As an Irish man on here, we’re looking at the introduction of the new system from November.
There is plenty of trepidation here about the change, how it’ll impact peoples handicaps, and the risk of abuse of the system.
Given the system is quite closely aligned with the US handicap system, would any of you guys have any tips and thoughts on it?
I’m interested in well. In the US I haven’t had any rounds impacted by the playing condition adjustment (granted I’m not playing on rainy days) but even windy days/course conditions haven’t impacted my handicap. Would be interested in hearing how much that adjustment is being made for others. Know this is attempting to align with the European model for handicaps with updating ratings for courses on a daily basis.
The change in handicap system here dropped me by a whole shot when it was implemented (but since has gone back up).
With the WHS, it’s not just closely aligned, it’s everybody on the same system which (to me) is a massive plus.
I’d definitely check out this link for a few basic intro videos: https://www.whs.com/#learnmore
For those curious about the PCC (playing condition calculation), one thing to know is that the system doesn’t know the weather or anything like that and say “oh it was raining, so that’s one extra shot on the rating”. Instead, it looks at all scores posted for that day in comparison to the expected scores. If almost everyone is scoring better or worse than the expected results, then the system know SOMETHING is up and makes the adjustment. This could be weather related, course conditions, or something as simple as the tees being placed up making the course easier. A course I play often has an almost constant -1 PCC (playing one stroke easier than the rating) because the back tees are almost never all the way back.
IMO, pretty much everything about the WHS is a positive change. I especially love the net double bogey rule (and personally think everyone playing a recreational round should just pick up when you hit net double bogey, will really help pace of play).
That adjustment is already made in the UK system its called CSS and is adjusted when all the scores are in. It works well. I played in foul weather last year, shot a net 5 over but the CSS was adjusted 3 over the course normal handicap so i didn’t get put up.
I’ve had two rounds affected this year (out of about 30 rounds). I still don’t understand how it works but I agree with the spirit behind it.
Maybe not having a PCC on any of my scores this year means nobody else at my club is posting their scores.
I’m curious about things like exceptional round adjustments and stuff like that. One of the things I enjoy about a not so good round is getting to the last hole and knowing I need a par or something to make buffer. With the new system it seems so convoluted and there’s so many calculations involved that I’ll never know where I stand with possible adjustments towards end of round. I’ll miss those final holes where I know I need X score to make a cut or make buffer.
It rolled out here in Norway earlier in the year, and there wasn’t much of an issue with handicaps changing. Mine went up .2 of a shot, that seemed pretty typical.
The biggest issue is people cheating to qualify for events (putting in good rounds when out with friends etc.). The obvious ones got caught and I heard one guy got banned from events for 1 year, but there must be many more that didn’t get caught. So yeah, there is definately more abuse of the system than in the old system.
Aside from that it’s all going quite well.
WHS has been great all year for me. I had a steady decline in my index as I was playing well all year. I had steady scores and rarely varied more than 4 strokes (from high to low). Then I had an exceptional round on a PCC day and my index dropped 2.2 points in a day (8.1 to a 5.9). What I later learned is that single exceptional round affected all my previous rounds in my index calculation. Now that I am replacing those rounds it is starting to balance back out and move back to where it should be.
Thanks, that’s very useful info. I’ve had a bad year of golf post lockdown after a great year last year, so can see a drift in the wrong direction in the short term
I love the golfers that pad their handicaps to get into events. I was at a U.S. Open qualifier 5 years ago and saw a few golfers that had no business being there. I’m sure they promptly got letters from the USGA!
I wonder if they really intended to do that or if they just lowered their handicap playing the same easy course over and over, then decided they could try a qualifier. One of the city courses I play for some reason just sets up well for me (and I think the rating is just plain too high). If I only played that course, I think I could have myself down to scratch relatively quickly, but then I would get destroyed on a course with any real difficulty.
Trust me, they were not below a 1.4 index. There’s a lot of golfers who unfortunately do this. Even if your course is “easy” you’d have to shoot even lower scores to balance that out in your handicap.
I’m interested to know if anyone has had a round with the weather adjustment? I’ve played a few rounds in the Vegas Valley area where the winds have been in excess of 25-35mph and there was no adjustment to my score. Are you supposed to somehow tell the system that the conditions where such? I just took for granted that it’s automatic.
The PCC is based off the scores posted for that day in comparison to the expected scores. If not enough people posted significantly different than expected scores (or if just not enough scores are posted that day) then there won’t be any adjustment.
I’ve only had several round adjusted by a stroke, mostly from tournament play because they set up courses harder. I’ve rarely seen it adjusted otherwise though.
I think the adjustment will maybe be more prevalent in places like Ireland where the majority of golf is club competitions, that have high entry rates (that and the fact that the Irish weather is pretty unpredictable 
). My own club would regularly play 1 shot easier from our white tees but 1-2 shots harder from the medal tees as our older members tend to struggle from the back with the extra yardage required.
It’s really going to be one of the biggest adjustments I’d imagine with casual rounds having the potential of counting towards handicap calculations.
Hey everyone, I am still a beginner golfer and I want to get a handicap number. Can I do this online or do I have to contact my local golf course. I’m just a little confused with the steps. Any point in the right direction would be helpful thank you.
You can do it through https://www.usga.org/ or your local course. A lot of apps for score tracking keep your handicap too, but they’re not official.
In the UK so not rolled out yet. A quick bit of maths looking at my best 8 from last 20 rounds suggests that I may be gaining two shots on my home course in November.