Australian Senior Golfer

THE latest round of Golf Australia handicap changes will come into effect on Wednesday 21st September 2011.

The four priority amendments are basically aimed at making it easier for handicaps to go down and harder for them to quickly blow out.

The four changes are:

• Alter the Best 10 of 20 rounds to Best 8 of 20.
• Change the Bonus for Excellence multiplier from 0.96 to 0.93.
• Introduce an Anchor which will prevent a player’s handicap from increasing any more than four strokes beyond their best exact handicap from the previous 12- month rolling period. (This is obviously retrospective as of next Wednesday going back to 21st September 2010)
• Golf Link will cap the score that goes into a player’s handicap record at no more than the following amount over the course rating: 50 for women and 40 men.

The Golf Link website will be offline from 1.00pm (AEST) on Monday 19 September until 6.00pm (AEST) on Wednesday 21 September to allow for the changeover to take place.

We previously discussed these changes in more detail here

GOLF AUSTRALIA has announced the latest changes to the new Australian golf handicapping system.

Most prominently, the “best 10 of 20” system will be changed to a “best 8 of 20” system which the GA board believes will better suit Australian golf.

After an exhaustive statistical review, trials at a number of clubs, and consultations within Australia and with the USGA, the changes have been designed to address a number of concerns, including big blow-outs in handicaps and stableford scores.

“It has been apparent to the Board of Golf Australia since late last year that the wholesale adoption of the USGA Handicap System in its entirety would not be in the best interests of Australian golf,” new GA Chairman John Hopkins said in a letter to clubs this week.

Hopkins said the Board believed the proposed changes “will please the Australian golf community and we will soon start to see a handicap system more closely aligned to the way we play our golf.”

The following four priority amendments to the Golf Australia Handicap System were announced:

1. Alter ‘Best 10 of 20’ to ‘Best 8 of 20’.

2. Change the Bonus for Excellence multiplier from 0.96 to 0.93.

3. Introduce an Anchor which will prevent a player’s handicap from increasing any more than 4 strokes beyond their best exact handicap from the previous 12-month rolling period.

4. Golf Link will cap the score that goes into a player’s handicap record at no more than the following amount over the course rating:

- 50-women

- 40-men2

These four priority amendments will come into effect on Wednesday 21 September 2011.

(This will involve the GOLF Link system being down from 1.00pm on Monday 19 September until Wednesday 21 September.)

Hopkins said he could also confirm the following would NOT be a part of the new system:

· ‘Most Likely Score’.

· Required handicapping of novelty competitions.

· Handicapping of ALL non-competition scores.

· Handicapping of match play scores.

· Handicapping of a score returned by a player who plays alone.

What the Changes Will Achieve

GA gave the following advice on what the changes would achieve (Noting that statistical analysis demonstrated that each club has its own unique distribution of handicaps and scoring patterns and s a result all handicap calculation methods achieve at least slightly different outcomes from club to club.)

· The balance will tilt back so it is slightly in favour of the low marker in most clubs, but not to the same unsatisfactory extent as occurred under the old method of incrementally adjusting handicaps.

· All handicaps will decrease. Consequently, all Stableford scores will decrease.

o High handicaps will decrease more than low handicaps.

o Handicaps of inconsistent players will decrease slightly more than consistent players.

· By moving from ‘10 of 20’ to ‘8 of 20’, consistent players will have slightly higher handicaps than comparable inconsistent players. As a result, players who are prone to returning occasional ‘one-off’

good rounds will find their net scores will become relatively worse when compared to net scores returned under ’10 of 20’.

· The rate of downward adjustment of a handicap will now be slightly quicker than has occurred under the initial averaging method. The rate of outward adjustment will now be slightly slower than has

occurred under the initial adjustment method. To quantify this, handicaps on average will now increase 50% more slowly than they will reduce. (This is more in line with the expressed expectation of

Australian clubs. The initial averaging method saw handicaps increase and reduce at the same rate.)

· Handicaps will continue to adjust outwards far more dynamically than occurred under the old incremental adjustment method.

· The Anchor will eliminate the capacity for extreme outward movements of handicaps within short spaces of time. As a result, a sustained loss of form will not see a player’s handicap move too far from a level which is consistent with their underlying ability.

· The Anchor will make the handicap system less susceptible to manipulation.

