Posting Scores:
- When posting scores, you should use Equitable Stroke Control (ESC), which is discussed in more detail below
- Tournament scores – it is your responsibility to post your score for tournament rounds, and you should post within 15 minutes of the completion of your round. You should apply ESC when posting tournament scores. We will review all tournament scores posted, and will make any necessary adjustments.
- Home scores – you must post all rounds played. Scorecards are no longer required.
Equitable Stroke Control (ESC): ESC is a procedure used by the USGA in the calculation of handicaps that eliminates very bad holes from impacting handicaps to a disproportionate degree. ESC sets the maximum number that a player can post for any hole, based on the player’s COURSE HANDICAP, not their INDEX. That table is shown below. A word of advice: if your index is around one of the break points, such as 9.5, 10.1, 19.8, 20.2, etc., you should be very careful to check your course handicap before applying ESC. A 19.8 index may be a 19 handicap at one course (with a maximum ESC score of 7 per hole) and a 21 at another (with a maximum per hole score of 8), depending on the Slope rating of the course. Most courses should have the Slope table with index ranges and course handicaps for the tees you are playing, so be sure to check. See example of stroke control.
Tournament Handicap Adjustments: See Handicap Adjustments
Background: There have been several USGA and NCGA articles and write-ups regarding the possibilities of shooting your handicap. Per both of these folks, a handicap should reflect your lowest potential scoring ability, not your average score, and therefore shooting your handicap shouldn’t be a common occurrence. The USGA has developed a table showing the odds of various handicap ranges shooting various amounts under their handicap, and that table can be found on their website (as well as the NCGA’s).
The NCGA and USGA have encouraged local clubs to use this information and table in monitoring and reviewing member handicaps. The USGA uses the USGA Handicap Manual Section “10-3” rule, where they do a computer calculation comparing exceptional tournament scores to your monthly index, and where there is a significant gap, indexes are reduced “to better reflect your lowest potential scoring ability”. The NCGA uses a database of NCGA tournament scores, and calculates a “tournament” handicap for use in their tournaments. However, per the NCGA, local clubs are free to develop their own methodologies using this information, and if applied consistently, adjust members’ handicaps to a local index for use only in the club’s tournaments or events, or to make modifications to NCGA indexes where warranted.
Our System: We will maintain a rolling record of the scores for the last 6 months, and once a player has at least 2 scores, will calculate a tournament index (“T-Index”) based on those tournament scores. With more than 2 scores, we will use 50% of the scores (rounded up – 3 out of 5, 4 out of 7, etc.) to calculate an index. We will then compare the T-Index to each player’s NCGA index each month. If a player has a T-Index lower than the NCGA index, we will use the T-Index for that month’s tournaments. This spreadsheet will be posted on the website at the beginning of each month, so members will know if they are adjusted or not.
Items to note:
- Tournament scores used are unadjusted, vs. your NCGA index, which should have adjusted scores. If you still have a lower T-Index, clearly that is a better reflection of your lowest potential scoring ability when participating in our tournaments.
A player may have as few as 2 scores or as many as 10-11 scores used in the calculation of the T-Index, based on how frequently they participate in the club tournaments. If a player only has one score during the 6 months, that score will be maintained in the spreadsheet, and at the discretion of the Handicap Chairmen or the Board, can be used for future reference in any handicap adjustments. In other words, more than a 6-month gap between tournament rounds doesn’t necessarily mean the old score goes away.
Finally, be aware that there is no judgment or stigma associated with having a local index based on this method – IT’S JUST MATH. This is not some magic formula designed to catch “sandbaggers”. It is simply meant to be recognition of members’ potential scoring ability, using tournament scores as a major indicator. NOTE: The NCGA/GHIN updates are now every two weeks. HOWEVER, LPMGC WILL UPDATE THE TOURNAMENT INDEXES ONLY ONE TIME PER MONTH.