A question about course rating

[rulefan]

I don't seem to have a copy but if I remember correctly, our club manager was notified of the new ratings by email, which included the par for the course, which we then queried and requested changing.

Was that the course par or hole pars?

 

[wjemather]

Was that the course par or hole pars?

Sorry, I don't recall. Possibly the course par which led to discovery of the hole pars when it was 3 strokes lower than the existing tee set.

 

[rulefan]

Sorry, I don't recall. Possibly the course par which led to discovery of the hole pars when it was 3 strokes lower than the existing tee set.

I have spoken to our county executive member responsible for rating and he says there has been no correspondence or direction from EG on the matter. If the team leader notices a significant disparity between the club's par for a hole and WHS they may mention it to the club but our county has not given any instructions. In fact when I was responsible I don't actually remember any team leader noting the hole par. Certainly no one ever mentioned an issue to me.

 

[tobybarker]

This isn't true since golfers only play to handicap (or better) about 1/5 of the time, on average. Their expected scores are at least a stroke or two higher than this.

so if someone keeps scoring net par (plus or minus 1) then their HCP is too high, would you say? we have a couple of guys who win everything but their numbers never seem to move even though they submit cards regularly

 

[tobybarker]

I think it just negates the difference in distances!

If the ladies are forced to play off the whites at my place, theyre given an additional number of strokes on top of their Playing Handicap.

there are several holes here that the ladies wouldn't even get it as far as the ladies' tee from the whites, so extra shots wouldn't help.

 

[rulefan]

I have spoken to our county executive member responsible for rating and he says there has been no correspondence or direction from EG on the matter. If the team leader notices a significant disparity between the club's par for a hole and WHS they may mention it to the club but our county has not given any instructions. In fact when I was responsible I don't actually remember any team leader noting the hole par. Certainly no one ever mentioned an issue to me.

I have had it confirmed by EG that the county rating teams are not authorised to alter hole pars but may (not must) point out variances with the WHS recommendations.

 

[wjemather]

so if someone keeps scoring net par (plus or minus 1) then their HCP is too high, would you say? we have a couple of guys who win everything but their numbers never seem to move even though they submit cards regularly

Handicaps are calculated relative to the Course Rating, adjusted for Slope.

In GB&I, par is pretty much only relevant for calculating 9-hole Course Handicaps, mixed tee adjustments (in Stableford), and nett double-bogey/par/par+1.

 

[wjemather]

I have had it confirmed by EG that the county rating teams are not authorised to alter hole pars but may (not must) point out variances with the WHS recommendations.

I'd say that technically the teams in question weren't altering pars, but assigning pars to a new set of tees. No doubt if the ratings had been done during a visit, rather than remotely, the clubs would have been consulted/advised.

 

[tobybarker]

Handicaps are calculated relative to the Course Rating, adjusted for Slope.

In GB&I, par is pretty much only relevant for calculating 9-hole Course Handicaps, mixed tee adjustments (in Stableford), and nett double-bogey/par/par+1.

Thanks. What I guess I was getting at is that people regularly playing to their handicap (net par, 36 points etc) tend to win stuff, because few of us do (your HCP is, after all, slightly aspirational). My question would be should they be adjusted?! Probably not but it's a point that's been raised.....

 

[wjemather]

Thanks. What I guess I was getting at is that people regularly playing to their handicap (net par, 36 points etc) tend to win stuff, because few of us do (your HCP is, after all, slightly aspirational). My question would be should they be adjusted?! Probably not but it's a point that's been raised.....

No, they shouldn't be adjusted unless recommended during a review.

Playing to handicap is only (NDB adjusted) nett par or 36 points when the difference between Course Rating and par is zero (after rounding). If CR is 3 under par, playing to handicap is 39 points; if it's 3 over par, PtH is 33 points. The same was true under the previous system, with scores assessed relative to SSS/CSS.

Edit: to clarify, these PtH scores are with respect to Course Handicap, not Playing Handicap.