Handicaps limits in Opens

[jim8flog]

When the new limit of 54 came in there was also a recommendation that the club should not (effectively) allow players to play in a competition where their handicap exceeded the limit. E.g. if the comp is limited to 20 a player with a handicap of 20.5 or higher cannot enter and play off 20.

Has your club adjusted their conditions of entry in this way?

Have you heard of other club's that have done this?

 

[Parsaregood]

Handicap limits are very common, a lot of open competitions where limits are 2 etc and if oversubscribed will be balloted at a lower handicap. I'd imagine a 54 handicap playing in an open may very well struggle to keep pace of play, this is very much a complete beginner level

 

[Deleted member 16999]

When the new limit of 54 came in there was also a recommendation that the club should not (effectively) allow players to play in a competition where their handicap exceeded the limit. E.g. if the comp is limited to 20 a player with a handicap of 20.5 or higher cannot enter and play off 20.

Has your club adjusted their conditions of entry in this way?

Have you heard of other club's that have done this?

The advice from CONGU in the 2018 Q&A was as follows:

Open competitions, like internal competitions, can have any entry requirement the organisers consider appropriate. However, where CONGU® Handicaps are used they are subject to the mandatory Handicap Allowances shown in Appendix F. For a 4BBB competition, 90% allowance must be used for competitions of this format.

 

[fundy]

not heard of it but think there should be some degree of tolerance if an event is not oversubscribed. For me in your example of 20 max Id probably draw the line at 24

 

[Parsaregood]

not heard of it but think there should be some degree of tolerance if an event is not oversubscribed. For me in your example of 20 max Id probably draw the line at 24

If it's 20 max, limit would be 20.4 that's where the line would be drawn

 

[rulefan]

The advice from CONGU in the 2018 Q&A was as follows:

Open competitions, like internal competitions, can have any entry requirement the organisers consider appropriate. However, where CONGU® Handicaps are used they are subject to the mandatory Handicap Allowances shown in Appendix F. For a 4BBB competition, 90% allowance must be used for competitions of this format.

If however it is a singles qualifier, the limit will apply for prize purposes but the CONGU handicap will be used for handicap system purposes (eg CSS and handicap adjustments)

 

[Deleted member 16999]

If however it is a singles qualifier, the limit will apply for prize purposes but the CONGU handicap will be used for handicap system purposes (eg CSS and handicap adjustments)

Isn’t that for Club comps, the Thread Title ask for Opens? Or is it for both?

 

[jim8flog]

The advice from CONGU in the 2018 Q&A was as follows:

Open competitions, like internal competitions, can have any entry requirement the organisers consider appropriate. However, where CONGU® Handicaps are used they are subject to the mandatory Handicap Allowances shown in Appendix F. For a 4BBB competition, 90% allowance must be used for competitions of this format.

That is not the advice I am referring to.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

That is not the advice I am referring to.

Sorry for trying to help!

 

[Vikingman]

I've played plenty of seniors opens were they limit handicaps to 20 so off 90% no one receives more than one shot per hole.

Higher handicappers can play but must play off 20.

 

[jim8flog]

Sorry for trying to help!

sorry my comment probably appeared at bit terse.

I am looking for information about how clubs limit their entries in the light of the CONGU advice about players must be allowed to play off the full handicap they have and should not have the handicap cut (obviously excluding the standard allowances).

Are clubs still allowing players with handicap higher than the limit for entry to enter but play of the highest limit?

 

[jim8flog]

I've played plenty of seniors opens were they limit handicaps to 20 so off 90% no one receives more than one shot per hole.

Higher handicappers can play but must play off 20.

Is that in the past year? The recommendation only came in last year.

 

[Old Skier]

Is that in the past year? The recommendation only came in last year.

90% for BB

If the handicap allowance for an open (or any comp) is 20 then players with HC over 20.4 should not play.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

sorry my comment probably appeared at bit terse.

I am looking for information about how clubs limit their entries in the light of the CONGU advice about players must be allowed to play off the full handicap they have and should not have the handicap cut (obviously excluding the standard allowances).

Are clubs still allowing players with handicap higher than the limit for entry to enter but play of the highest limit?

No worries,
Found this from National Club Golfer, not sure if it helps:

Do we have to allow maximum handicaps in every competition?
It’s totally up to the golf club. What we have to establish is that a player has the right to access competition. What that form of competition may be is up to however that club wants to design it to suit them.
They don’t have to have access to every single event, just as a golfer doesn’t have the right to access every single event that England Golf run.
There are certain events that might have a handicap limit and clubs can do that within their own competition conditions.
That’s where it’s really key that the club highlight in their competition conditions, or their entry criteria, what requirements there are of any given player for each event.

 

[williamalex1]

Some opens you need to apply nearly a year in advance so your handicap can change quite a bit.
You're allowed to play of a lower h/c, I have on a few occasions.
It might be a bit stricter now with most clubs in Scotland insisting on your 10 digit CDH golf registration number when entering opens.

 

[Old Skier]

Some opens you need to apply nearly a year in advance so your handicap can change quite a bit.
You're allowed to play of a lower h/c, I have on a few occasions.
It might be a bit stricter now with most clubs in Scotland insisting on your 10 digit CDH golf registration number when entering opens.

Any away/open game we play in Devon you'll have to produce your CDH No

 

[upsidedown]

Any away/open game we play in Devon you'll have to produce your CDH No

Pretty much the same throughout the Midlands too. Quite a few now insisting you play with players from other clubs rather than your mates when 4BBB .

 

[duncan mackie]

sorry my comment probably appeared at bit terse.

I am looking for information about how clubs limit their entries in the light of the CONGU advice about players must be allowed to play off the full handicap they have and should not have the handicap cut (obviously excluding the standard allowances).

Are clubs still allowing players with handicap higher than the limit for entry to enter but play of the highest limit?

It would be helpful to reference the specific advice - doesn't ring any bells with me.

Fwiw, and appreciate it doesn't answer your question, we have no additional restrictions and cat 5 and 6 players play alongside those on +handicaps.

We have two handicap based competitions that were in place before the additional categories were created, and arguably have no more impact on those categories than a much larger number of lower handicaps - one of these permits players with higher handicaps to compete from a limited one. If you could provide a reference to this advice I would appreciate it as we might need to review.

 

[jim8flog]

It would be helpful to reference the specific advice - doesn't ring any bells with me.

.

I have trawled through those bits that I filed but cannot find the specific reference. It must date from about late 2017. One of the problems is that CONGU have revamped their website since so I expect a lot of the documents must have gone in to archive as the new handicaps are now well established.

The actual wording from my memory went something like " Players should not be asked to play off a lower handicap than the one they have".

Our club changed our entry rules in early 2018 based upon that and I heard of others that had done similar because players at our club were saying they could not enter other clubs Opens that they had played in for years.

 

[jim8flog]

Players are required to enter CDH numbers as part of the online process. The computer system is therefore picking up those whose handicap is too high and rejecting the entry.