Linda, what's the justification for running a tournament and having a lower percent of the handicap apply? I note that this applies in many tournaments. First, they take out the high ten scores and apply a percent formula to determine someone’s handicap. This is less than 100%. Now you enter the tournament and are penalized more.
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
This is an excellent question, Lou, and I would imagine there are a great many golfers out there who are wondering the same thing. Handicap Indexes and reduced handicaps in tournaments are two of the great mysteries in many golfers’ lives. I will try to unravel them for you.
Let’s start with how your Handicap Index® is computed and why it is done that way. If a player has at least 20 scores in his record, then the computation works as follows:
1. The ten scores with the highest Handicap Differentials are disregarded. (These are not necessarily your highest ten scores, but rather the ten scores that are highest in relation to the difficulty of the course. For example, a score of 80 on a course with a rating of 72.8/127 has a lower differential –meaning that it is a better score– than a score of 77 on a course rated 64.3/111. A lower score does not always equate to a better score.)
2. The ten scores with the lowest Handicap Differentials are averaged.
3. The average is then multiplied by .96 (96%). All numbers after the tenths digit are deleted, leaving you with a Handicap Index that looks like 5.2 if you’re very good, and 25.7 if you’re working on your game.
What many golfers don’t understand is that their Handicap Index is not an average of their scores, but rather an indication of their potential. A golfer who turns in a score close to or at his handicap has had a very good day indeed. You are not expected to “shoot your handicap” more than 25% of the time. A score that matches your handicap is your dream score, not your average score. When you compete mano a mano with another player using your full Course Handicap®, if you play as well as you possibly can, and so does your opponent, you will come out even. This is what makes golf so special – it is one of the few games (can you name another?) where two players of widely varying abilities can compete evenly. Would you stand a chance against Roger Federer on a tennis court? Hardly. But could you best Annika Sorenstam in golf? You certainly could, using your handicap strokes!
So what the USGA Handicap System is doing is leveling the playing field. It’s saying: “The best I can score on this course is 85, and the best you can score is 73. Give me 12 strokes to make the competition fair, and let’s go out and see who can play closer to his potential today.” It’s a great system, and when players are honest and accurate about posting their scores, the handicap system works as it was intended.
Now to address your real question, Lou. You want to know why, after all of these computations to arrive at a Handicap Index that gives you a number that is lower than the average of your ten best rounds, that number is then further reduced when you play in team tournaments. (Incidentally, there should be no reductions to your handicap when you play in an individual tournament.)
There is a very detailed and enlightening 7-page essay entitled “What the New Multi-Ball Allowances Mean to You” that was written by Gordon H. Ewen and published in the USGA Golf Journal in 1978 that will probably answer every question you have ever had about handicap reductions in tournaments. If you would like to read it, here is the link:
http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/understanding_handicap/
articles/multiball.html
I will extract the information that pertains to your question (just trying to make your life a bit easier). All quotes are from the heretofore mentioned article.
While using full handicaps in individual events makes the competition fair, the reverse is true in team events. The problem is that “higher handicappers produce a wider range of hole-by-hole scores than better and more consistent golfers do.” A good golfer will be getting mostly pars and bogies, so his net scores will be mostly pars and occasional birdies. The high handicapper, on the other hand, has a much better chance of scoring a net birdie or even an eagle on a hole where he has a par.
The USGA hired a math professor, an engineer, a member of the USGA Handicap Procedure Committee, and an aerospace scientist to determine what allowances would lead to the fairest competition in team events. One consistent result showed up in all of their studies, which was that if you choose a partner whose handicap is several strokes different from yours (preferably lower than yours), you will have a distinct advantage over teams with similar or identical handicaps. In a handicapped (net) event, a team of two players, both with a 5 handicap, are at a disadvantage against a team made up of a 5 and a 10 or even a 5 and a 15. You can read in detail about those studies in Mr. Ewen’s article. For our purposes here I will tell you that the research of these brilliant men led to the handicap reductions recommended by the USGA, which are as follows:
1. Individual stroke play: Each player receives full Course Handicap.
2. Four-ball stroke play (more commonly referred to as “better-ball”): Men receive 90% of Course Handicap, women receive 95%. The USGA recommends that the difference in players’ handicaps in these better-ball competitions not be allowed to exceed 8 strokes. This is because a team with a greater difference in Course Handicap has an advantage over a team with a smaller difference. However, the USGA recognizes that sometimes it is not possible to impose such a limit (mixed better-ball competitions come to mind – how many husbands and wives have Course Handicaps within 8 strokes of each other?). In those situations where it is not practical to impose a limit of 8 strokes on the handicap spread, it is recommended that both members of a team with a spread of greater than 8 strokes receive an additional 10% reduction. Another solution to the spread problem mentioned in Mr. Ewen’s article is to divide the field into flights based on spread, which is a solution I have tried and found very effective in making mixed competitions more equitable.
3. Two-best-balls-of-four stroke play: Men receive 90% of Course Handicap, women receive 95%.
4. One-best-ball-of-four stroke play: Men receive 80% of Course Handicap, women receive 90%.
I have listed the USGA-recommended handicap allowances for the more popular stroke play formats. For a complete list of the recommended allowances for all forms of match play and stroke play, please read Section 9-4 in The USGA Handicap System, which can be viewed on the USGA website (USGA.org).
In concluding his article, Mr. Ewen writes: “All things considered, the new allowances make sense and should be used. They are based on solid research; they are the fairest and most practical that could be devised; and they will add to your enjoyment of golf.”
How can you argue with “fair” and “practical?”
So, Lou, you can rest assured that the handicap reductions in team tournaments are designed to make the competitions as fair as possible. It may be difficult to accept the logic that reducing your handicap results in a more equitable tournament, but it does. Play your best and trust in the experts.
Linda
Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
