World Handicap System (WHS)
World Handicap System (WHS)
The WHS comes into force in the UK on 2 November 2020. Its purpose is to enable players of any ability to compete with others on a fair basis.
There will be changes to how your handicap will be calculated. To help we will issue bulletins regularly to give you more information about how the system works and how you can find out more.
All members who have a current handicap, will be given a ‘handicap index’. This will be calculated on your last 20 rounds of golf, taking an average of the best 8 scores. Don’t worry if you haven’t completed 20 rounds in the last year the system will still be able to work it out. The handicap index is used to calculate your ‘playing handicap’.
All courses will have a ‘slope rating’. The slope rating is an indication of the relative difficulty of a golf course for players who are not scratch players compared to players who are scratch players. We are still awaiting our slope rating from Wales Golf - this should be with us soon.
Once you have decided which tees you are going to play off you must convert your handicap index into a ‘course handicap’. Your course handicap provides you with the number of strokes you need to play to your handicap based on the difficulty of the course.
The conversion process is easy and can be done by using a look-up table which will eventually be near the first tee, using club software or a mobile app (more details to follow). Our software will automatically do all calculations, giving you your playing handicap. You can do it yourself by using the following formula for an 18-hole round:
Course Handicap = Handicap Index x (Slope Rating / 113)
Depending on the format of play, a ‘handicap allowance’ may be applied to your course handicap. For example, the recommended handicap allowance for individual stroke play events is 95%.
Once you have finished your round, you will submit your score in accordance with club procedures as soon as possible. How this will be achieved will depend on Covid rules. The prompt submission of your score is important as it will enable your handicap index to be updated ready for your next round.
The system will automatically take into account weather conditions on the day to calculate your new handicap index - ‘playing conditions calculation’ (PCC). If scores are unusually low or high, a PCC adjustment between -1 and +3 will be applied to your score differential calculations. This is like our current practice.
If your score is exceptional there may be additional reductions while if your handicap is going up a hard cap is applied to minimise movement to a maximum of 5 shots.
We will be issuing regular bulletins with more information. Once we have our slope rating, we will provide examples.
Meanwhile, we would recommend that you watch the three YouTube videos:
WHS – Introduction - Player Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xeVAfucTTA
WHS – Handicap Formula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGZ9IGOAWLw
WHS – Slope Rating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GvSQKmP6fI
Mark Williams
Chairman
Competitions and handicap committee
16 September 2020
There will be changes to how your handicap will be calculated. To help we will issue bulletins regularly to give you more information about how the system works and how you can find out more.
All members who have a current handicap, will be given a ‘handicap index’. This will be calculated on your last 20 rounds of golf, taking an average of the best 8 scores. Don’t worry if you haven’t completed 20 rounds in the last year the system will still be able to work it out. The handicap index is used to calculate your ‘playing handicap’.
All courses will have a ‘slope rating’. The slope rating is an indication of the relative difficulty of a golf course for players who are not scratch players compared to players who are scratch players. We are still awaiting our slope rating from Wales Golf - this should be with us soon.
Once you have decided which tees you are going to play off you must convert your handicap index into a ‘course handicap’. Your course handicap provides you with the number of strokes you need to play to your handicap based on the difficulty of the course.
The conversion process is easy and can be done by using a look-up table which will eventually be near the first tee, using club software or a mobile app (more details to follow). Our software will automatically do all calculations, giving you your playing handicap. You can do it yourself by using the following formula for an 18-hole round:
Course Handicap = Handicap Index x (Slope Rating / 113)
Depending on the format of play, a ‘handicap allowance’ may be applied to your course handicap. For example, the recommended handicap allowance for individual stroke play events is 95%.
Once you have finished your round, you will submit your score in accordance with club procedures as soon as possible. How this will be achieved will depend on Covid rules. The prompt submission of your score is important as it will enable your handicap index to be updated ready for your next round.
The system will automatically take into account weather conditions on the day to calculate your new handicap index - ‘playing conditions calculation’ (PCC). If scores are unusually low or high, a PCC adjustment between -1 and +3 will be applied to your score differential calculations. This is like our current practice.
If your score is exceptional there may be additional reductions while if your handicap is going up a hard cap is applied to minimise movement to a maximum of 5 shots.
We will be issuing regular bulletins with more information. Once we have our slope rating, we will provide examples.
Meanwhile, we would recommend that you watch the three YouTube videos:
WHS – Introduction - Player Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xeVAfucTTA
WHS – Handicap Formula
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGZ9IGOAWLw
WHS – Slope Rating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GvSQKmP6fI
Mark Williams
Chairman
Competitions and handicap committee
16 September 2020