Changes to Handicap System for 2016 Released

[Golfingdad]

46 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

... I think people sometimes don't understand how much different it can be around here. There aren't many times that I can get grouped with random people. Typically it's me as a single and the rest of the people on the course are all foursomes or there aren't any other people really there. I can see how it may be different other places, but here I get maybe 3 or 4 chances to play with people. When I have that opportunity I usually try to take it. That's the only reason I played with the two younger guys Sunday, they were a twosome set to tee off after me and I offered to let them join me. However, that's a rarity, and typically the people I make the offer to decline.

Show up to a public course - ANY public course - around here as a single, or even as a twosome, with OR without a tee time, >3.5-4 hours before sunset, and it's nearly a 100% guarantee that you're playing with some strangers.  And it's frequently still true if you show up as a threesome that you'll get a walk-on single joining you.

And as others have above - if your goal is to play in tournaments, then it can only help your game to get practice playing with lots of different people.

[Jeremie Boop]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

Show up to a public course - ANY public course - around here as a single, or even as a twosome, with OR without a tee time, >3.5-4 hours before sunset, and it's nearly a 100% guarantee that you're playing with some strangers.  And it's frequently still true if you show up as a threesome that you'll get a walk-on single joining you.

And as others have above - if your goal is to play in tournaments, then it can only help your game to get practice playing with lots of different people.

Again, while that may be the case in your area, it is not the case here. I appreciate the attempts at trying to help, but I always show up as a single and if it's after work during the week I'm sneaking on before a league or plodding along behind one and on the weekends there are rarely anything besides foursomes and skins groups out playing. I just happen to be in an area where it's just not as flush with chances to get grouped up with people. Every once in awhile I'll get a chance to play with someone else. However, even in those cases the people I play with pretty much never play by the rules. So, if I'm playing with people, but they aren't observing the rules how is that any better than playing alone for scoring purposes... 

[Missouri Swede]

51 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

So, if I'm playing with people, but they aren't observing the rules how is that any better than playing alone for scoring purposes... 

For reporting a score for handicap, the person you're with doesn't even need to be a golfer--anybody (apparently even if they don't know anything about the rules) being with you during the round suffices.

http://www.usga.org/articles/2015/11/2016-handicap-changes--playing-alone.html

Quote

What constitutes not playing alone?

As long as someone accompanies the player during the round (e.g., fellow competitor, opponent, caddie, marker for a tournament, friend riding along in a cart) the player is not playing alone

 

[Jeremie Boop]

2 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

For reporting a score for handicap, the person you're with doesn't even need to be a golfer--anybody (apparently even if they don't know anything about the rules) being with you during the round suffices.

http://www.usga.org/articles/2015/11/2016-handicap-changes--playing-alone.html

 

I actually forgot that part, but the point remains, why does it matter if you have someone with you if they don't even have to play and/or be required to make sure you play by the rules? Just seems so arbitrary to require someone there who isn't really going to make sure you aren't cheating. Though that does open up the possibility of being able to drag one of the kids along while I play to "legitimize" my score.

[Golfingdad]

8 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I actually forgot that part, but the point remains, why does it matter if you have someone with you if they don't even have to play and/or be required to make sure you play by the rules? Just seems so arbitrary to require someone there who isn't really going to make sure you aren't cheating. Though that does open up the possibility of being able to drag one of the kids along while I play to "legitimize" my score.

I think it's been pointed out previously that this isn't really the goal, this is a small step towards the ultimate goal of an international unified handicapping system.  I wouldn't read too much into the reasoning beyond that.

[Fourputt]

3 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I think it's been pointed out previously that this isn't really the goal, this is a small step towards the ultimate goal of an international unified handicapping system.  I wouldn't read too much into the reasoning beyond that.

This is the real reason as far as I can see.  The trend seems to be heading toward a unified system, and in Europe even now all handicap qualified scores must be attested, and in many cases, only competition scores are acceptable.

Too many players over here are taking this too personally.  It's not character assassination, it's just prepping us for what is to come.

[DrvFrShow]

17 hours ago, Fourputt said:

This is the real reason as far as I can see.  The trend seems to be heading toward a unified system, and in Europe even now all handicap qualified scores must be attested, and in many cases, only competition scores are acceptable.

Too many players over here are taking this too personally.  It's not character assassination, it's just prepping us for what is to come.

