Golf handicapping and slope: Why has my handicap changed?

Here is why your handicap may change following the latest, and last, round of handicapping changes made to Australian golf.

By now you may have heard that Golf Australia is unveiling a raft of changes to complete the overhaul of the Australian golf handicapping system. You may well head over to GolfLink (from 7pm tonight) to check out your handicap and notice it has changed.

Here is why.

Your previous handicap was calculated by averaging the best 8 of your last 20 rounds of golf (multiplied by 0.93). The handicap was calculated from the “played to” number that indicated what your score was relative to the golf course rating.

Your new GA handicap has been recalculated in exactly the same way as before, but now all of your previous “played to” rounds have been adjusted to include the new slope rating system.

Every tee block on every golf course in Australia has been rated and assigned a slope rating.  Previously a score of 36 points from the back tees on a difficult golf course wasn’t always reflected as being that much different from 36 points on the front tees. The new system will take this into account and you will now get a better idea of how well you played with respect to the difficulty of the golf course.

So, all 20 of your previous rounds will be adjusted for slope – by multiplying all of your “played to” scores by 113 divided by the slope rating of the golf course you played.

It is highly likely that your handicap will have changed and your new GA handicap will be the one you take with you everywhere – even to your home golf course. From now on, your daily handicap will be calculated from your GA handicap and will depend on what golf course and from what tees you play.

Any questions? What did I miss?

9 thoughts on “Golf handicapping and slope: Why has my handicap changed?

  • How far back are the previous rounds being re-calculated using DSR? Just the last 20, or every round recorded?

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    • I’m not sure Courty. My guess would be just the last 20 as that is all that is required to calculate the new GA handicap.

      Reply
  • My handicap has gone up but my course is rated at 125/127 and all but one of my best 8 scores are there. So how come?

    Reply
    • Hard to know exactly without seeing the scores – happy to take a look if you want to post them here or email me.

      Reply
  • Just go and play. Your handicap is what it is. Hit the ball hard, sink putts and the rest will take care if itself!!

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  • Why have my official changes been calculated on a slope rating of 127, yet my course is rated at 121? Every game has been on this same course?

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    • Hey Bazza. Good question. I’d be keen to see all the numbers as a good case study. what is your home course? Does it have multiple slope ratings for different tees?

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      • Melville Glades In Perth. Blue markers are 121 and Black are 124. I’ve never seen Black in play the entire 3+ years I’ve been playing there. I played Sunday for the first time under the new system and the slope rating was 121, which is what it should be. I don’t know where the 127 came from….?

        Reply
        • Interesting indeed. Ask the club. See if everyone else has been re-calculated the same way.

          Reply

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