Warley Park Seniors Section - Information
Note:
Warley Park determined after this webpage was put up that it would not raise the upper limit for men from its present 28.
The maximum men’s handicap increases from 28 to 36
A new ‘club handicap’ will be introduced for clubs who wish to allocate a handicap higher than 28 for use in club events. This handicap will only be valid at the player’s home club, not in opens and the like.
Pros: Enables beginners who can’t break 100 to have a handicap and play in comps.
Cons: Lower handicappers will be aghast at the idea that someone off 36 could come in with an outrageous score in a competition. Having one handicap at your home club and another when you’re on the road seems odd.
If you’re struggling, your handicap will increase more quickly
A new process will flag players with seven consecutive 0.1 handicap increases so the handicap committee can review and apply an immediate further handicap increase if necessary.
Pros: Good for older golfers whose performance is deteriorating faster than a series of 0.1 increases can keep up with.
Cons: A bad run of form could see your handicap increase beyond what is realistic for your ability. Potential for unscrupulous golfers to play seven poor rounds deliberately, receive a handicap increase and then win a competition.
Nine-hole rounds will count as qualifying scores
You will no longer need to play 18 holes to submit a qualifying score. To maintain an active ‘competition’ handicap, you will still need to complete 54 holes in a year, but these can be made up of nine-hole rounds if necessary. A score within or better than the buffer zone will have 18 points added to create an 18-hole score, while a score outside the buffer zone will be doubled to give an 18-hole total.
Pros: Enables those who are short of time to maintain an active ‘competition’ handicap.
Cons: No significant ones we can see, though all amateurs know that the front nine can be a totally different story to the back, so a nine-hole score may not be as representative of your form and ability.
Higher handicappers will influence the CSS
The Competition Scratch Score (CSS) is calculated by the average scores in the competition, to give an indication of how easy or difficult the course was playing on the day. Currently, only scores from category 1-3 golfers (handicaps up to 20.4) are considered, but this will extend to include Category 4 golfers from next year.
Pros: If you’re going to calculate how hard the course was based on scores, why not use as many scores as possible?
Cons: Higher handicappers are more likely to score significantly above or below their handicap than low handicappers, based on form on the day more than course conditions.
Warley Park determined after this webpage was put up that it would not raise the upper limit for men from its present 28.
The maximum men’s handicap increases from 28 to 36
A new ‘club handicap’ will be introduced for clubs who wish to allocate a handicap higher than 28 for use in club events. This handicap will only be valid at the player’s home club, not in opens and the like.
Pros: Enables beginners who can’t break 100 to have a handicap and play in comps.
Cons: Lower handicappers will be aghast at the idea that someone off 36 could come in with an outrageous score in a competition. Having one handicap at your home club and another when you’re on the road seems odd.
If you’re struggling, your handicap will increase more quickly
A new process will flag players with seven consecutive 0.1 handicap increases so the handicap committee can review and apply an immediate further handicap increase if necessary.
Pros: Good for older golfers whose performance is deteriorating faster than a series of 0.1 increases can keep up with.
Cons: A bad run of form could see your handicap increase beyond what is realistic for your ability. Potential for unscrupulous golfers to play seven poor rounds deliberately, receive a handicap increase and then win a competition.
Nine-hole rounds will count as qualifying scores
You will no longer need to play 18 holes to submit a qualifying score. To maintain an active ‘competition’ handicap, you will still need to complete 54 holes in a year, but these can be made up of nine-hole rounds if necessary. A score within or better than the buffer zone will have 18 points added to create an 18-hole score, while a score outside the buffer zone will be doubled to give an 18-hole total.
Pros: Enables those who are short of time to maintain an active ‘competition’ handicap.
Cons: No significant ones we can see, though all amateurs know that the front nine can be a totally different story to the back, so a nine-hole score may not be as representative of your form and ability.
Higher handicappers will influence the CSS
The Competition Scratch Score (CSS) is calculated by the average scores in the competition, to give an indication of how easy or difficult the course was playing on the day. Currently, only scores from category 1-3 golfers (handicaps up to 20.4) are considered, but this will extend to include Category 4 golfers from next year.
Pros: If you’re going to calculate how hard the course was based on scores, why not use as many scores as possible?
Cons: Higher handicappers are more likely to score significantly above or below their handicap than low handicappers, based on form on the day more than course conditions.
How do I get a handicap?
Handicaps can only be administered by a Golf Club that is affiliated to a Golf Union. A player must play a minimum of three, eighteen hole rounds of golf (usually with a playing partner who already holds a handicap), and submit these scores for their handicap to be calculated.
How are handicaps calculated?