· The placing of a ceiling on the value a high 18-hole score can take is partly geared to support the correction of the existing bias towards high markers. It is also to address a strong theme that emerged

in club feedback regarding the incapacity of the aspirational very high-marker to improve their handicap below the maximum value.

Full details are available on the Golf Australia website here

GOLF AUSTRALIA has today foreshadowed impending changes to the new Australian Handicap System.

This will include an adjustment to the best 10 of 20 rounds calculation method which will be implemented in the next few months.

In a memo to clubs GA says it will be making an announcement on the implementation of the changes before the end of May.

The refinements follow extensive consultations with Australian and USGA golf officials and a wide scale survey of the first nine months of the operation of the new system.

“Although I don’t wish to pre-empt the announcement in May, I do want to give an assurance on three key points on which we have received consistent feedback,” Simon Magdulski, GA Manager – Rules & Handicapping, said in the memo.

“Firstly, an adjustment to the 10 of 20 calculation method will be addressed as a matter of priority and will be implemented within the next few months.

“Secondly, the Slope Indexing System will be included in the Australian Handicap System.

“Thirdly, the regulation which requires the conversion of Stroke rounds into Stableford scores for the purposes of entry into a player’s handicap record will be included.”

Magdulski said GA was still to make final decisions on daily course ratings and the regulations surrounding the use of noncompetition cards.

All club and Member Associations are now being given the opportunity to provide input into these two key areas.

Golf Handicap Statistical Analysis

GA recently commissioned a statistical analysis of handicap and competition trends under both the ‘Old Handicap System’ and the ‘New Handicap System’. The analysis included over 27,000 competition rounds involving 400,000 individual golfers

The key findings of the statistical analysis are:

· The scores required to win competitions, or to win prizes (eg balls) in competitions, vary depending on the field size.

· Under the New System, the low marker finds it harder to compete as the field size increases.

Under the New System, the field size value at which a low marker is disadvantaged is about 50 for men, and 100 for women. Low markers do still compete and are winning competitions in very high field sizes, but as the field size increases the bias becomes more and more unfavourable for the low markers and favourable for the high markers.

· Under the New System the most frequent winning score for field sizes of between 6 and 10 is 37 points. As the field size increases this steadily rises to 43 points.

· Under the Old System, there was a significant advantage to the low markers, which actually grew with field size.

· Under the Old System, the high markers were disadvantaged so they won far fewer competitions than their representation in the field. Many of them were chronically playing at handicap levels far in excess of their playing handicaps. Essentially this was due to the uneven way that differentials were applied. Handicaps for high markers only “eased out” by 0.1 stroke for a poor round, no matter how poor, but they were tightened far more quickly if the player had the occasional good

round.

· Has there been any ‘settling down’ in the period since the New System was introduced on 9 April 2010? No, there is no significant variation between the month-on-month distribution of handicaps in the months following the introduction of the New System.

The reports and an Executive Summary are available from the GA website here.

THE controversial new Australian handicapping system is set for further refinement with a representative from the US Golf Association in Australia this week looking at ways adapt the system to better suit local conditions.

USGA Senior Director of Handicapping Kevin O’Connor has been taking part in seminars in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane that have looked at how the USGA system implementation has fared in Australia.

The seminars have involving club, district and state association representatives and are aimed at thrashing out issues relating to the new handicapping system and how they might be tweaked.

The results of the seminars and any action to be taken will be known in coming months.

In a memo previewing the visit in December, Golf Australia had this to say about the aim of the “collaborative study” between GA and the USGA:

“The purpose of this study from a GA perspective is to help Australia to not only get the best possible handicap system, but a system that is broadly viewed as a positive step forward by its golfers and golf clubs.

It is clear that the following are not consistent with this goal, and consequently will not be considered for use in Australia:

· The mandatory use of all social scores for handicap purposes.

· The use of the ‘most likely score’ concept to handicap four-ball and other team events.

· The use of match play scores for handicap purposes.

· The use of a score for handicap purposes returned by a person playing alone.”

Meanwhile, teams have been out busily rating courses as the necessary precursor before the introduction of the second tier of the changes, the new Course Rating System.

JUST released figures show the average male and female handicaps in Australia have risen since the introduction of the new golf handicapping system on 9 April.

The average male handicap rose by 1.15 points whilst for women it was 2.21 points.

But the average increases were not even across the handicap ranges, with low single figure players more likely to have their handicap decrease slightly under the new system.

