Click Here for Course Handicap Charts
We would advise all members to have a copy of these tables.
It is the players responsibility to know their own handicap index.
***Your Handicap Index is not your course playing handicap or your playing handicap!***
Your handicap index is the figure used to determine your course handicap for whatever course you are playing.
Competition Formats and Handicap allowances
Format of Round Handicap Allowance
Strokeplay
Individual 95%
Individual Stableford 95%
Individual Par / Bogey 95%
Individual Maximum Score 95%
Four – Ball 85%
Four - Ball Stableford 85%
Four - Ball Par / Bogey 95%
Matchplay
Individual 100%
Fourball 90%
Other
Foursomes 50% of combined team handicap
Greensomes 60% Low / 40% High
Pinehurst / Chapman 60% Low / 40% High
Best 1 of 4 Strokeplay 75%
Best 2 of 4 Strokeplay 85%
Best 3 of 4 Strokeplay 100%
All 4 of 4 Strokeplay 100%
Scramble (4 players) 25% Low, 20%, 15%, 10% High
Scramble (3 players) 30% Low, 20%, 10% High
Scramble (2 players) 35% Low, 15% High
Total score of 2 Matchplay 100%
Best 1 of 4 Par / Bogey 75%
Best 2 of 4 Par / Bogey 80%
Best 3 of 4 Par / Bogey 90%
All 4 of 4 Par / Bogey 100%
Handicap Allowance
Handicap Allowance is the percentage of the Course Handicap applied to create equity for all players participating in a specific format of play.
Playing Handicap
Playing Handicap is the Course Handicap adjusted for any Handicap Allowances or Terms of the Competition. It represents the actual number of strokes the player gives or receives for the round being played. Handicap allowance allows for equity to be achieved across all formats, giving all players an equal opportunity of success.
How to determine your Playing Handicap
Players will be able to look up their Playing handicap on charts at the golf club or on Golf Ireland app. In singles events a golfer plays using their Course handicap and allows the HandicapMaster software to adjust the strokes received.
Reasons for the chosen Handicap Allowances
Many years of experience using Course Ratings and Slope Ratings in other parts of the World has shown that the WHS "best 8 from 20 average" provides equity in head-to-head match play. In singles stroke play however, WHS slightly favours the higher handicaps, hence the 95% handicap allowance to provide equity.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HANDICAP INDEX, YOUR COURSE HANDICAP AND YOUR PLAYING HANDICAP
- You will have a Handicap Index instead of an exact Handicap – this will be expressed to one decimal place and be valid worldwide.
- You will have a Course Handicap according to the tees being used at the golf course. You must write this Course Handicap on the scorecard. A look-up table, located in the clubhouse will help you with this.
- Neither of these, however, is necessarily the handicap you play-off.
- Your Playing Handicap (Strokes Received) is dependent on the format of play – a look-up table, located in the clubhouse will indicate a Handicap Allowance applicable to that format of play.
- Course Handicap = Handicap Index x (Slope Rating / 113) Found using Course Handicap Tables linked above!
- Playing Handicap = Course Handicap x Allowance
YOUR EXACT HANDICAP INDEX
- It is an averaging calculation based on the best 8 out of your last 20 scores.
- Handicap Indexes will be recalculated at the end of each day (no longer at close of competition)
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PLAYER PLAYING OFF AN EXACT HANDICAP INDEX OF 13.5:
- My exact Handicap Index is 16.5; I am playing in Williamstown off the yellow tees, which have a Slope Rating of 121.
- I am playing in a Singles Stableford format competition (allowance 95%).
- My Course Handicap becomes 18 ie. 16.5 x (121/113) = 17.67, which is rounded to 18. I enter this on the scorecard in the space provided. Note: The 113 figure in the calculation is the (Standard Difficulty Rating).
- My Playing Handicap for the purpose of calculating my score is 18 x 0.95 = 17.1. So I play off 17.
- Do not worry about doing the above calculations, the competition entry software (HandicapMaster) will do it for you and a look-up table will be available for additional help.
I played well and scored 36 stableford points, including a scratch on the 13th after going out of bounds.
