Equitable Stroke Control- No Handicap

I know how ESC works when you have an established handicap index- you take your index, convert it to a course handicap, then follow the adjustment chart to determine max on each hole. But how do you adjust scores for posting purposes when you don't have a current index? Couldn't find an answer with google and am not sure if this belongs here or in the rules thread?

Standard HC starting point is 36, but if you are not playing in competitions that require a handicap (stroke play), simply play Stableford straight up (points scored vs par). ESC will essentially be double bogey, a very good place for beginners to start.

For men, max handicap is 36 so the answer would be 9.

For women, the max is over 49, so for them it would be a 10.

When I started, i just posted my real scores - it took awhile for me to get under a 36 course handicap and would not have gone below it anyway if I had used any form of ESC.

Thanks Dave, exactly what I was looking for...just to be clear, when someone's index is NH, they must use 36.4 (or 40.4 if they are a woman)? I assume this is the case although it would seem to make sense for a player with a seasonal index like myself to use their last established index to calculate ESC when posting.

We do have an off season with regard to posting Colorado scores and your handicap does in fact "exist" IF you play at a course that keeps you active during the off season. However, the Men's league where I pay my league fees to maintain my handicap makes all players inactive shortly after the course closes at the end of September and does not reactivate us until after we pay our next years Men's league fee (which is typically sometime after the course re-opens in mid-June). They do this because they don't know that everyone will return the next season and don't what to pay a fee to the CO Golf Association in the spring for a player who might not pay league fees that summer. [quote name="iacas" url="/t/82420/equitable-stroke-control-no-handicap#post_1151508"] Pretty sure there's no such thing as a seasonal handicap. Your handicap just continues to exist, even if there's a period of "off-season" in there. [/quote] Maybe "seasonal" was the wrong word, but I did receive an email in April saying my GHIN was "inactive" So what would my "NH" index translate to for ESC purposes ? I just talked to our league director and she reactivated me. Prior to that I could not go in and post scores from the off season, but have just posted 9 scores (from November, May & June) This is what it says when I look up my index- Welcome to GHIN! Your Handicap Index will not display until your golf club has gone through a handicap revision (as determined by the golf association to which it belongs). In addition, a minimum of five scores are needed to establish a Handicap Index. To view scores that have been entered up until a revision takes place, choose the "Most Recent Scores" tab. Once a Handicap Index is displayed, the scoring record appearing is what was used for the calculation at the revision. To see scores added after the most recent revision, use the "Most Recent Scores" tab. Those "pending" scores will be added to the Handicap Lookup screen each time a revision takes place. USGA Handicap Index Information Name: GHIN Number: Club- Copper Creek Golf Club Colorado Golf Association HDCP Index NH Eff. Date 6/1/2015 Here is my H.I. History- NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH 6/1 5/15 5/1 4/15 4/1 3/15 3/1 2/15 2/1 1/15 1/1 12/15 12/1 11/15 11/1 Most Recent Oldest

I agree with you but don't don't think the league is 100% to blame. I could be wrong, but I think the CO Golf Association has an annual Spring renewal date- If my league pays for my handicap with the CGA in mid June, it still needs to be renewed/paid again by their spring renewal date, otherwise you automatically become inactive. Prior to this year, I stayed active during the winter and went inactive in the spring. This past year, I think the league made me inactive in the fall, maybe because they were worried about being automatically charged for someone who is active as of the spring renewal date, or maybe because they didn't know better. Looking back at the the 2013-14 winter, I continued to receive emails from the CO Golf Association with a current handicap until mid-April and in 2012-13, I got handicap emails through 4/1. In both years, I believe I paid around mid-June. Following the [URL=http://www.coloradogolf.org/index.php?mod=club_join_search]link to renew my GHIN[/URL] that I received in April 2015, it seems that it is a calendar year membership that expires Dec 31 with a 1 month grace period regardless of whether you join in January or June. "The cost to join online is $50. In addition to your CGA membership, you will also receive a basic membership to a men's club at a facility you choose. Membership is annual from Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 with a one month grace period." Given that our course is closed October to mid-June, it is hard to renew in a timely manner to get the full 12 months benefit.

Where does it say this in the USGA handicap manual? If my established handicap index is 6.something, then why does it show as NH in the CO GA system? I went into the system to look up my index because I didn't remember exactly what it was and all I could find was NH current and NH previous. I have played with guys who are close to my ability who have never had an official handicap or who have not had an ESTABLISHED index in several years or more. If they decided do get an official index, it seems that the manual says they should do ESC based on 36.4 even if they are truly a much better golfer. In my case, I had a handicap as a teen and in my early 20s, then went about 20 years where I only played a few times a year and didn't have a handicap. Then I re-established my handicap in 2009 (with a new GHIN # and playing mostly right handed), but didn't have an official one in 2010 & 2011 before reactivating in 2012 as a lefty. After these layoffs, should I have used my last established handicap for ESC? What if I didn't remember my index? I have played about 10 rounds since I went inactive. I remember my actual scores and know that I didn't card anything higher than an 8 any of those rounds, but am not sure if I would have had any adjustments at my last established handicap, in part because I didn't bother calculating my course handicap any of those rounds. I couldn't post those scores at the time because I was locked out of the system. What would you do with those scores?

Not to defend any other knuckleheadedness in the thread, but basically his club is profiting off of him. If they use GHIN, the handicap expires at the end of the calender year, unless you sign up sometime in either October or November and then the next year is included. The club itself either pays for half a year if someone signs up later in the year or gets a refund if they cancel the index before half the year. Years ago, my club was famous for shutting down GHIN accounts to improve their bottom line. I do know when I would sign my father in law up in august so he would be eligible for member/guest, I usually paid a discounted fee. Either way, after one revision, his old index would be back.

My club MAY have screwed me this year by making me inactive in October BUT signing up directly with the CO Golf Ass. isn't a much better option as their service only runs through the calendar year regardless of when you sign up. Both services cost $50, but with the [URL=http://www.coloradogolf.org/index.php?mod=club_join_search]CGA online service[/URL] I would still have to pay $50 for league fees. So I would pay twice and still go inactive in less than 12 months unless I renewed online in January. I'll ask my club why they shut me off in October this year instead of letting it run until the CGA shut it off (typically April despite what the site says). Prior to the club I'm with now, I kept my handicap at another course up here and am pretty sure that it went inactive prior to a full 12 months which leads me to believe that calendar year plus grace period is a CGA thing. Unless the CGA goes to a 12 month membership instead of calendar year, you are always going to go inactive here because all the courses are closed until after the expiration of the "grace period"

What the manual says:

Whether it's in the system or not, your club is required to retain your prior record for a year. The Colorado Golf Association has an active season of 3/15 to 11/14 . So for rounds played from 11/14 to 3/15, you shouldn't record them for your handicap (unless played in another region with an active season). But for rounds played from 3/15 until whenever they finally reactivate you in the system, you should be keeping track of those and posting them "as soon as practicable".

If you have a longer layoff, and then join a new club, yes you won't have a handicap until the first revision. But you are still supposed to provide your last 20 scores, if possible, to the new club.

I was out of the system for 3 years.  When I reactivated my handicap this spring, I took my old GHIN number back and my index picked up where it left off at the end of 2011.  I am still working to enter enough scores for it to reflect the truly deplorable state of my game.