Las Positas Men's Golf Club

 

This page is designed remind old club members and introduce new members to the rules related to posting scores toward your handicap. By following these rules, the club can meet its goal for fair and accurate handicaps for all club members.

You can also find your NCGA handicap by clicking on the NCGA logo.

When posting scores, you should use Equitable Stroke Control (ESC), based on the table below.

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Tournament Scoring:Recently, there have been articles (NCGA Bluebook) and e-mails (from the USGA to it’s members) regarding the possibilities of shooting your handicap.  Per both of these folks, a handicap should reflect your lowest potential scoring ability, not what you usually shoot on average, 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.

 

The NCGA and USGA have encouraged local clubs to use this information and table in monitoring and reviewing member handicaps.  The NCGA 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”.  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.

 

We’ve recently begun to do this at Las Positas.  We’ve reviewed the tournaments starting with October, and noted exceptional tournament scores.  An exceptional tournament score is one where a player’s gross score less their course handicap is less than the rating from the tees played.  Notice that the calculation ignores whatever handicap was used for the tournament (since many tournaments are played at 80% or 90%), and also ignores par, since indexes are based on course ratings, not par.  For example, a score of 70 from the white tees at Las Positas, while 2 strokes under par, would not be an exceptional tournament score, since the course rating from the white tees is 70.2.

 

Our method will be to maintain a list of players with exceptional tournament scores.  The scores will remain on the list for 6 months.  Players who record 2 exceptional tournament scores will be assigned a local index for use in Las Positas tournaments rather than their NCGA index.  Players who record 3 exceptional tournament scores will have their NCGA index modified based on the 3 scores.  These local indexes or modified indexes will be in effect for 4 months, and will be reviewed monthly.  The lower of the local/modified index or the NCGA index will be used during this period.

 

Note that we use tournament scores, because the NCGA/USGA feel these are the best representation of potential scoring ability, due to greater peer review, greater adherence to the rules of golf (vs. some of the goofy stuff we do in our regular games with our buddies), etc.  The “10-3” calculation used by the NCGA compares tournament scores to your index, which is made up of both tournament and regular rounds.

 

Finally, be aware that there is no judgment or stigma associated with having a modified 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 a more real-time recognition of members’ potential scoring ability.  Based on experience gathered while using this method at another club in the area, 10 members had modified indexes, and all 10 had NCGA indexes equal to or lower than the modified index within 3 or 4 months.  This method just recognizes the potential sooner rather than later. 

Tournaments: It is your responsibility to post your score for tournament rounds, and you must post within 15 minutes of the completion of your round. The tournament scorecard should reflect your actual score for the day, based on the rules of the tournament. However, you must still apply ESC when posting tournament scores to the computer. Failure to post will result in a penalty score (a score equal to the lowest handicap differential on your current scoring record). You do not need to put a separate scorecard in the box for tournament rounds; your tournament scorecard will suffice for handicap review.

Home Scores: You must post all rounds played, and we are requesting you submit a scorecard in the box by th computer. The scorecard should clearly (key word, as it saves our eyes) show your full name (first and last), GHIN number, tees played, course handicap, gross score and ESC-adjusted score (matching the posted score). Also, be sure that your math is correct! The submitted scorecard is the deciding factor in resolving any discrepancies, so be sure that it is correct.

It is the goal of the handicap committee that all handicaps accurately reflect the playing abilities of our members. To meet this goal we need the help of all members. We are requesting that all home scorecards be turned in. The handicap committee will review all these cards. The following is a list of the most common mistakes in posting scores. Please take a look at the list and review your scorecard before posting your score. The handicap committee will notify you when any of these errors appear on your scorecard or in the posting of your score. Let's have a great year and work to have the most accurate handicaps. If you have any questions about them, please contact the handicap director.

• Not adjusting per ESC
• Failure to post, card in the box
• Posting errors (posting a score different than scorecard)
• Math errors (score posted matched card, but card has an addition errors)

Away Scores: You should not submit a scorecard for away scores posted at the course played. If you are unable to post at the course, and post instead at Las Positas, you should put the away scorecard in the box.

Equitable Stroke Control (ESC): ESC sets the maximum number that a player can post (not take) on any hole, depending on the player's course handicap (not his index).