPORTANT NOTE *** *** BY USING THE FORMULA TO CONVERT CONGU HANDICAPS TO COMPETITION PLAYING HANDICAPS, ANY SLOPE/COURSE HANDICAP TABLE IS NOT USED. i.e. IN CASE STUDY 6 ABOVE THE PLAYER WOULD PLAY OFF 13, YOU WOULD NOT TAKE 13 AND APPLY IT TO THE SLOPE TABLE. YOU ONLY USE THE SLOPE TABLE FOR PLAYERS WHO HAVE PERMANENT EGA/USGA HANDICAPS ***
EXAMPLE OF A COURSE HANDICAP TABLE Each club will have several Course Handicap Tables, one for each set of tees for that course. This section shows the name of the club, the tees which the accompanying figures apply to, the Course Rating and the Slope Rating. All this information is relevant to the PGA Overseas Pro Am Handicapping Policy. This section shows ranges of Handicap Index each of which is equal to a Course Handicap for this particular set of tees. See Case Study 6. Shaker Ridge Country Club provide golfers with some further instructions on how to use the Course Handicap Table
FLOW CHART NO Are there only CONGU handicap players competing? YES Are there only EGA or USGA players competing? YES Are all the amateurs going to play from the same tees? NO YES No need to convert any handicaps NO You will need to find the slope table of the course or tee and use it to convert all of the EGA/USGA Exact Handicaps into their respective Course Handicaps. You must convert all CONGU handicaps to Competition Playing Handicaps using the formula: Competition Playing Handicap = CONGU Exact Handicap + (Course Rating Par) You will need to find the slope table of the course or tee and use it to convert all of the EGA/USGA Exact Handicaps into their respective Course Handicaps. AND You must convert all CONGU handicaps to Competition Playing Handicaps using the formula: Competition Playing Handicap = CONGU Exact Handicap + (Course Rating Par)