World Handicap System (WHS)

[3offTheTee]

Will there still be Inactive handicaps? Thinking about some Opens that require a competitive handicap at present

 

[rulefan]

Will there still be Inactive handicaps? Thinking about some Opens that require a competitive handicap at present

No. Nor will there be Categories.
However organising committees will be able to specify a minimum number of round played within a particular time frame.

 

[jim8flog]

Having read all this lot, and thinking how often computers go down, I think some poor officials are going to have some frustrating times ahead of them.
Why they couldn't have left the system alone, I don't know.
It really is just a pastime for most.

You should have seen the looks I got from the presenters at the workshop when asked " what happens when the computers go down".

I know there several a times year when our PSI screen locks up on a Saturday afternoonwith no office staff to fix it until Monday morning

 

[jim8flog]

Will there still be Inactive handicaps? Thinking about some Opens that require a competitive handicap at present

There have not been inactive handicaps for years. If you mean competition status. It disappears with the WHS.

 

[Swango1980]

You should have seen the looks I got from the presenters at the workshop when asked " what happens when the computers go down".

I know there several a times year when our PSI screen locks up on a Saturday afternoonwith no office staff to fix it until Monday morning

At our presentation, when asked about computers going down, we were told not to worry about it.

 

[Yorkshire Hacker]

Having read all this lot, and thinking how often computers go down, I think some poor officials are going to have some frustrating times ahead of them.
Why they couldn't have left the system alone, I don't know.
It really is just a pastime for most.

Agreed totally. So far, I think it is Swango who has given me the only positive....viz "it 's better when playing in foreign countries".....or words to that effect.
How on earth we can attract youngsters and other new golfers into this wonderful game, with this new system beats me. Admittedly younger players will all have the computer technology, but otherwise, and this thread is now 34 pages long...........and I am only a little wiser......and certainly not sold on the system in any shape, way, or form.
Rulefan, I take my hat off to you, as you seem to have ALL the answers.
As Swinglowandslow says, it's just a pastime for most golfers. Handicapping was always a contentious subject for some, and others just got on with it.
Now it looks as though you won't even know what you're playing off until you get to the course. It will be as though the main subject on arrival will be : "what are you playing off?"
Nightmare!

 

[rulefan]

Now it looks as though you won't even know what you're playing off until you get to the course. It will be as though the main subject on arrival will be : "what are you playing off?"
Nightmare!

How often do you play courses other than your own?
If you go and play Carnoustie for a change won't it be nice to have a few extra shots in your bag?

 

[Yorkshire Hacker]

How often do you play courses other than your own?
If you go and play Carnoustie for a change won't it be nice to have a few extra shots in your bag?

Playing Monifieth, Carnoustie Burnside, Montrose, Edzell, and Pumpherston next month.
Clitheroe, Fixby, Moortown, and Ilkley, over the next few weeks. I would call that a fair selection of courses. But surely, it's irrelevant that I get extra shots, as I'm playing against my friends who have a handicap that I acknowledge as being accurate. In addition, I like to TRY and score 36 points (or more) on any course that I play, and measure my performance that way, plus my score in comparison to my friends. I'm off 12, and if I got 36 points off (say) 16, I would call that 32.
I reckon there's a lot of golfers out there who will think the same way.

 

[doublebogey7]

[QUOTE="Yorkshire Hacker, post: 2218778, Now it looks as though you won't even know what you're playing off until you get to the course. It will be as though the main subject on arrival will be : "what are you playing off?"
Nightmare![/QUOTE]
Where on earth do you get that idea, you will access to your current handicap 24/7 via your clubs ISP App or via your browser at home. Also changes to your handicap will not be dependant on your club closing the previous days competition on time. Provided your score has been inputed to your clubs ISP then handicap changes will automatically be processed overnight and available on the App first thing in the morning.

 

[Swango1980]

How often do you play courses other than your own?
If you go and play Carnoustie for a change won't it be nice to have a few extra shots in your bag?

Realistically, many golfers won't get a few extra shots at Carnoustie. Maybe a very high handicapper will, with the slope 140+. But, with many golfers already playing at courses with a slope of 130-140, they may not have any extra shots at all. Even if the Course Rating at Carnoustie is much higher relative to par compared to their own course.

 

[jim8flog]

I used to play away a lot.

I would often came away thinking I would be x handicap if I was a member here or y handicap if I played there sometimes up sometimes down.

On a lot of those courses playing matches against their home team and it is nice to think there will be a little bit of handicap equalisation now.

Playing Opens it becomes a slightly more level paying field.

 

[jim8flog]

As an experiment I did the WHS calc for myself and one of our 4 ball - mine stayed the same, but my partners went 6 shots higher - given his form over the past few months (highest score of 32 points in the last 20 returns) this wasn't a surprise and the new system I think will benefit him. We're sure he's due a review given the return of results but maybe committees are waiting for the new system to come in?

