World Handicap System (WHS)

[nickjdavis]

Thanks Jim....that covers what happens once an index is issued and the main thing I take from that is that it is the players responsibility to report scores from either jurisdiction to the other in order to maintain the same index in both jurisdictions

What remains unanswered is how the initial index is allocated in the first place...I guess the concept of a "home club" in other jurisdictions is the same as it is here under CONGU, so conceivably a player could have a CONGU home club and a Spanish Confederation (EGA) home club. I wonder if a player has to specify which of the two clubs is their...I dunno...call it "global home club"??

 

[rulefan]

Thanks Jim....that covers what happens once an index is issued and the main thing I take from that is that it is the players responsibility to report scores from either jurisdiction to the other in order to maintain the same index in both jurisdictions

What remains unanswered is how the initial index is allocated in the first place...I guess the concept of a "home club" in other jurisdictions is the same as it is here under CONGU, so conceivably a player could have a CONGU home club and a Spanish Confederation (EGA) home club. I wonder if a player has to specify which of the two clubs is their...I dunno...call it "global home club"??

I reckon it depends on the requirements of one or other of the Authorised Associations

" ..... the player may be required to hold a separate Handicap Index issued by the Authorized Association responsible for handicapping within the different jurisdiction."

 

[Vikingman]

Been pouring down here so decided to go through the WHS slides again. Now I know we've done it before but did we ever get a conclusive answer over rounding issues?

Using the Course Handicap tables (Ethan Warren) slide the course handicaps are all whole numbers.

So reading the chart, a handicap index of 15.6 on the white tees gives me a course handicap of 16.

So my playing handicap would be 16 x 0.95 = 15.2 (15)

However the course handicap slide is calculating to 1 decimal place.

Hence they give a course handicap of 16.4

So my playing handicap would be 16.4 x 0.95 = 15.6 (16)

At what point do we stop rounding to 1 decimal place?

Can someone please help.

 

[rulefan]

The slides are out of date and were designed for the original expectation of how the calculation would be done.
The definitive answer from England Golf is that the Course Handicap is rounded before applying any handicap allowance.
The tables and charts show the correct figure.

 

[nickjdavis]

If i remember correctly at the WHS presentations back in February...they said that the new system would look at historical scores up to 2 years old when calculating a players Index under the new system.

Is 2 years correct?? or will they go back further?

 

[jim8flog]

If i remember correctly at the WHS presentations back in February...they said that the new system would look at historical scores up to 2 years old when calculating a players Index under the new system.

Is 2 years correct?? or will they go back further?

By the time it comes in it will be closer to 3

January 2018

 

[Crazyface]

Our Comp sec, who does a great job of keeping us informed, sent an e mail yesterday letting us know more on the WHS but more interestingly for me, the courses actual rating. With course ratings given as 55 to 155, why is that? Why not 1 to 100??? Our place has come out at 130 for the white tees. Is this high? Has anyone else got a higher number at there course?

 

[Tommy10]

746/8 = 93.25 - 71.9 = 21.35x113/132 = 18.3

Current handicap is 21.8.

 

[Ethan]

Our Comp sec, who does a great job of keeping us informed, sent an e mail yesterday letting us know more on the WHS but more interestingly for me, the courses actual rating. With course ratings given as 55 to 155, why is that? Why not 1 to 100??? Our place has come out at 130 for the white tees. Is this high? Has anyone else got a higher number at there course?

That is the slope, which is a measure of how relatively difficult the course is for bogey (average) players than scratch, so really drives the difference between your personal handicap index and the course handicap.

The course rating is a different number, similar to your SSS.

 

[jim8flog]

Our Comp sec, who does a great job of keeping us informed, sent an e mail yesterday letting us know more on the WHS but more interestingly for me, the courses actual rating. With course ratings given as 55 to 155, why is that? Why not 1 to 100??? Our place has come out at 130 for the white tees. Is this high? Has anyone else got a higher number at there course?

