Golf “What’s your handicap?” That’s one of the most common questions which golfers exchange on the first tee. The standard reply: “My game!” Joking aside, thanks to the USGA and the R&A, the golf handicapping game within the game from Australia to the Americas is set for major changes come 2020. Recently, golf ’s two most powerful governing bodies announced a new joint initiative: a World Handicap System (WHS). By implementing a unified set of guidelines, they hope to grow the game and make the sport a more enjoyable experience for everyone. “For some time, we’ve heard golfers say, ‘I’m not good enough to have a handicap,’ or ‘I don’t play enough to have a handicap’,” comments Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA. “We want to make the right decisions now to encourage a more welcoming and social game.” Adds Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of the R&A: “We want to make it more attractive to golfers to obtain a handicap and strip away some of the complexity and variation which can be off-putting for newcomers. Having a handicap which is easier to understand and is truly portable around the world can make golf much more enjoyable, and is one of the unique selling points of our sport.” The WHS’s main goal is to make the rules of the sport more consistent, flexible, fair and portable for globe-trotting golfers, who often play in various locales and are subjected to different handicap rules. These proposed changes are the result of six years of debates, deliberations and discussions. While the USGA and R&A conceived the unified system, it was created following consultations and a thorough review of the systems of several other handicapping authorities, including Golf Australia, the Council of National Golf Unions in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association, the South African Golf Association and the Argentine Golf Association. These six handicapping authorities represent approximately 15 million golfers in 80 countries who currently maintain a golf handicap. Quantitative research was conducted in 15 countries around the world; 76 per cent of the 52,000 respondents voiced their support for a World Handicap System, 22 per cent were willing to consider its benefits and only two per cent opposed. This was followed by a series of focus groups in which more than 300 golf administrators and golfers from different regions around the world offered extensive feedback regarding the features of the proposed new system. Given worldwide alignment towards a single system, all parties will now embark on a twoyear transition period targeting implementation in 2020. When adopted, the World Handicap System will be governed by the USGA and the R&A and administered locally by the six existing authorities and national associations around the world. Safeguards will be included to ensure consistency as well as adaptability to differing golf cultures. For snowbirds, this change is welcome. Think about how many times you’ve played a course during your winter away or your travels abroad and it’s been difficult to enter your score for handicap purposes because of differing slope ratings and systems from course to course, country to country. Or what about that weekly match with your American friends and making sure that you are fairly determining who gets how many strokes based on your respective handicaps? Let’s take a closer look at some of these changes to better understand whyyou– whether just a weekend warrior or a golf nut – might care. KEY FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM: •• Flexibility when it comes to game format; the WHS allows both competitive and recreational rounds to count for handicap purposes; •• A calculation that considers the impact of weather and other course conditions and how these might affect a player’s performance on a given day; •• A consistent handicap that is portable from coast to coast, country to country and course to course. The WHS will adopt the USGACourse and Slope Rating System, which 80 countries already follow; •• A minimal number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap; a recommendation that the number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap be 54 holes from any combination of 18-hole and 9-hole rounds; •• A limit of Net Double Bogey as the maximum hole score (for handicapping purposes only); and •• A maximum handicap limit of 54.0. NEW WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM SET TO MAKE GAME MORE ENJOYABLE The new World Handicap System aims to make measuring a golfer’s game more consistent around the globe. Still, one glaring drawback remains. 42 | www.snowbirds.org
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