Your mate should have been reviewed late last year or early this year as were told to ensure handicap reviews were completed as normal. However if that 32 was in his buffer zone or close to it would highly unlikely that he would have got an increase.

One of the things I like about the new system is that if you put enough cards in you will get a handicap which reflects your current form, whereas with the current system it takes 10 rounds to go up one shot if you are under handicapped.

 

[jim8flog]

Agreed totally. So far, I think it is Swango who has given me the only positive....viz "it 's better when playing in foreign countries".....or words to that effect.
How on earth we can attract youngsters and other new golfers into this wonderful game, with this new system beats me. Admittedly younger players will all have the computer technology, but otherwise, and this thread is now 34 pages long...........and I am only a little wiser......and certainly not sold on the system in any shape, way, or form.
Rulefan, I take my hat off to you, as you seem to have ALL the answers.
As Swinglowandslow says, it's just a pastime for most golfers. Handicapping was always a contentious subject for some, and others just got on with it.
Now it looks as though you won't even know what you're playing off until you get to the course. It will be as though the main subject on arrival will be : "what are you playing off?"
Nightmare!

New players coming in to the game after November will not know any other system and the new system is a lot easier to understand to the new player than the current system. Just look at how many current players still do not under SSS, CSS and buffer zones and think 36 points is playing to handicap on all courses.

When you get a new course their is always some admin to do such as reading the Local Rules before going out so it is not a lot extra to have to do.

 

[Swango1980]

New players coming in to the game after November will not know any other system and the new system is a lot easier to understand to the new player than the current system. Just look at how many current players still do not under SSS, CSS and buffer zones and think 36 points is playing to handicap on all courses.

When you get a new course their is always some admin to do such as reading the Local Rules before going out so it is not a lot extra to have to do.

Yes, but under WHS they will still incorrectly think 36 points is playing to handicap, and Course Rating will be over their heads. They'll have no idea about PCC and they'll get confused as hell when they go out, shoot a great score, and their handicap actually goes up or stays the same, not down, because they cancelled out an even better score 21 rounds ago. They'll go to a much trickier course and wonder why they don't get extra shots on their handicap, and someone would need to explain that although it is trickier, it is not relatively more tricky for the high handicapper compared to low. Each time they play, and especially at new course, they'll need to know their Index (fine), then convert that into a Course Handicap (using chart or app), then following this, understand the % adjustment based on format they are playing and apply that. Perhaps computer will do all this for them in a comp, but if they are playing social golf I guess the Playing Handicap calculation needs to be done by the player.

Under current system, yes, there are things players don't understand. But, after a round it is simple for most to know why their handicap went up, down or stayed the same. Or easy to explain the exact calculation to them. And, at they very least, the Player just needs to remember 1 handicap, and that is what they play off regardless of course or format of play. I'd say that is much easier, especially for the casual golfer.

I'm not saying WHS is 100% a bad thing, in that is does account for the relative difficulty of courses. But, I do think it is a lot more complex for the casual golfer to process, and also easier for a player to manipulate their handicap upwards. I'm intrigued on how these discussions will go on this forum this time next year.

 

[rulefan]

Of course the majority of handicap golfers around the world already play to what is essentially this system. CONGU is the only major system not using slope (and that due to the intransigence of the old EGU). Averaging dominates the RoW. We can't really be any dumber than them can we?
Incidentally, we seem to be able to handle 4BBB and 4some handicap adjustments ok.

 

[Swango1980]

Of course the majority of handicap golfers around the world already play to what is essentially this system. CONGU is the only major system not using slope (and that due to the intransigence of the old EGU). Averaging dominates the RoW. We can't really be any dumber than them can we?
Incidentally, we seem to be able to handle 4BBB and 4some handicap adjustments ok.

No one said we will be unable to cope. Just that it is more complicated than current system.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

How often do you play courses other than your own?
If you go and play Carnoustie for a change won't it be nice to have a few extra shots in your bag?

True for those playing competitions at other courses. and, yes, it would be nice, but, when I go to play another course, lovely summer day etc, why do I have to faff about finding the computer to log into to put in my H I to find my playing handicap etc?
Or, do I have to do this, or can my mate and I just amble to the first tee and off we go?
As I say, competition , fair enough, but unless I've understood this wrong ( likely?) am I not supposed to record all my rounds of golf when this system comes in?

 

[Ethan]

New players coming in to the game after November will not know any other system and the new system is a lot easier to understand to the new player than the current system. Just look at how many current players still do not under SSS, CSS and buffer zones and think 36 points is playing to handicap on all courses.

When you get a new course their is always some admin to do such as reading the Local Rules before going out so it is not a lot extra to have to do.

If Americans can understand the handicapping system, so can intelligent humans.

 

[Pathetic Shark]

If Americans can understand the handicapping system, so can intelligent humans.

So will people who accept the result of a democratic referendum

 

[Ethan]

So will people who accept the result of a democratic referendum

Intelligent humans understood that the referendum was advisory and the result was to be considered by Parliament rather than just enacted without any regard for the consequences.