Exactly. Unless we play tournament golf our scores are meaningless. Our handicaps are meaningless except to measure how we're progressing. But then you know what you score, so do you really need a handicap? No. Maybe you want to do a quick and dirty one for a match play between friends. 

Say I shoot 94. Raw 22. You shoot about 88. You spot me 6 strokes. Or if you shoot 100 I spot you 6 strokes. Simple. I doubt you'll spot me 14 strokes or I'll spot you 14 strokes no matter what you shoot. I don't play with anyone regularly who's in the scratch to +5 realm.

[newtogolf]

19 hours ago, Fourputt said:

This is the real reason as far as I can see.  The trend seems to be heading toward a unified system, and in Europe even now all handicap qualified scores must be attested, and in many cases, only competition scores are acceptable.

Too many players over here are taking this too personally.  It's not character assassination, it's just prepping us for what is to come.

IMO The trend is headed in the wrong direction, especially if they only allow competition scores.  I know a lot of people who maintain a handicap but don't compete in tournaments, they maintain an official handicap for cash games on the course.  

If they move in this direction only tournament players will maintain a handicap in which case there's no reason for many to join the USGA or worry about playing by the rules.  

[Fourputt]

54 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

IMO The trend is headed in the wrong direction, especially if they only allow competition scores.  I know a lot of people who maintain a handicap but don't compete in tournaments, they maintain an official handicap for cash games on the course.  

If they move in this direction only tournament players will maintain a handicap in which case there's no reason for many to join the USGA or worry about playing by the rules.  

So you're saying that those other guys in the cash game don't care what rules you choose to play by? 

There are any number of sites online that will give you an accurate, unofficial handicap.  If a player is that worried about it, he and his buddies can choose one of those sites and all use that to track their handicaps.  In most of the cash games I've been involved in, the players all know each other, and the strokes are negotiable.  If the players know how each of them generally shoots, they can arrive at an equitable distribution of strokes without resorting to any "official" handicapping process.

Anyway, this is all just speculation at this time.  Until some word is passed down the food chain there is no sense getting too excited about it.  

[newtogolf]

21 hours ago, Fourputt said:

So you're saying that those other guys in the cash game don't care what rules you choose to play by? 

There are any number of sites online that will give you an accurate, unofficial handicap.  If a player is that worried about it, he and his buddies can choose one of those sites and all use that to track their handicaps.  In most of the cash games I've been involved in, the players all know each other, and the strokes are negotiable.  If the players know how each of them generally shoots, they can arrive at an equitable distribution of strokes without resorting to any "official" handicapping process.

Anyway, this is all just speculation at this time.  Until some word is passed down the food chain there is no sense getting too excited about it.  

You know I wasn't saying that, the point was it makes the USGA irrelevant for those who don't play in tournaments.   What's the motivation for someone not interested in competing in tournaments to join the USGA?  

[kpaulhus]

On 4/20/2016 at 2:59 PM, DrvFrShow said:

Exactly. Unless we play tournament golf our scores are meaningless. Our handicaps are meaningless except to measure how we're progressing. But then you know what you score, so do you really need a handicap? No. Maybe you want to do a quick and dirty one for a match play between friends. 

Say I shoot 94. Raw 22. You shoot about 88. You spot me 6 strokes. Or if you shoot 100 I spot you 6 strokes. Simple. I doubt you'll spot me 14 strokes or I'll spot you 14 strokes no matter what you shoot. I don't play with anyone regularly who's in the scratch to +5 realm.

I have had to give 20 shots in a match before. It was brutal. If it had been stroke play I would have won, but match play he beat me down 2.

[DrvFrShow]

3 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

I have had to give 20 shots in a match before. It was brutal. If it had been stroke play I would have won, but match play he beat me down 2.

I was in a real match a couple years ago and my opponent had to spot me 17 strokes at the time. I won the match on 17th hole. It was brutal for her. She shot her best round of the year - 5 strokes under her handicap. I was shooting 7 under mine. Then on 18th after it was over I had a blow up hole. So in stroke play she would have won.

[Fourputt]

4 hours ago, newtogolf said:

You know I wasn't saying that, the point was it makes the USGA irrelevant for those who don't play in tournaments.   What's the motivation for someone not interested in competing in tournaments to join the USGA?  

I'm not a member of the USGA for handicap purposes.  I get that through the Colorado Golf Association with my Men's Club membership.  My USGA membership is separate from that, and I keep it up because of all the other things they do for the game - rules management, their national competitions, and turf grass and course maintenance research.  They do far more behind the scenes to make our game great than most players ever have any idea of.