Those with high handicaps were more likely to blow out by more strokes.

Just over 16 percent of male golfers had their handicaps increase by three or more strokes.

Golf Australia said the main points from the statistics were:

• For both females & males, low single figure handicap players are likely to have had their handicap decrease slightly under the new system. Players with higher handicaps are likely to have experienced an increase under the new system (and the higher the old handicap, the greater the increase).
• The average female handicap is about 10 strokes higher than the average male handicap (The same under both systems)
• Under the old handicap calculation method, the higher a player’s handicap, the greater the downward increase resulting from a ‘good’ score, whereas the new method does not discriminate.
• The average male handicap rose by about 1 stroke, whilst the average female handicap rose by about 2 strokes.
• For all handicap ranges, the move to the new calculation method produced a reasonable amount of movement (both upward and downward) in handicaps. The vast majority of this movement was within the range of plus or minus 4 strokes.

GA said the fact that upward increases of greater than 4 strokes were  largely restricted to high handicap players addressed previous concerns of unfairness (where an outward increase would essentially only occur in increments of 0.1) that it would take 30 consecutive “bad” rounds for a player’s handicap to reflect an outward correction of 3 strokes.
This was patently unfair on a player who had one (or a very small number) of uncharacteristically “good” rounds or who experienced a demonstrable trend of changed form (an occurrence which is more prevalent in the higher handicap golfer).

Generally greater consistency by low markers is reflected in the fact that their handicaps decreased slightly.

See the full figures here

GOLF AUSTRALIA will next week (Thursday 15 July 2010) release statistics that will show the effect the new Australian golf handicapping system has had on club golfers.

If anecdotal and local experience is anything to go by, it should show handicaps have generally blown out by a couple of points.

At my own club, Jamberoo, the Match Committee has already had to act to introduce new playing divisions to even out the former A, B and C grades.

Since the introduction of the new system on 9 April 2010, playing numbers in the club’s A and B grade decreased and the C grade numbers inflated.

This would also seem to be the case at many other clubs and it will be interesting to see the official figures.

What the new handicapping system so obviously does is put a premium on consistency.

It is no longer good enough to hand in a big stableford score every four or five weeks or so to maintain your previous handicap.

The system is, as was stated by Golf Australia before its introduction, intended to be a fairer representation of a golfer’s current form.

Shortly after the introduction of the new system I also noted conversations over at AUSOOM among some of Australia’s top senior amateur golfers that their handicaps had generally decreased (No doubt helped by the 0.96 “bonus for excellence” multiplication factor).

These are players commonly playing off (and to)very low single digit handicaps.

So as is often the message in golf, the key is consistency.

Golf Australia also recently flagged some further pending handicap related announcements including:

Thursday 19 August 2010 – Announcement of contents of Second Package of Changes to the Australian Men’s & Women’s Handicap System.

Thursday 26 August 2010 – Announcement of enhanced processes for

addressing the issue of players who regularly fail to return score cards.

GOLF AUSTRALIA is considering new measures to crack down on players who habitually fail to return score cards at the end of club competition rounds.

The proposals include the automatic suspension of offenders’ handicaps.

Whilst the organisation, which is the governing body for amateur golf in Australia, believes the vast majority of players do the right thing on most occasions, it admits to having been surprised at the activities of some players highlighted by the recent handicap system change.

In a new communiqué, GA says it has always been aware that there exists a very small minority of players who regularly fail to return score cards.

It says the move on April 9, 2010 to the new handicap calculation method has identified that this very small minority have in some cases been failing to return far more cards than had previously been felt to be the case by GA (and also seemingly by Clubs and State Associations).

“For example, we have become aware of instances where as many as 18 of a player’s most recent 20 competition scores have, for no good reason, not been returned,” GA says.

“Moving forward, it is important to have in place widely-understood procedures for addressing this issue generally.”

Under the new handicap system, there are a number of actions or procedures that can be taken when cards are not returned, depending on the circumstances.

Basically, most often if a score card is not returned for reasons other than accident, injury etc and it is believed the player would have had a poor score, they are given a score equal to the worst of their last 19.

If it is believed they would have had a good score, they are given the best differential of their last 19.

GA says whilst it has historically taken the view that it would be both impractical and undesirable to be too concerned about occasional incidences of a failure to return score cards, if too many cards are not returned handicaps can become distorted.

