Golf is a competitive sport, and golfers want to play their best, regardless of abilities. The handicap system allows golfers of all skill levels to compete heads up without altering the course of play. This ensures that a low handicap golfer can have a competitive match with a beginning or intermediate player. Handicapping a golf outing, where teams of players come together to compete, can be more challenging than an individual match. There are several factors to consider like the number of players, event format and legitimacy of individual handicaps.
Step 1
Collect all handicaps from participating players. The United States Golf Association sanctions a handicap index that is the industry standard. Many events require an established USGA handicap index for participation -- this is an optional condition for entry into your event.
Step 2
Determine the event's format. Many outings take place as scrambles, where all four golfers in a group hit from the best shot among the foursome at each hole. This is a popular choice because players of any skill level can participate and enjoy the competition.
Step 3
Approve the format with the tournament chairman or director. If a scramble is vetoed, other outing formats include two best balls -- where each individual golfer plays every hole and the two lowest scores among the group of four are recorded as the team score -- or stableford scoring, where golfers earn points based on their scores in relation to par.
Step 4
Break the golfers down into teams. Sometimes this is done at registration, where golfers sign up as a foursome. Ensure that all groups are comprised of four players.
Step 5
Assign any individual golfers or twosomes to groups that have openings for extra players.
Step 6
Write each player's USGA handicap index next to his name on the parings sheet. This will speed the process of totaling the team handicap index.
Step 7
Add each group's four handicap indexes together to establish a team handicap index. The strongest teams will be the groups with the lowest total, and the weaker teams will have a higher team handicap index.
Step 8
Base the number of strokes given out off the lowest handicap index to make the competition fair and equitable. For instance, if team A has a team index of 11, and team B's index is 18, team B would receive seven shots over the course of the round.
Step 9
Note the number of strokes each team will be receiving on the team's official scorecard. This can be done in two ways -- giving shots on the hardest handicap holes, working backwards, or by subtracting the strokes given from the gross team total, which is known as a "net" score.
Step 10
Post all scores to the scoreboard once the round is completed. Handicapping a golf outing in this fashion ensures that the winning team is the team that played the best golf on that given day relative to their skill levels, even though they are not necessarily the most skilled and best golfers.
Posted in: Golf