Playing from Different Tees Using Handicaps

[Colby]

Warning before you start reading this:

It's long and may cause brain tumours in laboratory rats!

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Being the geek that I am, I was doing a bit of research as I was going to play my first match play event at the club. I wandered over to the RCGA site and took a read through the handicapping manual. It's almost as long as the rule book! What I realized was what you really used course ratings and slope for. Maybe not all they are used for, but a usefull application of them.

All of this came from the RCGA site - www.rcga.org

So a few definitions to start:

Handicap Factor (This is the index, unofficial, that is listed on the OGT Handicap page)

An RCGA Handicap Factor is used to indicate a measurement of a player's potential scoring ability on a course of standard playing difficulty. It is expressed as a number taken to one decimal place and is used for conversion to a Course Handicap. (See Section 10.)

Course Handicap

A Course Handicap is the number of handicap strokes a player receives from a specific set of tees at the course being played to adjust their scoring ability to the level of scratch or 0-handicap golf. For a player with a plus Course Handicap, it is the number of artificial strokes the player gives to adjust their scoring ability to the level of scratch or 0-handicap golf. A Course Handicap is determined by applying the player's RCGA Handicap Factor to a Course Handicap Table or Course Handicap Formula. (See Section 10-4.) A player's Course Handicap is expressed as a whole number of strokes.

Handicap Allowance (This is the magical 80% that some people talk about)

A handicap allowance is the percentage of the Course Handicap recommended for a handicap competition. Allowances vary for different forms of competition and are designed to produce equitable competition. (See Section 9-4.)

Course Rating

Course Rating is the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for scratch golfers under normal course and weather conditions. It is expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place, and is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring ability of a scratch golfer. (See Section 13.)

Slope Rating

Slope Rating is the evaluation of the relative difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers compared to the Course Rating (i.e., compared to the difficulty of a course for scratch golfers). Slope Rating is computed from the difference between the Bogey Rating (See Section 13-1g) and the Course Rating. The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155. A golf course of standard playing difficulty has an RCGA Slope Rating of 113.

Scratch Golfer
A scratch golfer is a very proficient player. The average of the better half of the player's scores would equal the course rating. A male scratch golfer can hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470 yard hole in two shots. A female scratch golfer can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400 yard hole in two shots.

Bogey Golfer

A male bogey golfer has an RCGA Handicap Factor of 17.5 to 22.4. He can hit tee shots an average of 200 yards and can reach a 370 yard hole in two shots. A female bogey golfer has a CLGA Handicap Factor of 21.5 to 26.4. She can hit tee shots an average of 150 yards and can reach a 280 yard hole in two shots.

I included the scratch and bogey golfer in case people were interested.

So now let's see what we do with these things. Let's say we have two golfers, Bill and Ted. Bill's handicap factor is 12 and Ted's is 20. Bill prefer's to play from the blue tees while Ted is uncomfortable from there and would rather play from the white. At first this may seem pretty simple to figure out. The white tees have a rating of 70.1 and a slope of 128 while the blue tees have a rating of 72.8 and a slope of 132. Using the charts at the course they want to play, Bill's course handicap would be 14 and Ted's would be 23, a difference of 9 strokes. But if we look at Bill's course handicap from the whites, it's also 14. The blues are more difficult, but Bill's course handicap is the same, how does that work?

The course ratings come into effect here. If Bill and Ted played from the same tees, their course handicaps would be identical. Bill is 14 and Ted is 23 from both whites and blues. If they play the same tees, great. But Bill wants to play from the blues. Now the course rating from the blues is 72.8 and from the whites it is 70.1, so, according to the RCGA, section 3-5a:

Different tees usually have different RCGA Course Ratings. Because Course Ratings reflect the probable scores of scratch golfers, the higher-rated course is more difficult, and the player playing from the set of tees with the higher RCGA Course Rating receives additional strokes equal to the difference between the Course Ratings, with 0.5 or greater rounded upward. The additional strokes are added to the Course Handicap of the player playing from the higher-rated set of tees.

72.8-70.1=2.7=3. So Bill adds 3 strokes to his course handicap bringing it to 17 for this match, a difference of 6 strokes.

So where does the 80% rule come in? It's not always 80%. Section 9-4 of the RCGA Handicap Manual covers these circumstances.
http://www.rcga.org/english/Handicapping/manual9.asp

It's long and detailed, but here are some examples:

• Singles Match Play - Allowance: The higher handicapped player receives the full difference between the Course Handicaps of the two players: the lower handicapped player shall play from scratch. (See Decision 9-4a (i)/1.)
• Four Ball Stroke Play - Allowance: Men - 90% of Course Handicap; Women - 95% of Course Handicap

Have a look, there's only a couple of cases where 80% is used as a guideline, but in the end it is the committee that decides what the allowance should be. In our case above, if the committee decides that it should be 80%, Bill would have a course handicap from the blues of 17, 80% which is 14, and Ted's course handicap would be 18 from the whites, 80% of 23, so a difference of 4. Bill, having the lower handicap would play from scratch, while Ted would get a stroke on the four highest handicapped holes.

Don't know if anyone is interested in this, just thought I would write my thoughts down.

[Deep Woods]

While all this is cool, and really helps understand things, and thank you for posting it, but...i have a headache. I'll have to study it over the next year. Ever realize you're getting old when it takes more time to absorb things?

[Colby]

While all this is cool, and really helps understand things, and thank you for posting it, but...i have a headache. I'll have to study it over the next year. Ever realize you're getting old when it takes more time to absorb things?

LOL, yeah, it's a bit long winded, I should put a warning in front!

[EDSGOLF]

Is there a book report?

[Big_duck]

Is there a book report?

Or Cliff Notes?

[Colby]

Or Cliff Notes?

hahaha. Actually it's like a Cliff's Notes for that part of the handicap manual!

[EDSGOLF]

A female scratch golfer can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400 yard hole in two shots.

That means I'm a female scratch golfer, YAHOO!