Getting a handicap at your club?

[billyg]

Like a number of other GMers on here ive just changed club and the missus and I are seriously in the hunt to get an H/C certificate this season( if for no other reason than we won't be able to play most of the continental tracks if we go on a golfing holiday there)

I'm getting mixed messages about how one goes about doing this. The rule about 3 cards seems straight forward enough but how they are to be marked does not.

In the past ive been told that you need to at least play in a pair, exchange cards and log your own scores in the markers column while your playing partner becomes player 1. You must sign and date the card at the end of the round when you exchange them.

These then go into the H/C post box or handed to the secretary who waves a magic wand over them(ive looked at how to calculate a H/C and it's seems unbelievably complicated) and produces your H/C certificate.

GMers seem to mention a lot about class 1 , class 2 and so forth which I'll hazard a guess and say is something to do with H/C banding or thresholds for the purpose of competition?

There seems to be room for cheating here but I suppose that there is nothing to be gained by claiming a smaller score apart from a cheats' misguided prestige while to 'lag' ones score up could help in competition of course.

I'm slightly mystified when I hear of cards being turned in by self-markers and solo golfers.

Is the above correct?

bill

 

[TonyN]

Good question, handicaps have long baffled me, cant wait for this one to be cleared up, bet it wont take long.

 

[GB72]

I am going through the process at the moment but not sure that my comments will clear things up. The ruling at my club is that the card must be marked and signed by a person who is 'acceptable to the handicap committee'. The advice I have been given by the club is that this would be anyone who themselves holds a current handicap certificate. Never heard of being able to mark and submit your own cards.

 

[Toad]

For CONGU "Council of National Golf Unions" handicap your club will ask you to submit three (or more) cards for consideration. A calculation is performed on each of the cards to discount any strokes you will have taken which are more than 2 over the par of any hole. The card with the lowest total (after this calculation) is then used to allocate a handicap. Your handicap is likely to be the difference between this total and the "Standard Scratch Score" of the course.

You will be given an "Exact Handicap" which will (typically) be a whole number and can be changed to a decimal number (e.g. 22.4)
One of those rounds need to be a Medal and you have to have all of your cards marked by someone with a recognised handicap.

 

[billyg]

One of those rounds need to be a Medal and you have to have all of your cards marked by someone with a recognised handicap.

If that's the case the missus and I are FUBAR'd!

Medal play is all we do at the moment but the second condition is going to be difficult to comply with.

just found this:

http://www.congu.com

Haven't had a chance to digest it yet but the answers probably lie here.

 

[bunkered]

Billyg its not rocket sicence, just wait till the season starts and hand in three cards that have been marked by another member and you will get a handicap, let the match secretary worry about how to work it out thats what he or she is there for,

 

[billyg]

Billyg its not rocket sicence, just wait till the season starts and hand in three cards that have been marked by another member and you will get a handicap, let the match secretary worry about how to work it out thats what he or she is there for,

Thats all well and good D but the only other member I know is the missus at the moment (with no handicap either)

Ive been looking over the handicap rules on the Congu site and it seems to be calculated in the following way:

1.Turn three cards in
2. Trim all gross hole scores to a maximum of 2 over gross par where neccisary.
3. Tot this up and deduct SSS from this trimmed total gross score.
4. Result= handicap
5. Take best diff. of three cards and use for handicap.

If this is the case (takes cover) even after two pretty cr@p rounds at the new club (no more since as i'm out of circulation with 'A Beckham') I would come in with an H/C of 26.

I know big hole scores are trimmed to even off nightmares but it's still perfectly possible to play a few blinders,a few gross pars, a handful of gross bogies , a few doubles and the rest replacing your clubs with an Uzi and still make a H/C of 28!

The problem remains of finding a legitimate person to ratify my(our) cards. I'm not interested in cheating- even by accident.

bill

 

[bunkered]

Billyg i think you will find 99.9% folk at your golf club will be legit.

 

[madandra]

Billyg,

You can normally hand in 2 cards that have been marked by a member of the committee and/or and ordinary member and 1 card from a medal as long as you play the long course and also a full course with no alterations to the lenghth

 

[billyg]

Billyg i think you will find 99.9% folk at your golf club will be legit.

Not wishing to labour the point D as you are of course no doubt entirely correct but unless one of these people actually comes round and watches me play the strokes- how will they know?

 

[AliB]

Bill
Any club worth its salt (and some more besides) should help you out. Speak to the pro, the handicap secretary or any committee member. Someone should offer to play with you to mark your card. It's also an opportunity for them to check you know local rules, etiquette etc. Its in the club's interest to get this done as you won't be eligible for comps otherwise.
Good luck!

AliB

 

[Marko77]

If its anything like our club we have a list of members willing to accompany new members on merit rounds. Some will play, some will just walk round and mark the card. I hope they wouldn't sign a card presented to them without them actually witnessing the score.

Make an enquiry with the h/c secretary - they will (should) know best and advise you accordingly.

 

[billyg]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Hope the discussion helps some of the other GMers facing a similar situation.

Next stop the H/C sec. to get things squared up.

cheers,

bill

 

[TonyN]

Certainly helped me out, cheers everyone!

 

[viscount17]

billy, my club did this slightly differently.

standard three cards signed by a member (handicap holder), none were required to be from a competition as without the handicap you are not eligible to play.

I didn't know any one to play with to get cards signed. At our club you can contact the handicap secretary who will put you in touch with members prepared to do this. My first signed round was with the h/cap secretary - nice bloke, ex-RN. Others were with guys I met around the course.

don't know how mrs billy will take this but it may be politic for her to contact the ladies h/cap secretary (if there is one) or the lady captain to arrange at least one of her signed rounds.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My club is similar. You can put 3 cards in without having to play in a medal. As long as they were from the white markers and you went around in s 3 or 4 ball that was sufficient.