AS per Ethan you are confusing slope and course rating
Answer 1
The reason slope starts at 55 and not 0 is because they could only only set it at 0 if every single course in the world had been rated to ascertain the easiest course in the world which would then be rated as zero*. So they set it at a number from which it could go up and down and that number is 113.

*Problematic is somebody then built an even easier one. Setting it at 55 means that they could go lower if the need ever arose.

Answer 2
If it is set at zero any number multiplied by zero = zero. So play at a course with a course rating of zero and everybody plays off scratch.

 

[Whereditgo]

746/8 = 93.25 - 71.9 = 21.35x113/132 = 18.3

Current handicap is 21.8.

Think that should be:

21.35 x (132/113) = 24.9

 

[Whereditgo]

Our Comp sec, who does a great job of keeping us informed, sent an e mail yesterday letting us know more on the WHS but more interestingly for me, the courses actual rating. With course ratings given as 55 to 155, why is that? Why not 1 to 100??? Our place has come out at 130 for the white tees. Is this high? Has anyone else got a higher number at there course?

Ours is 135 off the yellows with a course rating of 72.2 (par is 72) and 138 off the whites with a course rating of 73.1. I don't believe that to be especially high?

 

[Ethan]

Think that should be:

21.35 x (132/113) = 24.9

No, Tommy is correct, 113/slope. The logic is that his scores were made on a course harder for the average player than the 113 zero-reference baseline, so his handicap index should be lower to reflect that better play achieved on a more difficult course.

His course handicap at his own club will be 21.4, in other words the base average score - course rating without the 113/slope correction. If he goes to an easy course with slope 113, his course handicap will be 18.3, but if goes to Carmoustie or somewhere with slope 155, it will be 25.1.

 

[Ethan]

Ours is 135 off the yellows with a course rating of 72.2 (par is 72) and 138 off the whites with a course rating of 73.1. I don't believe that to be especially high?

I think that suggests a pretty decent test of golf. I play at Bearwood Lakes which is 142 slope off the whites, but I played last week at another local course which was 125, and I don't think it is a pushover.

 

[rulefan]

I think that suggests a pretty decent test of golf. I play at Bearwood Lakes which is 142 slope off the whites, but I played last week at another local course which was 125, and I don't think it is a pushover.

Are you confusing Slope Rating and Course Rating. You need both to register relative difficulty for yourself.
What were the Course Ratings?

 

[Whereditgo]

No, Tommy is correct, 113/slope.

Ah, my mistake, I thought the calculation was Slope rating / 113 doh!

 

[rulefan]

 

[Whereditgo]

Not wanting to add further confusion, but I imagine the calculation of Handicap Index will be further complicated by having a mix of rounds played off different tee's in a players best 8 from 20 and therefore different course ratings?

 

[Ethan]

View attachment 32185

The course handicap is actually easier than that, because the handicap index involves multiplying the base calculation of average score - course rating by 113/slope, then the course handicap multiples it back by slope/113, so you can cancel those out and just use the base average score - course rating. In the case above this is 21.4, I think.

The handicap index should be considered a base handicap that compares to players at other courses. When you play any course, including your own, your handicap adjusts to the relative difficulty (as measured by slope) of that course. It will go up for Carnoustie and down for Pitch and Putt GC.

Despite the mathematical complexity of this system, it is conceptually fairly reasonable.

 

[Ethan]

Not wanting to add further confusion, but I imagine the calculation of Handicap Index will be further complicated by having a mix of rounds played off different tee's in a players best 8 from 20 and therefore different course ratings?

It will all be done automatically, so you can sit back and let the computer do it, but of you want to calculate it yourself, you can set up a spreadsheet and put in columns for the gross score, course rating and slope. For each round, let the magic pixies calculate gross (adjusted for any scores worse than net double bogey) - course rating x 113/slope and average the best 8.

Then the handicap index adjusts to courses in the usual way regardless of the range of courses played before.