My Adjusted Gross Score was 89 strokes – the system automatically entered 8 strokes for the 13th, equivalent to a net double bogey.
The Course Rating off the yellow tees is 69.2
The Playing Conditions Calculation adjustment (PCC), at the end of the day, was reckoned by the system to be plus 2 strokes – reflecting the difficulties experienced by all who returned scores from those tees that day – thick rough and awful weather.
The system first calculates an initial differential, namely Adjusted Gross Score minus Course Rating minus PCC adjustment, 89 – 69.2 – 2 = 17.80
This is then ‘scaled’ based on the Slope Rating to give my Score Differential (113/121) * 17.80 = 16.62, rounded to 16.6.
[The full formula: Score Differential = (113/Slope Rating) x (adjusted gross score – Course Rating – PCC adjustment)]
As it happens, my previous eight best Score Differentials were 15.5, 16.8, 14.0, 16.8, 16.2, 19.0, 16.2, 17.5. The average of these being 16.5.
My new best eight will now be 15.5, 16.8, 14.0, 16.8, 16.2, 16.6, 16.2, 17.5 with an average of 16.2. So my new Handicap Index became 16.2 as of midnight on that day.
All these calculations were done behind the scenes and I would have received an update alert informing me of my new Handicap Index.
Notice too that SSS, CSS, Buffer Zones, Handicap Categories and 0.1 increases have all been done away with!
NOTABLE CHANGES
Handicap Index has replaced Exact Handicap
Course Handicap is new and is based on the Slope Rating
Playing Handicap has replaced Strokes Allowed
Course Rating has replaced SSS (Standard Scratch Score)
Playing Conditions Calculation has replaced the need for CSS (Competition Scratch Score)
Intrigued? Confused? Want to find out more? Visit https://www.whs.com/
DOWNLOAD THE NEW GOLF IRELAND APP
As a member of an affiliated golf club with an active WHS Handicap Index you can now download and use the Golf Ireland App. The new App allows you to enjoy the flexibility of recording scores for handicap purposes from either 9-hole or 18-hole social rounds played in accordance with the Rules of Handicapping. You can also view your own handicap index and playing record as well as follow and communicate with friends.
Key App Features:
1. View your handicap index and score history
2. View your fellow club members handicap index*
3. Download a scorecard to submit your general play score
To find out more about how the App works and how the geo-location technology and time lag restrictions will protect the integrity of the handicap system, watch the How to Video Series here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SBTVXoKWgE&list=PL9PeXb-oZMylqB-utOrGOi4eLVkY_dJM1
To download the app, simply search for "Golf Ireland" in the Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) and select the version with the Golf Ireland logo.
To log in use your Golf Ireland membership number and password. If you have any queries regarding your handicap index, please contact your club handicap committee who will be able to assist you further.
Common Questions
What handicap do players actually write on the scorecard?
Answer: The player records their Course Handicap (taken from lookup on the Course Handicap Tables) on the scorecard in the space provided.
Why is the handicap beside my name in the Competition Results Report lower than the handicap I recorded on the scorecard?
Answer:
The (Play H'cap) that you might see on the results report is your Playing Handicap (Not your Course Handicap!).
The Playing Handicap is the Course Handicap adjusted for any Handicap Allowances or Terms of the Competition.
It represents the actual number of strokes the player gives or receives for the round being played.
Handicap allowance allows for equity to be achieved across all formats, giving all players an equal opportunity of success.
Playing Handicap = Course Handicap x Handicap Allowance.
Players do not need to worry about this calculation. In our club the HandicapMaster software looks after this.
What do you mean by Handicap Allowance?
Answer: Handicap Allowance is the percentage of the Course Handicap applied to create equity for all players participating in a specific format of play.
For example in a Singles Stableford or Singles Strokeplay competition the Handicap Allowance is 95%. This allowance is mandatory under handicapping rules in Ireland.
Why are handicap cuts not appearing on the Competition Results Report?
Answer: Handicap Indexes will be recalculated at the end of each day (no longer at close of competition).
All members are encouraged to get familiar with the new World Handicap System.