Under current provisions, club committees may take action in these cases and for instance make such players ineligible to win prizes until they start handing in the majority of their cards.

Under the new proposal being considered, the regulation would be amended so that GOLF Link will automatically withdraw the handicap of any player to have more than 25% (reduced at a later point to 15%) of their most recent 20 rounds recorded as ‘No Score – Not Approved’.

GA says in order to reinstate a withdrawn handicap, a player would merely need to have their club enter into GOLF Link the verified actual scores they have previously failed to return, or to start returning the majority of their cards.

GA has called for comments about the proposal from Clubs or State Associations by Friday 4 June – or indeed for any alternate suggested solutions.

Read the full statement here.

THE world will change for Australian golfers with an official handicap at 9am on April 9, 2010.

That’s when, after two days of being off line number crunching, Golf Link’s computers will flicker back to life with either good, bad or unchanged news for Australian golfers.

If it all sounds a bit like The Terminator and SkyNet – it well could be for some golfers.

If you’ve had at least 10 good rounds of late, or even just average to above average rounds, you might be pleasantly surprised.

If your last 20 rounds have been uncharacteristically dismal, you might be in for a shock.

Speaking personally, I know my handicap change is not going to be a shock but it is not going to be good.

The new system doesn’t care if you have been hovering around, say, 14 and 15 for the last few years. Only what has happened in the last 20 count.

If, like me, you have had a bit of a form slump of late and most of your club stableford scores have been in the low 30’s – watch out. And remember, all the scores will be adjusted to the courses’ ACR, not whatever the CCR was on the day.

That means a lot of people could suddenly jump a handful of handicap points.

Back in January when my recent form had been much better, I actually did calculate what my handicap would be under the new system – and it was almost a point and a half lower.

That’s because I had a couple of low 40’s, a few 38’s etc and a number of 36’s.  From memory, I only had to take (as part of my 10 best scores out of the previous 20) one or two scores below 36.

And that’s what they say the new system will provide – a much better representation of your current performances.

The Golf Link computers will be doing all the work – golfers won’t have to do anything differently ( except now three quarters of the way through a round you can’t think I’ll stop trying so hard because I am only going to get .1 back anyway, because every round now could count and be one your best 10).

Golf Link Q & A

Golf Link has published a Q & A about the handicap changes and I reproduce most of the pertinent points below. For the full details check out the relevant Golf Link page.

From 9 April 2010 the method used to calculate your Australian Men’s or Women’s Handicap can be explained in one sentence:

Your exact handicap will be the average of the best 10 differentials (differential = gross score – AMCR/AWCR) of your 20 most recent valid scores, the result of which is multiplied by 0.96.

This is a much more straight forward process than the current incremental calculation system, and is the first step of several on the way to full adoption of the USGA’s handicap system.

What is meant by the term “differential”? 

Your handicap differential is the difference between your gross score and the course rating (AMCR or AWCR) for the course that you played. So for example if you have a gross score of 85 off the stick in a stroke event and the AWCR is 70, (note this is not the par of the course – see below for definition of AMCR/AWCR) then your “differential” is 15.

Simply stated: DIFFERENTIAL = GROSS SCORE – COURSE RATING. The only exception to this rule is when the “tee up through the green” regulation is in effect, in which case the AMCR or AWCR is reduced by 2 shots for that day. You will see the differential for each of your rounds in the “played to” column of your handicap history on Golf Link.

How is the differential calculated in a Stableford or Par event? 

The calculation of the differential is no different in a stableford or par event – it is still based on your gross score, you just have to first work out your gross score using the formula: GROSS SCORE = 36 – STABLEFORD POINTS + COURSE PAR + HANDICAP, or GROSS SCORE = COURSE PAR + HANDICAP – PAR SCORE. For example if you scored 34 points in a stableford competition (or -2 in a par competition) off a handicap of 12 at a par 72 course which is rated 70. Your gross score is 86 (2 worse than your handicap so equivalent to 14 over par), remember though that the differential is based on the difference between your gross score and the course rating, so given the course rating in our example is 70, then the differential will end up being 16.

Why is Golf Australia making these changes? Are we adopting the USGA Handicap System, and is “Slope” a component of this new system. 

The new handicap calculation method being introduced on 9 April 2010 is not the same as the USGA Handicap System, detailed information on Golf Australia’s strategy for adoption of the USGA Handicap System as well as information on the “Slope” component of the USGA’s system can be found here: USGA Handicap System

What are the AMCR and AWCR? 

