Still immersed in the maelstrom of changes in the Rules of Golf, another big change is coming in the not too distant future, the new World Handicap System. It seems quite logical since a few years ago the R&A and the USGA decided to unify the Rules of Golf, the Amateur Statute Rules and the material specifications.
However, it was not easy to bring together as many parties as are involved in this process, especially given the vast differences in how they compete across the globe.
Origins and development of the world handicap system
Historically, handicap systems were developed according to the way in which each area competed. Thus, for example, in the British Isles, until this century, women and men had different handicap systems.
Subsequently, when a system became established and proved to work properly, it was adopted by other areas with minor changes to adapt it to their experiences. The EGA handicap system is a good example of this, since it is based on the CONGU Handicap System with the incorporation of the USGA Course Rating System.
In the 90’s of the last century, the first meetings and contacts took place to have a single handicap system. This first attempt did not come to fruition, but it laid the foundations for the expansion of the USGA Course Rating System to all handicap systems. It also served to establish channels of communication between the different handicapping authorities.
First contacts
Contrary to what many people think, the R&A has no competence in handicap management, i.e. there is no handicap system developed by them. On the occasion of the 2011 British Open held at Royal St. George, representatives of The R&A, the USGA, Golf Australia (GA), EGA, Golf Argentina (AAG) and South Africa (SAGA) met to look at the possibility of developing a single handicap system.
From that meeting came a commitment to try to develop such a system, which was embodied in a founding document detailing the 10 main characteristics that any handicap system should have. In summary, these are:
– Allowing the maximum number of players access to have a handicap
– Enable players of different levels to compete on an equal footing in any field in the world.
– Predict with good accuracy a player’s score on any golf course under normal playing conditions
– Base the handicap on sufficient evidence of the level of the player
– Emphasize play in accordance with the Rules of Golf.
– Reflecting variations in game conditions
– Incorporating elements of flexibility to adapt to local requirements
– Easy to understand for players, clubs and federations, while being inexpensive to apply
– To have the confidence of users and administrators
– Ability to be reviewed by major handicapping authorities
Work begins
This meeting was followed by others to discuss how to develop this handicap system and which working groups should be formed to carry out this project. In 2014, the first of these groups was created, the World Handicap Research Team (WHRT), which would be in charge of studying and developing all the technical aspects (algorithms, formulas, etc). Originally formed by four people, this group has been growing until it is currently formed by seven people and assisted by an assistant.
Another group that was formed was the Handicap Operations Committee (HOC), which is the body that makes the final decisions on each of the components of the handicap system. It is a large group made up of fifteen people, representing each of the six current handicap systems, plus the R&A and some major national federations (such as Canada or Japan).
There are currently six working groups developing different aspects of such a complex project. In addition to the two mentioned above, we have the World Handicap Course Rating Committee (WHCRC), which is in charge of the Course Rating System; the Nomadic Task Force, which is in charge of integrating those players who do not belong to a club (a very common situation outside Spain, especially in the USA); the Book Committee, which is in charge of writing the manual; and the computer development working group.
In all these years there have been multiple meetings with each of the handicap authorities, national and supranational federations to get their opinion and to receive suggestions and recommendations from people with a lot of experience having been involved with handicap matters for many years.
But this information gathering did not stop at this level, but went one step further to launch in 2016 a worldwide online survey to know the opinion of the players themselves. This survey was completed with meetings with players in some countries to better understand their opinion and experience.
Current situation
The development of the World Handicap System is practically finished. We are currently working on 3 main aspects:
– Drafting of the manual and support guides
– Development of the necessary software applications
– Conducting a parallel test with real results
It has not been an easy road. As we said at the beginning of the article, each current handicap system has been developed to meet local requirements that vary greatly from one part of the planet to another. Here in Spain, players can access competitions with certain ease and therefore the handicap must offer the possibility to compete against all the other players in a fair way.
In the United States there are hardly any tournaments in the clubs and players use their handicaps in friendly games, and this requires different characteristics from the handicap system: in the United States any round played, whether it is a competition or not, must be taken into account for handicap purposes, there are players with low handicaps who have never played a competition.
In our antipodes, Australian clubs organize an average of 4 tournaments per week… These examples give an idea of the complexity of the process.
However, this process is about to be completed and throughout 2019 the final launch date of the system will be announced, the adaptation period that each federation will need to change from the current system to the new one, the manual will be published and a great effort will be made to teach all the bodies involved in a handicap system (federations, clubs, committees and players) how to use the new World Handicap System.
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