How should we compete?
Tee It Forward campaign brings up handicapping issues
ee It Forward is a new effort initiated
this summer to get golfers to play
courses at shorter distances for more fun
and quicker play. A powerful group of
golf entities and organizations are behind
the idea, the brainchild of Barney Adams,
inventor, club designer and founder of
Adams Golf. The United States Golf As-
sociation, the PGA of America and the
Golf Course Superintendents Association
of America are all supporting the effort.
But as golfers move up to shorten the
challenge and ramp up the fun, players
often wonder how they can compete equitably from different distances.
Different teeing grounds on a golf
course carry separate course ratings, and
they are set – in Wisconsin, at least – by
the Wisconsin State Golf Association
course rating team.
Because course ratings reflect the probable scores of scratch golfers, the higher-rated course is more difficult. Golfers
playing from the set of tees with the
higher WSGA course rating receive additional strokes equal to the difference between the course ratings (with . 5 or
greater rounded up). These additional
strokes are added to the course handicap of the individual playing the higher-
T
rated set of tees.
Here’s how it works:
Consider Club X, which offers tees
with the following course ratings: ;White: 71.7 ;Gold: 68.3 ;Green (men): 68.0 ;Green (women): 73.1
Using the above numbers, imagine a
match between male players using the
White and Gold tees. In this situation, the
men playing from the White tees should
add 3 strokes to their course handicaps,
because 71.7 minus 68.3 equals 3. 4,
which is rounded down to 3 strokes.
In other words, if my handicap is 10
from the White tees and my opponent’s
is 18 from the Gold tees, my handicap
would increase to 13 and I would give
my opponent 5 strokes, not 8.
Now imagine a match between women
playing the Green tees with a course rating
of 73.1 against men playing the White
tees with a course rating of 71.7. Here,
the women should add 1 stroke to their
handicaps, because 73.1 minus 71.7 equal
1.4, which is rounded down to 1 stroke
____________________________________
Jack Scherer is a longtime rules official and former
president of the Wisconsin State Golf Association.
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