Our Club calculates handicaps differently from the Golf Australia system. The differences are designed to suit us as a social club so people will not have to wait 10 weeks for a stroke improvement. Our handicaps go down more quickly and are eased more quickly depending on the player’s handicap level. We also reduce the winner of the day by 1 stroke if they are over 10 playing handicap and half a stroke if under 10 playing handicap just to keep them on their toes. You can check handicap calculations by using the handicap calculator.

HANDICAPPING RULES.

Winner Adjustment.

– Player exact handicap is 10.5 or higher, reduction is 1 stroke.
– Player exact handicap is less than 10.5 reduction is 0.5 of a stroke.

If the player wins but does not break his handicap, the winner adjustment is applied and there is no handicap relief applied. In two week events, the winner adjustment is applied to both rounds.

Definitions

Course Rating is 68.
Total Strokes is how many strokes you took for the round (Off the stick score)
Stableford Score is the number of stableford points for a stableford competition, e.g. 34
Par Score is the final par score, e.g. plus 2 or minus three
GrandPar Score is the final grandpar score, e.g. plus 2 or minus three

Determining Net Score

Player’s Net Score is calculated as follows depending on the competition

– Stroke Competition: Total Strokes – Handicap. e.g. 84 off the stick – 19 (handicap) = 65
– Stableford Competition: Course Rating + 36 – Stableford Score. e.g. 68 + 36 – 39 = 65 for a 39 stableford points result
– Par/GrandPar Competition: Course Rating – (Par/GrandPar Score). e.g. 68 – (+2) = 66 for a plus 2 or 68 – (-3) = 71 for a minus 3

Handicap Calculation

If Net Score is MORE than Course Rating then, except when the player is an event winner,
– for playing handicaps less than 19 add +0.2 of a stroke to the player’s exact handicap
– for playing handicaps between 20 and 35 add +0.3 of a stroke to the player’s exact handicap
For Veteran members only:
– for playing handicaps between 36 and 45 add +0.5 of a stroke to the player’s exact handicap

If Net Score is EQUAL TO the Course Rating then no adjustment (apart from winner adjustment) is made

If Net Score is LESS than Course Rating then for each stroke (one by one) do the following

FOR A SINGLE STROKE

1. 1. Round up the exact handicap – e.g. Rounding 9.5 exact handicap rounds up to 10 and exact handicap 9.4 rounds down to 9.
   2. If rounded handicap is less than 10, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.2
   3. If rounded handicap is between 10 and 18, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.3
   4. If rounded handicap is between 19 and 22, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.4
   5. If rounded handicap is between 23 and 27, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.5
   6. If rounded handicap is between 28 and 32, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.6
   7. If rounded handicap is between 33 and 35, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.7

For Veteran members only

1. If rounded handicap is between 36 and 40, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.8
2. If rounded handicap is between 41 and 45, his exact handicap is reduced by 0.9
3. Repeat steps 1 and relevant steps 2 to 9 for each stroke (So for example if the player is 3 strokes under the Course Rating then relevant steps would be done 3 times)

It’s very important to do the required steps for each stroke ONE AT A TIME. If you don’t then it’s easy to apply the wrong rate reduction as the reducing exact handicap crosses a handicap range.

When the above, downward adjustment, process is completed, the appropriate winner adjustment is applied using the original exact handicap to determine the deduction to be applied.

Examples

EXAMPLE ONE

Player has a handicap of 20.4 and wins the competition with 39 stableford points.
Net Score is 65 i.e. (68 + 36 – 39)
Player is 3 strokes under the course rating of 68.
1st Stroke Reduction
– 20.4 rounds to 20
– Adjustment for rounded handicap of 20 is 0.4 so new exact handicap is 20.0 (20.4 – 0.4)
2nd Stroke Reduction
– 20.0 rounds to 20
– Adjustment for rounded handicap of 20 is 0.4 so new exact handicap is 19.6 (20.0 – 0.4)
3rd Stroke Reduction
– 19.6 rounds to 20
– Adjustment for rounded handicap of 20 is 0.4 so new exact handicap is 19.2 (19.6 – 0.4)
Adjustment for Winning the comp
– Players starting exact handicap is more than 10.5 so deduct 1.0 from exact handicap 18.2 (19.6 – 1.0)
NEW EXACT HANDICAP IS 18.2

EXAMPLE TWO

Player has a handicap of 9.5 and wins the Par competition with a +2
Net Score is 66 i.e. 68 – (+2)
Player is 2 strokes under the course rating of 68.
1st Stroke Reduction
– 9.5 rounds to 10
– Adjustment for rounded handicap of 10 is 0.3 so new exact handicap is 9.2 (9.5 – 0.3)
2nd Stroke Reduction
– 9.2 rounds to 9
– Adjustment for rounded handicap of 9 is 0.2 so new exact handicap is 9.0 (9.2 – 0.2)
Adjustment for Winning the comp
– Players starting exact handicap at start is less than 10.5 so deduct 0.5 from exact handicap 8.5 (9.0 – 0.5)
NEW EXACT HANDICAP IS 8.5

EXAMPLE THREE

Player has a handicap of 9.5 and wins the Par competition with a -2
Net Score is 70 i.e. 68 – (-2)
Player is 2 strokes over the course rating of 68.

Because the player has won the event there is no adjustment for not playing to handicap.

Adjustment for Winning the comp
– Players starting exact handicap is less than 10.5 so deduct 0.5 from existing exact handicap 9.5 (9.5 – 0.5)
NEW EXACT HANDICAP IS 9.0

Handicapping New Players

Just to clarify the handicapping for new players, we take the first three cards submitted from Social rounds played with the Club. Each score on every hole is adjusted to a maximum of a double bogey, for example, if a 7 is scored on a par 4 then the result is adjusted to 6 – a double bogey. The adjusted scores are totalled for each card. The grand total is divided by 3 and the par for Ivanhoe (68) is deducted to arrive at the new handicap.

If a player has an official Golf Australia handicap, then the player will be deemed to be eligible to play in Club Competition immediately with his starting handicap set to his Daily handicap for Ivanhoe Public Golf Course (Blue or Black tees as appropriate).

Re-handicapping of Existing Members

If an existing member has had a long break from playing or has suffered an injury or physical impairment that permanently affects his ability to play to a standard indicated by his existing handicap, then the member can apply to the Club Captain for a review of his handicap to be made. If the Club Captain is satisfied that a handicap review is warranted on the evidence provided, then the most recent three cards submitted in competition (or social rounds, which will not be subject to existing handicap adjustment) with the Club will be assessed. At the discretion of the Handicapper and the Club Captain, the scores on these cards might be used for the purposes of re-setting the handicap on the basis given above. Also at their discretion, an additional two cards might be required to be submitted.

Handicapping for two round competitions

Please note, the second round is played with the SAME handicap as the first round. Once the final round is completed, then both rounds will be handicapped individually for the following week’s play after the event is completed. Double championship points are assigned based on the final placings over the two rounds. The winner adjustment will be applied to both rounds of handicap adjustment and will cancel any outward adjustment for over handicap rounds. Note: the handicap sheet after the second round will only show the second round adjustment.  This is a limitation of the handicapping system.