Along with other clubs in the region Ramsey recently attended a workshop looking at various aspects of handicap procedures. Please find below some of the relevant points noted, if you are unsure or have any questions, then please speak with a committee member. Summary of points – White Tees, Temporary Greens, Declaring Your Intent / Penalty Scores, Annual Handicap Review, Number of Qualifying Scores for Competition White Tees Many years ago, across most Golf Clubs the White Tee box was often labelled the Competition Tee on the basis that most summer comps were played from them. Members were actively discouraged from using them for general play. This became unpopular with many clubs as it didn’t, for example, give members a chance to practice before comps. This generally brought about a sea change and members were then permitted to play from the White Tees throughout the summer. However during the winter months our Club, much like many in the UK, need to resort to having to use Temporary Tees, to preserve the Tee box. When this is the case, it would almost inevitably mean that the White card becomes non-qualifying due to the reduction in yardage. No competitions are held from White Tees during this period and as a result, to reduce confusion and thus make it simpler for members, clubs remove the White Tee pegs. Providing that the Tee box has been accepted suitable for play, members although not necessarily encouraged may play SOCIAL Golf from the Tomb stones, but only under such circumstances. Temporary Greens WHS stipulates scores for handicap are only valid if NO more than 2 temporary greens are in play, much like the Tees and a recent experience during a Winter Stableford competition, Declaring Your Intent / Penalty Scores We would like to remind Members that even during the winter months, WHS encourages Members to continue entering competitions and submitting Casual Round scores. Should players wish to do the later, then you must declare your intent before commencement, either on HowDidiDo or one of the PSI terminals. Your declaration will automatically be recorded by WHS, who in turn, would expect you to promptly enter a score upon competition of the round. If you fail to enter a score then WHS will apply a penalty to your score history. Annual Handicap Review The guidelines from WHS state that Clubs should carry out an annual review between 1st October and 31st December, where any changes are deemed necessary, any adjustment is made after consultation with the Member, via the WHS platform, and often in these cases, the players performance is monitored over the following months to ensure that the correct assessment had been reached. Ramsey completed its annual review in accordance with the guidelines, and the Handicap Committee will continue to do their utmost to monitor handicaps as best they can. The submission of score cards, either from qualifying competitions or general play rounds, is essential in providing a platform for review. Number of Qualifying Scores for Competition Before the migration to the WHS platform, players who submitted 3 or more qualifying rounds would have had their handicap automatically annotated with a small and /or italicized ‘c’ to indicate a “Competition Handicap Status”. Players who did not hold such a “Competition Handicap” may have restricted Members from entering some competitions and restrict them wining of prizes in others. No such alternative exists under WHS, but it has been stated by WHS that Clubs are encouraged to use Terms of Competition to define eligibility for entry. Ramsey, like many other clubs, are evaluating the statistics of all member score history records and considering the detail accordingly, consequently the Handicap and Competition Committees will provide further feedback if there is deemed to be any need for change prior to our summer Knockout competitions. Happy Golfing. |