10 things to know about new handicapping system

We are now two weeks away from a new Australian golf handicap system.
I’m still a little amazed that many golfers aren’t aware of the upcoming changes and the lack of communication from certain golf clubs to their members on this topic.
Here is a quick ten point summary of what is about to happen. See the links below for more information.

    1. Handicapping changes will take effect from 9am April 9, 2010.
    2. The new system will calculate your handicap on your previous 20 rounds of golf.
    3. You won’t need to do anything. All previous rounds will be converted over automatically on April 9, 2010.
    4. Of your previous 20 rounds, the “best” ten will be used. The average of these ten will be calculated and multiplied by 0.96 to produce your new handicap.
    5. CCR’s will no longer be used to calculate your handicap and will be scrapped.
    6. All scores are now relative to the Australian Course Rating for each course.
    7. Your handicap may vary when you travel to other courses. If they are harder than your home course, your handicap will increase and vice versa.
    8. The system allows for a better representation of your current golfing ability.
    9. Further changes will be introduced over the next few years.
    10. The change over is on April 9. Not April 1st.

                      Related information
                      Handicapping information: Q&A
                      How does it work?
                      What’s with the 0.96?
                      Reasons for new course ratings

                      5 thoughts on “10 things to know about new handicapping system

                      • I don’t know about you, but is April the 1st, the absolute best day they could find to make a change of this magnitude?

                        I make a motion that we have mandatory installation of Video Cams in every pro shop around Australia, prior to that morning. And that said Pro Shops forfeit all rights of the footage to YouTube, as they hand out the scoring cards to the “Good Ol’ Boys”.

                        Reply
                      • Like any system, the key is posting EVERY eligible score. In other words, even the very high scores. Most people do not think high scores make a difference, but new score knocks out an old score and might make a difference.

                        Don’t forget to post a 9-hole score if you play 7-12 holes and an 18-hole score if you play 13 holes or more.

                        Have fun…

                        Reply
                      • Unfortunately Vince, EVERY score won’t be eligible for a few years. Only competition rounds are eligible for the moment here in Australia. The competition structure is pretty non-existent in the US from my experience.

                        When EVERY score is eligible, a sign in system will be used to indicate the round was for handicapping purposes.

                        Let’s not confuse everyone down here just yet though!

                        Reply
                      • April 9, April 9, April 9!!!

                        I had the wrong date in my original post.

                        The roll out is on April 9.

                        Reply

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