The downside of that is a really good 9-hole round paired with a horrific 9-hole round would wash out a player’s demonstrated ability on that first day. Think about it, you could play a great 9-hole round one day followed by another really good 9-hole round a month later, and now that 18-hole score differential might be higher than otherwise expected if you played 18 holes. Two independent 9-hole rounds are being combined, which doesn’t always accurately depict a player’s ability. Here’s how it works now: when you play 9 holes, you get a 9-hole score differential which is either combined with a previous score waiting to be paired or it gets put in a holding tank to become a waiting score to create an 18-hole differential later on. We believe we’re welcoming more players to the game in a more comprehensive manner.”Ī golfer plays a shot at sunset. “So it’s still within the realm,” said Edmonson. Makes sense, right? Players have fewer lengthy holes and spots to find trouble. At short courses, players are more likely to play to their index a little more often, around 27 percent of the time. Players on average will play to their handicap anywhere between 20-25 percent of the time, more so on the lower end. When you get beneath (the requirements) it turns more into pitch-and-putt and that’s just different. “So we’ve done an awful lot of research and we feel really good with this minimum requirement. So you’ve got people coming in through that channel and they ask if they can get a Handicap Index but the answer was, ‘Oh no, you can’t because scores aren’t accessible for handicap purposes here.’ It’s just not a great experience,” Edmonson explained. “There are just over 700 par-3 courses in the U.S. An 18-hole course may be as short as 1,500 yards, while a 9-hole course may be as short as 750 yards.įor example: Pinehurst Resort’s par-3 course, The Cradle, can now be included as it plays to 789 yards. The governing bodies want the game to be more inclusive and have taken a step towards achieving that goal by reducing the length requirements for traditional 18-hole, 9-hole and even par-3 courses. The Cradle at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina (Courtesy of Pinehurst Resort/John Gessner) Here’s what you need to know about the four significant updates coming in 2024 for the World Handicap System. “Hopefully that’s reflective in the revisions themselves.” “What you’re seeing with these revisions is we’re very much continuing to evolve to meet the game where it’s moving and golfers where they’re playing,” he added.

We can use data, we can use golfer feedback, and that’s what we have done.” alone on an annual basis, well over 100 million worldwide. We have over 70 million scores posted in the U.S. “We’ve got such a rich, robust data repository. “It’s very much a natural, logical evolution of WHS,” Steve Edmondson, USGA Managing Director of Handicapping and Course Rating, told Golfweek. 1, 2024 – based on data and feedback from the 125 countries now using the system. As the WHS enters its fifth year, the USGA and R&A have made their first updates to the system – effective Jan. With the WHS, players can compare themselves more accurately now than ever, and handicaps can travel the world with ease. Each previous format had its merits, but they all produced different results. There were six different handicap systems in use around the world before the United States Golf Association and R&A brought them all the under the wing of the World Handicap System in 2020. Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America.Top 40 par-3, short and non-traditional courses.

New balance 1500 saint alfred