[CCC]

Wow. I've been out of playing golf for a while. 8 years.

But, I always play by the Rules. Even when I'm playing a solo round.

I just do not understand why my score, playing solo, does not count. Is this a new rule?

According to the USGA TV advertisements, playing golf is all about 'honor'. I've always thought that this means - whether you are playing by your self or with a group. I mean the USGA expects you to call penalties on your self, whether anyone else witnessed it or not.

Like, if your ball moves - when you ground your putter at address. And no one else would ever know.

But according to this rule, it only counts if you have a 'witness'.

It's hard enough for me make time to play 18 by my self, without trying to arrange this with someone else.

I play by the 'Rules of Golf'. Why doesn't the score of my solo rounds count?

.........................................................................

The player must be accompanied for at least seven holes for a nine-hole score or 13 holes for 18-hole score. This is consistent with Section 5-1 and the minimum number of holes played under the Rules of Golf.

For the holes played alone (not accompanied), the player would treat these as not played under the Rules of Golf and post according to “par plus” any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive.

(For more information, see Section 4-2).

Note: If a player plays nearly all holes accompanied but just a few alone, the holes played alone are calculated using “par plus,” keeping in mind the maximum that can be played alone in a round eligible for posting is two holes for a 9-hole score and five holes for an 18-hole score. Some examples would be starting out alone and joining up with a player(s), or starting out accompanied and finishing the round alone. 

 

[Lihu]

49 minutes ago, CCC said:

Wow. I've been out of playing golf for a while. 8 years.

But, I always play by the Rules. Even when I'm playing a solo round.

I just do not understand why my score, playing solo, does not count. Is this a new rule?

According to the USGA TV advertisements, playing golf is all about 'honor'. I've always thought that this means - whether you are playing by your self or with a group. I mean the USGA expects you to call penalties on your self, whether anyone else witnessed it or not.

Like, if your ball moves - when you ground your putter at address. And no one else would ever know.

But according to this rule, it only counts if you have a 'witness'.

It's hard enough for me make time to play 18 by my self, without trying to arrange this with someone else.

I play by the 'Rules of Golf'. Why doesn't the score of my solo rounds count?

.........................................................................

The player must be accompanied for at least seven holes for a nine-hole score or 13 holes for 18-hole score. This is consistent with Section 5-1 and the minimum number of holes played under the Rules of Golf.

For the holes played alone (not accompanied), the player would treat these as not played under the Rules of Golf and post according to “par plus” any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive.

(For more information, see Section 4-2).

Note: If a player plays nearly all holes accompanied but just a few alone, the holes played alone are calculated using “par plus,” keeping in mind the maximum that can be played alone in a round eligible for posting is two holes for a 9-hole score and five holes for an 18-hole score. Some examples would be starting out alone and joining up with a player(s), or starting out accompanied and finishing the round alone. 

 

Yes, a new rule does not allow solo rounds to be counted towards handicap.

It's pretty easy to find people, though. Does not have to be people you know, and they do not have to verify your scorecard.

[DaveP043]

7 hours ago, CCC said:

I play by the 'Rules of Golf'. Why doesn't the score of my solo rounds count?

There is apparently a movement to unify all of the handicap systems worldwide, and this specific change may be one of the first we're seeing in the US.  Many other handicap systems, specifically including the CONGU system that covers the UK, have historically only used scores from sanctioned competitions, which means you were playing with someone else.  From what I've read, they now allow a limited number of non-competition scores to be used for handicap, moving towards the USGA model.  The USGA has now dis-allowed the use of solo rounds, moving towards the CONGU model.  If we're going to have a worldwide system, we're all going to see changes.

[iacas]

24 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

There is apparently a movement to unify all of the handicap systems worldwide, and this specific change may be one of the first we're seeing in the US.  Many other handicap systems, specifically including the CONGU system that covers the UK, have historically only used scores from sanctioned competitions, which means you were playing with someone else.  From what I've read, they now allow a limited number of non-competition scores to be used for handicap, moving towards the USGA model.  The USGA has now dis-allowed the use of solo rounds, moving towards the CONGU model.  If we're going to have a worldwide system, we're all going to see changes.

 

[bkuehn1952]

8 hours ago, CCC said:

It's hard enough for me make time to play 18 by my self, without trying to arrange this with someone else.

Try this out: