Posting for H-Cap, Less Than 18 Holes

[TheGolfingDetective]

What is the exact procedure for posting a round when you've played less than 18 holes? I've read the ruling on the USGA website and I just can't understand it with a great deal of certainty. Here's my situation: I had a personal best 44 on the front 9, and had a 25 through 5 on the back. Then God decided to ruin my round and make it rain.

The unplayed holes were a par 4, 3, 5, and 4, and handicap rankings were 3, 15, 9, and 1, respectively. How exactly do I finish the round for posting purposes?

Thanks in advance.

P.S., how do I put these stats into Scorecard? Do they count?

[Harry Longshanks]

What is the exact procedure for posting a round when you've played less than 18 holes? I've read the ruling on the USGA website and I just can't understand it with a great deal of certainty. Here's my situation: I had a personal best 44 on the front 9, and had a 25 through 5 on the back. Then God decided to ruin my round and make it rain.

Per USGA rules, the holes which you were unable to complete due to weather, darkness, etc. must be entered as PAR plus any handicap strokes you would be entitled to for those holes. The scores for those holes should be entered with an "x" preceding the (par + strokes) score.

EDIT (addition): So if your handicap index is 26.2, you would be entitled to the following handicap strokes:

• Hole 15: 2 strokes
• Hole 16: 1 stroke
• Hole 17: 1 stroke
• Hole 18: 2 strokes

So you would enter the following scores:

• Hole 15: x6
• Hole 16: x4
• Hole 17: x6
• Hole 18: x6

[Dent]

I think to enter a score you must complete 15 holes.

Harry, I'm still quite confused.. anyway you can explain it a little more clearer for the idiots like me?

I was going to ask the same question as well.

[Harry Longshanks]

I think to enter a score you must complete 15 holes.

Sure, I can try.

The relevant rule is Section 5-2b of the USGA Handicap Manual.

b. Posting a Score When a Complete Round is not Played If 13 or more holes are played, the player must post an 18-hole score. If 7 to 12 holes are played, the player must post a nine-hole score. In either case, scores for unplayed holes must be recorded as par plus any handicap strokes that the player is entitled to receive on the unplayed holes. (See Section 4-2 and 5-1a .) Example: A player with a Course Handicap of 30 stops playing after 16 holes because of darkness. Hole 17 is a par 3 and is the number 18 handicap-stroke hole. The player will record 3 (par) plus 1 handicap stroke for an X-4 on hole 17. Hole 18 is a par 4 and is the number 12 handicap-stroke hole. The player will record 4 (par) plus 2 handicap strokes for an X-6 on hole 18.

The first thing to note is that in my first post, I said "If your

handicap index is 26.2 . . ." That was not what I meant. I meant course handicap . (The last time I did these calculations, the course I was playing had a slope of 113, which meant the course handicap and the handicap index would be the same. Hence, my brain fart) In the interest of keeping this post from getting completely out-of-hand (length-wise), lets keep assuming that TheGolfingDetectives ("TGD") handicap index and course handicap are the same (i.e., the tees he played from had a 113 slope rating.). In his profile, TGD lists his handicap as 26.2. Dropping the fraction, he would be entitled to 26 strokes on a course where his tees were rated with a slope of 113.

(If the slope is anything other than 113, TGD would need to calculate his "course handicap" in order to determine the number of strokes he was entitled to take. A slope rating of less than 113 would reduce the number of handicap strokes he could take, while a slope of greater than 113 would increase the number of handicap strokes. )

Every course (that has been rated) rates each hole from 1 to 18, based on the difficulty of the hole. These ratings can be found on the scorecard. 1 is the most difficult, while 18 is the easiest. Handicap strokes are allocated first to the most difficult hole, and then to the second most difficult hole, and so on.

(For example, a player with a course handicap on 9 would be entitled to 1 handicap stroke for most difficult 9 holes. A player with and 18 course handicap would be entitled to 1 stroke per hole. And a player with a 26 handicap would be entitled to 1 stroke for every hole, PLUS an additional stroke for the 8 most difficult holes; which would total 2 strokes for holes rated 1-8 and 1 stroke for holes rated 9-18.)

Next, the player needs to determine whether to post a 9 or 18 hole score (or post no score at all.)

• If the player completes 6 or less holes, it is not an official round and no scores are posted.
• If the player completes 7-12 holes, the player must post a 9 hole score.
• If the player completes 13-18 holes, an 18 hole score must be posted.

In TGD's case, he played 14 holes and he must, therefore, post an 18 hole score. Obviously holes 1-14 (hole numbers, not hole ratings) are posted with the actual score, adjusted for ESC (Equitable Stroke Control). But holes 15-18 must be estimated using the USGA formula, which is the par score of the hole, plus any strokes the player is entitled to take on that hole. In TGD's case:

• Hole 15 was rated 3rd most difficult - so he was entitled to take 2 strokes.
• Hole 16 was rated 15th most difficult, so he was entitled to take 1 stroke.
• Hole 17 was rated 9th most difficult, so he was entitled to take 1 stroke.
• Hole 18 was rated 1st most difficult, so he was entitled to take 2 strokes.

(Recall that a player with a course handicap of 26 gets a total of 26 strokes for the whole course. Those are allocated so that the first 18 strokes are allocated 1 per hole. The remaining 8 strokes are allocated to the 8 most difficult holes. Because Holes 15 and 18 were among the 8 most difficult holes, TGD gets to take an additional stroke for those holes only.)

Therefore:

• Hole 15 (par 4) = 4 + 2 strokes = x6
• Hole 16 (par 3) = 3 + 1 stroke = x4
• Hole 17 (par 5) = 5 + 1 stroke = x6
• Hole 18 (par 4) = 4 + 2 strokes = x6

[Dent]

Okay that part makes sense, but how can I find out how many strokes I am entitled to according to my course handicap? Most of them are in the 7-10 Range.

[Harry Longshanks]

Okay that part makes sense, but how can I find out how many strokes I am entitled to according to my course handicap? Most of them are in the 7-10 Range.

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...calculator.asp Enter your current handicap index and the slope rating for the tees you are playing from. (Also, note that I changed the formatting in my previous post in an effort to improve clarity). I'm not sure what you mean by "in the 7 to 10 range".

[lucky7]

is it ok to post 9 hole scores. Next to the score it says 9 holes but does that mess up your handicap?

[Harry Longshanks]

is it ok to post 9 hole scores. Next to the score it says 9 holes but does that mess up your handicap?

Not only is it okay, but USGA handicap rules require that you post a 9 hole score if you play 6 - 12 holes.

If you play 6-8 holes, use the method described above to score the unplayed holes through 9. If you play more than 9, but less than 13, just do not record holes 10-12. It will not mess up your handicap index. The software accounts for 9 hole scores.

[Dent]

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...calculator.asp

thanks, what I mean is that I play a ton of different courses, and my lowest course handicap is a 7 and at another course which is the highest is a 10.

[TheGolfingDetective]

Thank you so much for explaining that properly. I couldn't get it the way it was written on the USGA website, but you got it to click.

[Harry Longshanks]

thanks, what I mean is that I play a ton of different courses, and my lowest course handicap is a 7 and at another course which is the highest is a 10.

Oh! Sorry, I was overthinking things. Whatever your course handicap is for a specific set of tees on a particular course = the number of strokes you get.

So, for a course you are playing where your course handicap is 7, you would get 1 stroke on each of the 7 hardest holes (which should be enumerated on the scorecard.) But where your course handicap is 10, you get 1 stroke on each of the 10 hardest holes. Is that what you meant?

[Harry Longshanks]

Thank you so much for explaining that properly. I couldn't get it the way it was written on the USGA website, but you got it to click.

No problem. The USGA needs a USGA to regular person translator. I'm used to reading confusing stuff, and it still took me forever to figure it out.

Next lesson: Equitable Stroke Control!

[RemyM]

is it ok to post 9 hole scores. Next to the score it says 9 holes but does that mess up your handicap?

If you have an 18 hole handicap then the computer holds a 9 hole score until you post a 2nd 9 hole score. It then combines them into an 18 hole score. A combined score will be indicated with a "C" in your scoring record.