Charnock Richard Golf and Country Club

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Appendix O

In addition to mixed gender competitions in which men and ladies play in the same competition from different sets of tees for the same prizes, there are other events in which to account for age/playing ability differences, it may also be deemed desirable for participants to use different sets of tees. Examples are:

·                            Adult and Junior Competitions.

·                            Member and Senior Member Competitions.

In order to maintain equity in handicapping in all competitions organised with players using sets of tees that have been allocated different Standard Scratch Scores, the handicaps of the competitors playing the course with the higher Standard Scratch Score must have their handicap increased by the difference in the two Standard Scratch Scores.

Note: In Qualifying Competitions any adjustment necessary should be applied for competition result purposes only, so that the competition retains its Qualifying status. The adjusted handicaps should not be used to establish the Competition Scratch Score or for the purpose of handicap alteration.

Handicap Adjustment for Qualifying Competitions

Competitions in which competitors play from different tees in Qualifying Competitions may be in three formats – Stroke Play, Stableford and Par/Bogey.

1. Stroke Play
This is the format most easily understood by the competitors and the simplest to administer. For the purposes of the competition, each player playing the course with the higher Standard Scratch Score must have his/her handicap increased by the difference in the two Standard Scratch Scores.

Examples:

Any adjustment that results in a playing handicap above the maximum Exact Handicap allowed (28.0 [36.0]) should be applied only for competition purposes i.e. the adjusted handicap is not used for handicap purposes.

2. Stableford Competitions

Play from different sets of tees in Stableford format can give rise to a more complex competition handicap calculation due to the interplay between the Standard Scratch Score and Par for the different sets of tees. The Stableford scoring system determines that, on a course where the Standard Scratch Score and Par are the same, a player who returns 36 points ‘has played to his/her handicap’.

Similarly a player has ‘played to his handicap’ when:

1. (a) returning 35 Stableford points when Par is one stroke less than the SSS or,

2. (b) returning 37 Stableford points when the Par is one stroke more than the SSS.

Consequently in competitions where groups of players are playing on courses (i.e. from different sets of tees) where the Standard Scratch Scores and Pars do not have the same relationship, an adjustment must be made to the scores returned by one group of players, so that players ‘playing to their handicap’ would return identical scores in the competition. The adjustment is calculated as being equal to the difference in the points scored when players ‘play to their handicap’ on each course. For competition result purposes only, subject to Note 1, this difference is then subtracted from the scores of players playing the course where a player has the higher number of points when ‘playing to their handicap’.

For handicap purposes the Nett Differential is determined by applying the Table contained in Appendix D following calculation of the Competition Scratch Score.

Examples:

3. Par/Bogey Competitions

A similar principle in the calculation of handicap adjustments to that outlined in Clause 2 above should be applied to Par/Bogey Competitions played from different sets of tees.

Examples:

Note 1: For Stableford and Par/Bogey Competitions any applicable deduction should be made from the score on the highest Stroke Index hole where the player receives a stroke. If the player does not score on that hole no deduction should be made. Where the adjustment is more than one stroke, one stroke should be deducted from the score at the highest Stroke Index hole where the player gets a stroke, one from the next highest and so on.

Note 2. To provide the most equitable basis for handicap alteration purposes a single Competition Scratch Score should be calculated for the field.

Note 3. The foregoing method of handicap adjustment cannot be applied to Men and Ladies (or Boys and Girls) playing from the same set of tees unless a Standard Scratch Score has been allocated for each gender. In such circumstances a Lady playing from the Men’s tees requires additional handicap strokes to the extent determined by the difference in the Men and Ladies Standard Scratch Scores.

[For a 6,000 yard course the difference in the respective Standard Scratch Scores would be of the order of 5 strokes.]

These strokes should not be regarded as ‘courtesy shots’. They are an entitlement necessary to equalise the handicaps of the participating groups.

Note 4. To comply with the Rules of Golf the player should record his/her Playing Handicap on the scorecard.

4. Other Forms of Mixed Competition

Recommendations in regard to handicap adjustments and allowances in other forms of mixed competition such as fourball and team competitions in various formats are contained on the CONGU® website.