For the uninitiated are you able to explain the algorithm/PCC in simple terms please?
With about the same difficulty than I can explain all 8 pages of
Appendix B in the CONGU manual.
But this is what the WHS manual says:
Principle of the Rule:
Course Ratings are based on normal playing conditions, but the difficulty of a golf course can vary substantially from day to day, due to:
* Course conditions,
* Weather conditions, and/or
* Course set-up.
The playing conditions calculation (PCC) determines whether playing conditions on the day differed from normal conditions to the extent that an adjustment is needed to compensate. It is a daily statistical procedure that compares the scores submitted by players on the day against expected scoring patterns.
The purpose of this feature within the handicap calculation is to recognize that an average score submitted in harder playing conditions may be better than a good score submitted in easier playing conditions. Unadjusted, such a score may be omitted from the Handicap Index calculation.
If the PCC determines that acceptable scores submitted are in line with expected scoring patterns, then no adjustment is made.
The calculated adjustment is dependent upon:
* Whether significantly fewer players than anticipated attained their expected score and, consequently, conditions are determined to be harder than normal.
* Whether significantly more players than anticipated attained their expected score and, consequently, conditions are determined to be easier than normal.