Course Rating and Slope Rating

• The Course Rating System will be implemented by National Associations and allow a player’s Handicap Index to be from course to course and country to country.

• This will enable acceptable scores to be made at any rated golf course in the world to be submitted for handicap purposes.
• To provide an accurate and consistent measure of the difficulty of a golf course by ensuring that playing length and obstacle factors are evaluated the same way worldwide.

Number of Scores Required to Obtain a Handicap Index

• One of the key principles of the World Handicap System is to enable as many golfers as possible the opportunity to establish and maintain a Handicap Index.

• Statistics show that players with a Handicap Index play more rounds of golf, so making it easier to get a Handicap Index can help increase participation.

Basis of Handicap Index Calculation

• Moving to an 8 of 20 system will allow for greater responsiveness to good scores and eliminate the need for a bonus for excellence – which is often difficult to explain.
• Including a Playing Conditions Calculation will ensure that each Score Differential is reflective of a player’s performance in a given round.
• Limiting the extreme upward movement of a Handicap Index will ensure that a temporary loss of form does not cause a player’s Handicap Index to move too far from their demonstrated ability.
• The Exceptional Score Reduction procedure is designed to be intuitive by evaluating all scores as opposed to just “T-scores.”
• Incorporating these safeguards will add integrity to the system and support Handicap Committees by ensuring the accuracy of each member’s Handicap Index.

Limit on Upward Movement of a Handicap Index (Cap)

• A new term, “Low Handicap Index” will be included within the Rules of Handicapping and will be made visible to players. This value will serve as the baseline for the soft cap and hard cap procedures.
• There is no limit on the amount by which a player’s Handicap Index can decrease, but the soft cap and hard cap will ensure that a temporary loss of form does not cause a player’s Handicap Index to increase to a level inconsistent with their demonstrated ability.
• The automatic calculation will prevent extreme upward movement of a Handicap Index, as well as assist Handicap Committees as an anti-abuse safeguard.
• This procedure will favor the consistent player, as players who have significant volatility in their scoring history over a 12-month period will be impacted by it more often.

Exceptional Score Reduction (ESR)

• To simplify the automatic reduction process.
• Handicap research shows that players who have shot 7.0 strokes below their Handicap Index are more likely to do so again in the future.
• Under the USGA Handicap System, only rounds played in events designated by the Committee as T-scores can lead to an automatic reduction.
• Since T-scores under the USGA Handicap System are retained for 12-months and compared to the Handicap Index at each revision, it is possible for T-scores that were not exceptional at the time they were made to become exceptional at a later date. This will no longer take place in 2020.

• An automatic procedure by the computation service that compares the scores submitted on the day against expected scoring patterns,
• Conservative in nature and applied in integer values, and
• Applied in the Score Differential calculation of all players – even those who submit their score(s) on a later date.

• To provide a mechanism that allows a better assessment of the difficulty of a course on a particular day.
• This is one of the more modern features of the system, but a similar calculation has been used successfully in other parts of the world.
• The Playing Conditions Calculation will also be used to identify if the Course Rating of a golf course needs to be reviewed by the local Authorized Golf Association.

• To provide players with a more responsive and up-to-date Handicap Index
• To streamline the process of establishing a Handicap Index.
• To encourage players to submit scores as soon as practicable, preferably before midnight on the day of play.

• To make the game more welcoming to new players and incentivize beginners to establish and maintain a Handicap Index.
• To provide all players with a more precise measure of their demonstrated ability and allow players of all skill levels to track their progress in the game.
• By encouraging novice and recreational players to get a Handicap Index, they’ll be provided with opportunities to learn about the Rules of Handicapping.
• Statistics show that players with a Handicap Index play more rounds of golf. Therefore, making the system more welcoming can help grow the game and create a more sustainable future.
• Although the maximum Handicap Index will be 54.0, the Committee in charge of the Competition can set a lower maximum limit for entry or use in competitions.
• Although some are concerned that increasing the maximum Handicap Index may lead to handicap manipulation, safeguards exist within the Handicap Index calculation to minimize the potential for it (“Cap” – Rule 5.8; “Exceptional Score Reduction” – Rule 5.9; “Handicap Review” – Appendix D).

• The Course Handicap calculation will include a Course Rating minus Par adjustment, which will enable a Course Handicap to represent the number of strokes a player receives to play down to the Par of the tees being played.
• As a result, as long as players are competing from tees with the same Pars, no additional adjustment is needed.
• The maximum hole score for handicap purposes will be a “Net Double Bogey,” equal to Par + 2 + any handicap strokes the player receives. For this adjustment to be accurate, Par values must be correct.
• When a player does not play a hole, “Net Par” must be recorded as their score for the hole. Net Par is equal to Par + any handicap strokes the player receives.

Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating – Par)

• Under the USGA Handicap System, when players compete from different tees, a Course Handicap adjustment based on the Course Rating difference must take place to make the game fair.
• Applying Course Rating minus Par within the Course Handicap calculation will allow players to compete from different tees without any adjustment – unless a difference in Par exists.
• Under the USGA Handicap System, it is common for Course Handicap values to change very little from tee to tee.
• Beginning in 2020, Course Handicap values will change more from tee to tee, as they will represent the number of strokes to play to Par.
• Par is a term that resonates with golfers, so setting Par as the benchmark for a Course Handicap adds simplicity to handicapping.
• A score of Net Par will be used for holes not played, and the maximum hole score for handicap purposes will be a Net Double Bogey. Having a Course Handicap that is relative to Par will ensure that the correct number of strokes are received and applied for both procedures.

• By introducing the term Playing Handicap, there will be a clear distinction between two key Rules of Handicapping definitions, where both serve specific purposes:
  • A Course Handicap will be used to adjust individual hole scores (Net Double Bogey and Net Par procedures)
  • Playing Handicaps will be used for net competition purposes – including determining the results and winner(s).
• Under the current system, confusion exists because there is only one defined term that often represents two different values.
• The defined term Playing Handicap will be intuitive and ensure that both terms are applied properly.

• The Net Double Bogey adjustment is more consistent from hole to hole than the ESC procedure.
• While this is a change for all who have used the USGA Handicap System, Net Double Bogey has been used successfully in many parts of the world – as it is the equivalent to zero points in the Net Stableford format of play.
• The 2019 “Rules of Golf” introduced the maximum score form of stroke play, and Net Double Bogey was included as a recommended maximum score.

• For players with a Handicap Index, nine-hole scores are combined in the order that they are received and used to produce an 18-hole Score Differential.
• A nine-hole Handicap Index (N) will no longer exist.

• To ensure that each player has one Handicap Index and one Scoring Record under the World Handicap System.
• The method for calculating a Handicap Index will be the same worldwide, and this applies whether a player submits all 9-hole scores, 18-hole scores, or a combination of both.
• To enhance the integrity of the Handicap Index calculation.
• When a player with a nine-hole Handicap Index (N) competes in an 18-hole competition, doubling their nine-hole Handicap Index (N) is not always fair – as the player(s) doubling their nine-hole Handicap Index (N) are sometimes at a disadvantage and receive one or two fewer strokes than they would with an 18-hole Handicap Index.