scroll down for more
On the 1st of April 2024, The changes to WHS™ Rules of Handicapping & Course Rating™ standards took effect in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Course Handicap™ un-rounding: As of April 2024, for competition purposes, the calculated and unrounded Course Handicap ™ will be carried through to the Playing Handicap calculation using "machine precision" (competition software). For general play score submission, the golfer will continue to use the calculated and rounded Course Handicap™.
Team Match Play allowance application: The application of allowances in team match play events has also been changed so that the % is applied to the difference between the players course handicaps, taken from the lowest player upwards.
Course Handicap is the number of handicap strokes a player receives before Handicap Allowances, on a specific course and set of tees, as determined by the Slope Rating.
A player's 18 hole Course Handicap is determined by multiplying their Handicap Index by (Slope Rating divided by the neutral Slope Rating of 113) and adding the difference between Course Rating and Par.
For example, for a man with a 20.1 Handicap Index playing from the Blue tees at TPGC
Course Handicap = 20.1 x [ 120 / 113 ] + [ 69.8 - 71 ] = 20.2 (20)
Handicap Allowance is the percentage of Course Handicap for the format of play.
The allowances for the most commonly used formats are designated as mandatory by England Golf, for example: 100% for match play, 95% for individual stroke play and 85% for better-ball stroke play.
Playing Handicap is the Course Handicap adjusted for any Handicap Allowance. It represents the actual number of strokes the player gives or receives for the round being played.
• Playing Handicap is used to determine Competition Results
When a player submits an Acceptable Score, the Score Differential for the round is calculated by first comparing the Adjusted Gross Score with the Course Rating and taking into account any PCC (Playing Condition Calculation) adjustments for the day. The differential is multiplied by 113 and divided by the Slope Rating of the course played to determine the equivalent differential on a course with a Neutral Slope Rating of 113. For example:
A man playing the Blue tees at TPGC (Course Rating 69.8, Slope Rating 120) has an Adjusted Gross Score of 90. The PCC for the day is 0.
Score Differential = [ 90 - 69.8 - 0.0 ] x [ 113 / 120 ] = 20.4
Each new Score Differential is added to the player's Scoring Record and used to calculate their new Handicap Index.