Working out my rough h'cap off the WHS...

Leftie

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Just enter "Bellshill" in the 1st box (not "golf club" o "gc"). Click on "Submit", wait a moment and scroll down to see your club.

Works for me ;)

Edit. Must type faster.
 

rulefan

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Very odd. All those clubs are only showing red tees. I understood Scotland had been rating men's and women's with the USGA system for many years now. Other Scottish courses seem to have all tees rated.

Edit. Just see that Gleneagles only has the women's courses listed. It would seem that Scottish Golf has not updated the database.
 
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Swango1980

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I'm eager to find out more about it. My thoughts at moment

Advantages:
  1. Easier for amateur golfers who play in handicap comps globally.
  2. Easier for golfers to understand how course difficulty is accounted for as their playing handicap will go up in harder courses (many don't understand the concept of SSS)
  3. More scores taken into account on daily course difficulty, might help when comps have low fields.
Disadvantages:
  1. Will handicaps be a lot more volatile in changing up and down, especially for players who play frequently? A purple patch or dire run of form might have a big impact?
  2. If scores haven't been updated for whatever reason, player is responsible they play off the correct handicap next comp (or not higher). How easy is it for a player to remember their last 20 rounds and work out the average off 8 and factor in slope. My grandad doesn't remember what he had for breakfast by lunch time, and forget about mathematics.
  3. I think accounting for social rounds will just be like supplementary cards now, so probably no issue. But, if it comes to the point that social rounds are strongly encouraged to be submitted, that will be interesting in terms of what constitutes a qualifying round. What I mean is, we all know people who play brilliantly outside comps, terribly in a comp. Several reasons, but for some it will be a simple case of crumbling under pressure when a comp prize at stake. These guys will typically have lower handicaps with new system, even harder to compete in comps. On flip side, in social rounds, of which I play 2-4 weekly, I'd typically mess about, try different shots and often get a higher score. In a comp though, I'm more focused and play more steadily. Perhaps I'd benefit with a higher handicap in comparison to the first type of player I mentioned.
  4. If many players do start entering social rounds, it could become an admin nightmare for the handicap sec. Even if there are aps for the player to enter their own score, or terminal at club, not all players are capable of using these, or at least correctly. The handicap sec will, I'm sure, need to at least check all cards and to see if scores have been entered correctly.
  5. If a big comp is coming up in a couple of months, could a player go out 5 times a week, shoot bad scores on purpose and get a big handicap increase? I think I heard a player can only go up by a maximum of 2 annually?
  6. If the handicap sec decides someones handicap requires a change, at say annual review, does that wipe out all the last 20 rounds as they'd no longer be compatible with that handicap?
Several of those issues will be concerns for the committee rather than the player, and I'm sure (hopefully) many will have solutions already in place. My personal opinion is that the current system works well, and been refined over the years to make it better. Not sure the benefits of a new system will be worth it, but I could be wrong and hopefully am.
 

YandaB

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Very odd. All those clubs are only showing red tees. I understood Scotland had been rating men's and women's with the USGA system for many years now. Other Scottish courses seem to have all tees rated.

Edit. Just see that Gleneagles only has the women's courses listed. It would seem that Scottish Golf has not updated the database.
My course is in England and only the ladies red tee is showing too.

[Edit] Indeed ony 3 of of the 10 closest clubs have Yellows and Whites rated
 
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rulefan

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I'm eager to find out more about it. My thoughts at moment

Advantages:
  1. Easier for amateur golfers who play in handicap comps globally.
  2. Easier for golfers to understand how course difficulty is accounted for as their playing handicap will go up in harder courses (many don't understand the concept of SSS)
  3. More scores taken into account on daily course difficulty, might help when comps have low fields.
Disadvantages:
  1. Will handicaps be a lot more volatile in changing up and down, especially for players who play frequently? A purple patch or dire run of form might have a big impact?
  2. If scores haven't been updated for whatever reason, player is responsible they play off the correct handicap next comp (or not higher). How easy is it for a player to remember their last 20 rounds and work out the average off 8 and factor in slope. My grandad doesn't remember what he had for breakfast by lunch time, and forget about mathematics.
  3. I think accounting for social rounds will just be like supplementary cards now, so probably no issue. But, if it comes to the point that social rounds are strongly encouraged to be submitted, that will be interesting in terms of what constitutes a qualifying round. What I mean is, we all know people who play brilliantly outside comps, terribly in a comp. Several reasons, but for some it will be a simple case of crumbling under pressure when a comp prize at stake. These guys will typically have lower handicaps with new system, even harder to compete in comps. On flip side, in social rounds, of which I play 2-4 weekly, I'd typically mess about, try different shots and often get a higher score. In a comp though, I'm more focused and play more steadily. Perhaps I'd benefit with a higher handicap in comparison to the first type of player I mentioned.
  4. If many players do start entering social rounds, it could become an admin nightmare for the handicap sec. Even if there are aps for the player to enter their own score, or terminal at club, not all players are capable of using these, or at least correctly. The handicap sec will, I'm sure, need to at least check all cards and to see if scores have been entered correctly.
  5. If a big comp is coming up in a couple of months, could a player go out 5 times a week, shoot bad scores on purpose and get a big handicap increase? I think I heard a player can only go up by a maximum of 2 annually?
  6. If the handicap sec decides someones handicap requires a change, at say annual review, does that wipe out all the last 20 rounds as they'd no longer be compatible with that handicap?
Several of those issues will be concerns for the committee rather than the player, and I'm sure (hopefully) many will have solutions already in place. My personal opinion is that the current system works well, and been refined over the years to make it better. Not sure the benefits of a new system will be worth it, but I could be wrong and hopefully am.
1) There will be less volatility. The CONGU ratchet is unbalanced. Big down, little up
2) All scores entered before midnight will cause updates automatically over night. Available for access in the morning.
3) CONGU area will not include 'social' rounds for the time being. Pre-declaration and attestation will be required. Exactly as Supplementary Scores now.
4) See 3) but the anticipated apps will be very simple. PC or phone based. It is suggested they may be in GPS systems.
5) It would take a lot of very bad scores to shift an averaging system but a decent handicap committee should be on top of such shenanigans. There is a tool they can use.
6) No. The system will make an allowance for that. (Don't ask)
 

Swango1980

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1) There will be less volatility. The CONGU ratchet is unbalanced. Big down, little up
2) All scores entered before midnight will cause updates automatically over night. Available for access in the morning.
3) CONGU area will not include 'social' rounds for the time being. Pre-declaration and attestation will be required. Exactly as Supplementary Scores now.
4) See 3) but the anticipated apps will be very simple. PC or phone based. It is suggested they may be in GPS systems.
5) It would take a lot of very bad scores to shift an averaging system but a decent handicap committee should be on top of such shenanigans. There is a tool they can use.
6) No. The system will make an allowance for that. (Don't ask)
Thanks
 
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