Handicap News - OCTOBER 2013

Dear Golfer,

In this month’s news we advise of the South African Golf Association's (SAGA) decision to follow the lead of major golfing countries and license the United States Golf Association (USGA) course rating system, and discuss the importance of peer review as the main control in the handicap system.
 
License to use the USGA Course Rating System

The SAGA has announced that they have signed an agreement to license the USGA course rating system for South Africa. This means that in 2014 (from a date still to be finalised) the Provincial Unions will start to rate all courses using the very comprehensive USGA rating system. Handicaps are calculated from the gross score entered in relation to the rating of the tee from which the player played - and not to the Par of the course. So it is very important that these tee ratings are correct and comparable from course to course. The current Course rating system used in South Africa relies mainly on the length of the course, while the USGA rating system takes into account elevation changes, the fairway width and slope,  hazards in the drive landing area, as well as green-side hazards, green size, green slope and average green speed. 
 
In the USA the rating system also incorporates a slope rating,  this is essentially the difference in the rating between a scratch player and a 19 handicap golfer. Handicaps are then adjusted prior to play according to the slope of the tee. All the courses in South Africa will be rated for the scratch player and the 19 handicap player according to the USGA system so that once all the courses have been rated, the SAGA can decide after consultation with the golfers whether to introduce the slope system to South Africa or not.

 
The USGA course rating system has been adopted by all major golf playing countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Scandanavia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, however not all have introduced the Slope aspect of the rating.
 
The implementation will take more than a year to complete because it will take the Unions and their trained course rating volunteers some time to cover South Africa's 450 Clubs. In the interim we are using all visitor scores at Clubs to check whether there are any tees which fall outside the normal statistical variance. This information is fed to the Provincial Unions who can adjust incorrect ratings.
 
The SAGA previously introduced a dynamic computer calculated tee rating, which adjusted the tee rating based on the scores entered on the day; this was done to ensure that any weather or course set up changes that affected scores  were taken into account. But the statistical formula used was not sufficiently accurate for smaller fields, so this dynamic rating was removed pending the adoption of a global standard (Dynamic rating is expected to be part of the global system).
 
Peer Review

There are two options when it comes to reducing the opportunity for people to manipulate their handicaps. One is to allow only verified scores from club competitions, which are then captured and entered by the club staff. The other is to have a system where the players enter all their scores, which are available for clubs and fellow golfers to view to ensure the correct scores are entered.
 
In Britain and Europe only competition scores entered by the club onto a centralised or local system are eligible for handicaps. Their federations have reported that this system is not ideal because fewer and fewer people are recording the minimum of 3 competition scores per annum necessary to have a valid handicap, resulting in fewer handicapped golfers.
 
Our system, like the USA relies on club and peer review to ensure players submit correct scores. The handicap system cannot catch the cheats who either don't play every shot to the best of their ability, and who don't  enter scores or enter the wrong scores. However our live centralised system with peer and club review makes it easy for fellow players to check the scores of a suspected cheat. Most players can remember when and with whom they played, so can verify their partner's or opposition scores. Clubs in turn can easily check what scores their members enter in competitions and review the scores with playing partners or the opposition. The fact that all scores have to be entered within 72 hours to avoid a penalty and that they are immediately live on the system for all to see, is a very important part of the handicap system.
 
Golfers should occasionally check the scores entered by their playing partners  and scores entered by those who have questionable handicaps. Handicap golf is an amateur game with small prizes for good performances, so relies on honesty and integrity. The global view is that there is no point in trying to design a complicated system to help catch the cheats, but which negatively impacts the fun and enjoyment of the 98% of honest Golfers.
 
Conclusion

The majority of golfers in South Africa want to be part of global golf and adopt the global handicapping system when it is finalised, this will ensure that we have globally accepted handicaps centrally calculated on properly rated courses, giving golfers of differing abilities an equal and fair chance to compete. We are well on our way to achieving that goal.

Last chance to swing your way to Mauritius in the 2013 Castle Lite Pairs Challenge

The days of summer golf and long afternoons with your golfing buddies have arrived, so while you start teeing it up more often, you should also catch up on the standings of the 2013 Castle Lite Pairs Challenge.
 
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CURRENT 2013 CASTLE LITE PAIRS CHALLENGE LEADERBOARD
 
With the incentive of a “once in a lifetime” golfing trip to Mauritius, the registered rounds are starting to stack up nicely with a tightly-bunched leaderboard showing a host of potential winners of South Africa's coolest pairs golf challenge. The Circle of Trust pair is leading the pack followed by the 2 pairs, Skillies’ Boys and Grass Masters, close behind them.
 
The cut-off date for round submissions is the 31st of October, so there is still plenty of time to produce your best, and secure your spot on the trip to Mauritius for the finals at Anahita and Ile aux Cerfs golf courses.
 
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE 2013 CASTLE LITE PAIRS CHALLENGE

Quote

When the ducks are walking, you know it is too windy to be playing golf. ~ Dave Stockton
 

Swing Easy!

Handicaps Network Africa