75% of Handicap Question

I have a handicap and have enjoyed learning about how it all works.  But I'd love to understand the percentage handicap for tournaments.  I'm playing in one this weekend.  It is a 2-man best ball and they are giving us credit for 75% of our caps.

What is the strategy behind this?

Is it because we are already getting best ball?

Is it to reward better caps since they won't cost them as many strokes?

And is there any trick to applying it to how we score in the tournament or it seems?

Thanks in advance for insight.

I'm not an expert on this, but I think it has to do with helping tone down possible sandbaggers.  It also could be like you said because they are best balls and they don't want guys double popping on a lot of holes.

I played in a big 3 day tournament at my club, which they used 50% of the LOW H.I. for the year and 50% of the last revision.

This way a guy who was a 12 (Half is 6) and now has gone up to an 18 (Half is 9), will play at a 15 for the tournament.

I don't know either, but I'll take a stab ... assuming that it's something like bowling.  In bowling, if you used 100% handicaps, it is a really big advantage to less skilled bowlers.  For example, a guy with a 220 average can have a good game and get a 250.  A guy with a 100 average can string a couple strikes or spares together and get a 150.  Thus, bowling tournaments and leagues are usually handicapped at 80% or 90% of X (210, 220, whatever).  Maybe golf is similar, and they are trying to at least make sure that the more skilled golfer isn't at a DIS advantage.

If that isn't it ... then I have no idea. ;)

New avatar Golfingdad?

Yeah, people were having a little fun with me.  I got another new one tho :)

I liked the one of your kids in the golf cart.

LOL ... I'm a moron.  I tried to go back to that one but couldn't figure out how.  It's in the album for "avatars" but when I click "replace avatar" there didn't seem to be an easy way to put it back.  I had to go find it in its original location, and while searching found this other one instead.  I titled it "pretty one year olds."  That's a pic from last year on the left (daughter) and a pic from 19XX on the right (wife) ;)

Cool.

The USGA actually has a formula for different tourney formats on what percentage of handicaps to use. We used to follow it at our club, but our MGA president decided that everything should be 100% handicapped - odd coming from a single digit since it is helping me and my buddies more than his group.