Ask Linda #132-Gender and Handicaps

Linda,
Once again thank you for your prompt reply [Ask Linda #131]. However I am thinking that perhaps I did not phrase my question to you as clearly as I intended.
Of the competitions mentioned in the USGA Handicap Manual the five that I listed have handicap allowances based on gender. In contrast
Chapman or Pinehurst Stroke Play
Chapman or Pinehurst Match Play
base the handicap allowance on the lower/higher Course Handicap. One competition is stroke play and one is match play
Of the five that I listed two are match play and three are stroke play.

In the example you used we have Fred(8), Mary(15), Jimmy(20) and Alice(17), Fred and Mary are partners and Jim and Alice are partners. Wouldn't it make more sense if the 90% were applied to Fred and Alice, and the 95% to Mary and Jimmy? Of the partners Fred had a lower handicap than Mary, and Alice had a lower handicap than Jimmy. I don't see why handicap allowance should be based on gender in Four Ball Stroke play and based on ability in the two competitions named above.
In this query to you I am questioning the logic of the Handicap Manual and asking if there is a reason for it other than that's the way the book says it has to be?
I am interested in your opinion on this?
Thanks,
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

I had a gnawing suspicion when I responded to your original question that I might have misunderstood your intent. Thank you for sending a clarification.

You are asking me to explain the logic of the USGA in assigning handicap allowances based on gender in some forms of play, and on skill in others. My best advice to you is to get your explanation straight from the horse’s mouth. Call the USGA (908.234.2300). They probably have a position paper with a full explanation of their rationale that they would be happy to send to you.

I will venture out onto a limb and give you my thinking on this matter, since you asked, but please remember that this is only a personal opinion.

Before the USGA offers guidelines on such things as handicap allowances for various formats, they conduct extensive research and perform detailed statistical analysis with the goal of coming up with a recommendation that is fair and equitable. My instinct is to trust their research and to accept their findings.

In all Four-Ball (better ball) and Best-Ball-of-Four tournaments, each player is playing his own ball. Since neither partner can rely on the other for assistance, the handicap allowances have to be specific to the gender of the individuals. The USGA has found, for example, in Four-Ball tournaments, that they become more fair if men receive a handicap allowance of 90% and women receive a 95% allowance. These are the recommended handicap allowances regardless of whether the tournaments are single-sex or mixed.

You are suggesting, Lulu, that because Alice (from my original example) has a lower handicap than Jimmy, her male partner, that in a Four-Ball tournament Alice should receive the 90% allowance and Jimmy the 95% allowance. I can understand the logic of your question, but I suspect that the USGA research showed that basing handicap allowances in tournaments where each player plays his own ball on skill rather than gender discriminates (believe it or not) against the woman if she happens to be the better player. The USGA must have found that the advantage for a man of any given handicap is the same as that for a woman of any given handicap when the allowance percentage is lower for the man than it is for the woman. Judging from my experiences competing against men, I find the USGA conclusions to be fairly accurate.

In a Chapman or Pinehurst format, however, conditions are different because the two partners are a team playing one ball. In this situation, whether the player is better or worse has greater significance than gender. In such a format the USGA has found that the handicap allowances that will provide for a fair competition are 60% of the Course Handicap of the better player combined with 40% of the CH of the weaker player. The recommendation is the same regardless of whether the tournament is single-sex or mixed.

By the way, while scramble competitions do not follow the Rules of Golf, the USGA nevertheless offers a recommendation for these tournaments. It suggests that tournament directors use 35% of the CH of the better player combined with 15% of the weaker player. These percentages, once again, do not consider gender, only the abilities of the players.

I agree with the USGA recommendations of handicap allowances by gender when you are playing your own ball and by skill level when you have a partner and together you are playing one ball. I have run a number of tournaments following these guidelines, and the results I have gotten reinforce my opinion that adopting the USGA guidelines produces a fair and equitable result.

Linda

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