The Australian Men’s Course Rating (AMCR) and Australian Women’s Course Ratings (AWCR) are similar to the course ratings that were used in the old handicap system. The main difference will be that they are going through a process of being reassessed according to the USGA course rating method for appraising a course’s difficulty.

Is there still a concept of a Calculated Course Rating (CCR) to take into account variable conditions from day to day? 

The USGA Handicap System doesn’t have a daily rating component. We know that the difficulty of a specific golf course may vary due to changes in weather, climate, and course set-up, however the problem has always been in arriving at a system which enjoys golf community-wide confidence and that will reliably produce ratings that are reflective of the actual difficulty of a golf course. By its nature, there will always be unavoidable problems associated with using a statistical method to measure course difficulty. And our experience and continued feedback on CCR over a long period of time is that the benefits are unfortunately outweighed by the drawbacks. At the end of the day, the average golfer is still prone to lack faith in the concept of the daily course rating being determined by the performance of the field. Then of course there are the issues of attempting to derive a statistical daily course rating from a scenario where the field is too small to provide an adequate sample set such as often occurs at country courses or with a large proportion of women’s fields. For all these reasons there will be no concept of a Calculated Course Rating (CCR) in the rolling sample calculation method. However on days when “Tee up Through the Green” is in effect, the calculation of your differential will be affected because the AMCR or AWCR will be reduced by 2 shots for that day only.

What if I have less than 20 scores in my handicap history? 

GOLF Link will still calculate your handicap if you have less than 20 scores, we simply reduce the number of best scores that are averaged out in the calculation.

What if I have more than 20 scores? 

Only your most recent 20 valid scores are used to gather the 10 best scores, hence the calculation is based on a “rolling sample” of your most recent 20 valid scores. Any scores older than your most recent 20 valid scores are not considered for handicapping purposes.

Why is the average of my best 10 differentials multiplied by 0.96? 

This is the “bonus for excellence” as stipulated in the USGA Handicap System. It is an incentive for you to improve your golf, since it results in a situation whereby as your handicap improves (gets lower), the 0.96 factor results in a smaller reduction in your handicap compared to a high handicapper, thus giving you a slightly better chance of placing high or winning a handicap event.

Is my handicap going to be different at different courses? I’d heard that the slope aspect of the USGA Handicap System involves a sort of indexing of my handicap depending on the course I’m playing. 

No, the first package of changes does not include a change to this component of the handicapping rules. As a result you will just have one handicap based on the 10 best differentials from your last 20 rounds regardless of where they were played and you take that handicap to your next round of golf regardless of where it will be played.

Further changes will be made at a later time.

Is my handicap still recalculated after each round I play? 

Yes, GOLF Link will recalculate your handicap as soon as your club submits your latest round to us. At a later point, Australian Handicaps will only be revised (ie recalculated) on a periodic basis (somewhere between two weeks and one month). However, GA has not as yet determined a precise implementation date for this change. We are also as yet to determine the revision time period.

My club is not on GOLF Link what happens to my handicap? 

Non-GOLF Link clubs will need to ensure their calculation processes replicate those performed by GOLF Link. GOLF Link clubs will not need to do anything to instigate the process of recalculating all handicaps in accordance with the new regulations.

THE first stage of Australia’s new golf handicapping system will now commence on Friday April 9.

Golf Australia has announced the new start date, saying the initial package will only include the implementation of the USGA “Rolling Sample” handicap method and the removal of CCR for men’s handicapping.

The full implementation of the US “Slope” system cannot begin till all courses have been individually rated, and that will probably not be completed till sometime next year.

Other parts of the new system will be introduced later in the year.

Under the Rolling Sample Method, which will also apply to women’s handicaps, the average of the best 10 of a golfer’s previous 20 round is taken.

This figure is then multiplied by 0.96 to give the current handicap.

GA says the system, used both in the US and Europe, provides a better representation of a player’s current playing ability and along with the Slope system is more portable between courses.

Golf Clubs on Golf Link and players need do nothing different to prepare for the changes as all relevant figures and scores will be recalculated and will automatically appear (touch wood) when the system switches over at 9 am on April 9.

For the background to the changes see our original story Australia to

Adopt US Handicap System.

For details of the Rolling Sample system see this GA explanation.