Golf handicaps are calculated using an average of the three rounds a player submits. If a player has completed 18 holes in 80, 86, and 95 strokes, their average score would be 87 (80 + 86 + 95 = 261 / 3 = 87). The standard scratch score (SSS) for the course is then deducted from the average strokes taken. If the SSS is 70, the player would be allocated a starting handicap of 17 (87 – 70 = 17).
What is a Standard Scratch Score (SSS)?
The SSS for a golf course is the number of shots that a ‘scratch’ golfer is expected to take over 18 holes. This may differ from the par for the course. A scratch golfer is a player with a handicap of 0.
What is the maximum handicap a player can be assigned?
For men, the maximum golf handicap allowed is 28.
For ladies, the maximum golf handicap allowed is 36.
What is the difference between playing handicaps and exact handicaps?
Exact handicaps are calculated to one decimal place, according to returned scores from competitions. A playing handicap is a player’s exact handicap rounded to the nearest whole number, so if the exact handicap was 12.8, the playing handicap would be 13.
What are handicap categories?
Golf handicaps are split into five categories:
Category 1 – Handicaps of 5 or less (0.1)
Category 2 – Handicaps of 5.5 to 12.4 (0.2)
Category 3 – Handicaps of 12.5 to 20.4 (0.3)
Category 4 – Handicaps of 20.5 to 28 (0.4)
Category 5 – Handicaps of 28.1 to 36 (ladies only) (0.5)
How does a handicap get increased or decreased?
During competitions, if a player betters their handicap they will most likely get a reduction, or a ‘cut’ on that handicap. There are several factors that affect this such as Competition Scratch Scores (CSS) but put quite simply, if a player betters his handicap by two shots, his handicap will be reduced by 2 x the handicap category he is in.
For example: a player’s handicap is 20 and he completes a competition round in 15 over par, therefore is 5 shots better than his handicap. A handicap of 20 is in category 3, so they player will be cut 0.3 for every shot he bettered his handicap by. 5 shots better x 0.3 = 1.5 shots. His new handicap would be 18.5. When players complete competition rounds with a score worse than their current handicap, the maximum their handicap can be increased by is 0.1, and this is the same for every handicap category.
Handicaps can only be administered by a Golf Club that is affiliated to a Golf Union. A player must play a minimum of three, eighteen hole rounds of golf (usually with a playing partner who already holds a handicap), and submit these scores for their handicap to be calculated.
How are handicaps calculated?
Golf handicaps are calculated using an average of the three rounds a player submits. If a player has completed 18 holes in 80, 86, and 95 strokes, their average score would be 87 (80 + 86 + 95 = 261 / 3 = 87). The standard scratch score (SSS) for the course is then deducted from the average strokes taken. If the SSS is 70, the player would be allocated a starting handicap of 17 (87 – 70 = 17).
What is a Standard Scratch Score (SSS)?
The SSS for a golf course is the number of shots that a ‘scratch’ golfer is expected to take over 18 holes. This may differ from the par for the course. A scratch golfer is a player with a handicap of 0.
What is the maximum handicap a player can be assigned?
For men, the maximum golf handicap allowed is 28.
For ladies, the maximum golf handicap allowed is 36.
What is the difference between playing handicaps and exact handicaps?
Exact handicaps are calculated to one decimal place, according to returned scores from competitions. A playing handicap is a player’s exact handicap rounded to the nearest whole number, so if the exact handicap was 12.8, the playing handicap would be 13.
What are handicap categories?
Golf handicaps are split into five categories:
Category 1 – Handicaps of 5 or less (0.1)
Category 2 – Handicaps of 5.5 to 12.4 (0.2)
Category 3 – Handicaps of 12.5 to 20.4 (0.3)
Category 4 – Handicaps of 20.5 to 28 (0.4)
Category 5 – Handicaps of 28.1 to 36 (ladies only) (0.5)
How does a handicap get increased or decreased?
During competitions, if a player betters their handicap they will most likely get a reduction, or a ‘cut’ on that handicap. There are several factors that affect this such as Competition Scratch Scores (CSS) but put quite simply, if a player betters his handicap by two shots, his handicap will be reduced by 2 x the handicap category he is in.
For example: a player’s handicap is 20 and he completes a competition round in 15 over par, therefore is 5 shots better than his handicap. A handicap of 20 is in category 3, so they player will be cut 0.3 for every shot he bettered his handicap by. 5 shots better x 0.3 = 1.5 shots. His new handicap would be 18.5. When players complete competition rounds with a score worse than their current handicap, the maximum their handicap can be increased by is 0.1, and this is the same for every handicap category.