HANDICAPPING

The "need to know terms in golf handicapping."

USGA and CONGU, a comparison

USGA Slope System

COURSE SLOPE:

Course slope is the measurement of the playing difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers. The slope ratings range from 55 to 155. Different Tees will carry different slope ratings.

A course of standard playing ability would have a slope of 113.

COURSE RATING:

Course rating is a number representing the playing ability of a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions. As with slope course ratings different Tees will carry different course ratings.

ESC:

Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) is the downward adjustment of an individual hole score. This is intended to make the handicaps more representative of a players ability. The following chart is used to make the adjustment:

Course Handicap Maximum Score

Less than 9 Double Bogey

10 – 19 7

20 – 29 8

30 – 39 9

40 – 49 10

50 or more 11

DIFFERENTIAL:

The handicap differential is calculated by subtracting the course rating from the ESC score, multiplying it by 113, then dividing it by the course slope. Handicap differentials are expressed as a number rounded to one decimal place, e.g. 19.2

ESC Score - course rating * 113 / course slope = differential

HANDICAP INDEX:

A handicap index is a number that represents a players potential ability on a course of standard playing difficulty. The handicap index is calculated by the average of differentials being used and multiplying it by .96.

The handicap index is then used to calculate a course handicap. The number of differentials to use in calculating the handicap index is based on the following table:

Number of Scores Differentials to use

5 or 6 Lowest 1

7 or 8 Lowest 2

9 or 10 Lowest 3

11 or 12 Lowest 4

13 or 14 Lowest 5

15 or 16 Lowest 6

17 Lowest 7

18 Lowest 8

19 Lowest 9

20 or more Lowest 10 of the last 20

COURSE HANDICAP:

A course handicap is calculated by multiplying the handicap index by the slope of the course played and dividing by 113.

handicap index * slope/113 = course handicap

A player with less than 5 scores will use the maximum index of 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women.

Congress Of National Golf Unions(CONGU)

The CONGU Handicapping system is based on current game performance. Your last round score will generally affect your handicap.

Generally a starting handicap is assigned after the submission of three score cards.

Adjusted Score:

Unlike The ESC under USGA, CONGU allows double bogey(+2) maximum, on any hole..

e.g.. If a player of any handicap shoots 8 on a par 5, the maximum score allowed for that hole is 7

Standard scratch & Gross Score:

Standard scratch for the course somewhat resembles Course Rating in the USGA system. ( 71,73,72 etc.)

Gross Score = Number of strokes - Standard Scratch.

Adjusted Gross Score = Gross Score - hole adjustments described above.

A Starting Handicap Example:

Joe Golfers first three rounds

Round	Strokes	Standard Scratch	Gross Score	Adj. Gross Score
1	110	71	39	30
2	103	72	31	25
3	88	69	19	17

Joe Golfers starting Handicap is:

Accumulated Adjusted Gross Scores / 3 = 72 / 3 = 24.0

Golfer Categories

There are 4 Golfer Categories in the CONGU System

Category	Handicap Range	Buffer Zone	Reduction per Shot	Increase per Round
1	0.1 - 5.4	+1	-0.1	-0.1
2	5.5 - 12.4	+2	-0.2	-0.1
3	12.5 - 20.4	+3	-0.3	-0.1
4	20.5 - 28.0	+4	-0.4	-0.1

For each subsequent round that is submitted the following occurs :

Determine the Rounds Net Score.

e.g. Gross Score - Current Handicap

Determine what Category this Golfer falls into based on current handicap.

If Net Score is greater than Golfers Category Buffer Zone then simply add 0.1 to Golfers Handicap

If Net Score Ranges from 0 to Buffer zone handicap is then unchanged.

If Net score is negative then for each shot less than 0, the Golfers Handicap is reduced by the amount specified by the category he/she is currently in.

Joe Golfers starting handicap of 24 puts him in Category 4. following are the adjustments made to his handicap based on subsequent rounds submitted :

Strokes	Scratch	Gross Score	HC	Net HC Score	Hc Adj.	Active Handicap
94	72	22	24	-2	2* 0.4=0.8	23.2
95	71	24	23.2	+1	0 (within buffer zone +4)	23.2
100	71	29	23.2	+6	+0.1(outside buffer zone +4)	23.3