Golf Handicap Changes Q & A Published March 19, 2010

AUSTRALIA has officially moved to adopt the US golf handicap system.

The move was expected following the recent announcement of the adoption of the USGA Scratch Course Rating System, with which it largely goes hand in hand.

The Board of Golf Australia says it has resolved to open discussions with the United States Golf Association about adopting the USGA Handicap System in Australia.

This decision was made immediately following a State Forum at which each State Association expressed the view that the USGA Handicap System provides the best way forward for Australian golf.

Since Golf Australia’s formation in 2006, a unified handicapping system for men and women has been one of the organisation’s key objectives. GA says the USGA Handicap System will not only deliver a series of notable improvements to Australian handicapping, it will also finally realise this goal.

Golf Australia Chairman Anne Lenagan explained the challenge which Golf Australia has been debating for the past three years:

“Right from the outset, we knew we were going to have to commit money either to making overdue amendments to our current systems or on implementing a new system.

“We wont have to worry about re-inventing the wheel..”

“We weighed up continuing to invest in our unique method against implementing a system that’s widely in place around the world, and the arguments just kept coming down in favour of the USGA System.

“Once the system is in place, the significant ongoing research and development costs will be borne by the USGA. We won’t have to worry about re-inventing the wheel; we can dedicate those resources to working with the State Associations on developing other components of the game instead.

“It is important to note that we’re not there just yet. We still need to work a few things through with the USGA however given the significance of this and the degree of discussion it has generated, Golf Australia felt it was important to provide a clear update for the golfing community.

“Does Golf Australia want to adopt the USGA Handicap System? The answer is absolutely yes. Does Golf Australia want to make a few minor modifications to the system to have it better reflect the typical characteristics of Australian golf? Yes. Have other countries been able to secure similar modifications? Yes.

“Now we’ve decided exactly what we want, we can have the discussions with the USGA. We don’t anticipate these discussions turning up any significant issues, but there’s still an endpoint to be reached.

“This is something we are really excited about…”

“I’d like to add that this is something we’re really excited about. We’ve spent the last three years having a dialogue with not just State Associations, golf clubs and individual golfers, but also Golf Management Australia, Golf Link, the media, and any other party that’s shown a desire to have a discussion or express a view on the direction of handicapping in Australia.

“However, the time has come to make a choice and we’re delighted with where we’re heading.”

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt, explained the three major differences that Australian golfers will experience with the new handicap system:

“Firstly, even if each course has an accurate Course Rating, non-expert players naturally require higher handicaps at difficult courses than they require at easier courses. This fact creates a fundamental problem with respect to the ‘portability’ of handicaps. The ‘Slope’ System provides a solution to this problem. A golfer using the USGA ‘Slope’ System converts their Handicap Index to a Course Handicap that is higher on more difficult courses, and lower on easier courses. For example, a player may play off 16 on an easy course and 21 on a difficult course.

Calculated from a rolling sample of your previous 20 scores

“Secondly, the USGA Handicap Index is calculated from a rolling sample of the player’s previous 20 scores. The calculation process involves averaging the best 10 of these 20 scores. The floating sample process is better-geared to producing a more contemporary handicap and one that better indicates a player’s potential than is achieved by the incremental adjustment method currently used in the Australian systems. Currently in Australia (where an outward increase can only occur in increments of 0.1), outward corrections take place at a rate that is far too slow and can be unfair on the player who has one ‘lucky’ round.

“And thirdly, the USGA system doesn’t have a daily rating component. We know that the difficulty of a specific golf course may vary due to changes in weather, climate, and course set-up. The problem has always been in arriving at a system which enjoys golf community-wide confidence and that will reliably produce ratings that are reflective of the actual difficulty of a golf course.

A lack of faith in the current system

“By its nature, there will always be unavoidable problems associated with using a statistical method to measure course difficulty. And our experience and continued feedback on CCR over a long period of time is that the benefits are unfortunately outweighed by the drawbacks. At the end of the day, the average golfer is still prone to lack faith in the concept of the daily course rating being determined by the performance of the field.

“And that doesn’t even touch on the small-field issue. For too long, women’s fields and country fields have been playing the role of the sacrificial lamb, and we just don’t think that’s an acceptable outcome.”

New Australian Golf Handicap System Begins on April 9, 2010 

Golf Handicap Changes Q & A Published March 19, 2010