Week Four: Pitching

Warm-Up: Quiz 4, Turn in Statistics tutorial

Core Value: Honesty

Clinic: Pitching

Skills Challenge: Pitching

Application: On-Course Play

Wrap-Up: Turn in scorecards, stats

Homework: Handicap Worksheet (due week 5)

Handicap:

Handicap in golf is a numerical measure of a player’s ability and a way to make sure all players have an equal chance of winning. A lower handicap means you are a better player, and a handicap of 0 is called a scratch golfer, which means the player should shoot par on every hole. For a bogey golfer (a player who should shot bogey on every hole), the handicap is 20.

In 2020, the USGA and R&A began developing a new system called the World Handicap System (WHS) which simplifies the handicap system and ensures the same formula and numbers are being used around the world. Golf Handicap Information Network is a database of members’ handicaps. Members post their scores to continually update their handicaps, and can view handicaps of other players.

Your gross score is your score without the handicap. Your net score is your gross score minus your handicap. For example, if you gross score for 18 holes is 100 and your handicap is 20, your net score is 80.

You see a handicap row on most scorecards, with numbers 1-18. If a hole has a handicap of 1, it is the most difficult hole on the course. A hole with handicap 18 is the easiest hole on the course.

Calculating your Handicap:

Calculating your handicap is tricky. GHIN does this for you, but you have to purchase a membership to GHIN. We will walk you through the process of calculating your handicap below, but feel free to purchase a membership to GHIN so you can continually post your scores and update your handicap.

Step 1: Play 18 holes at least 3 times and record your scores

Step 2: Find the Course Rating and Slope Rating for whichever course you played. For Gainesville Country Club, the course rating is 69.8 and the slope rating is 123.

Step 3: Plug in the above values into the handicap differential formula

 Handicap differential (HD) = [ (Score – Course Rating) X 113] / Slope Rating

You should have three different handicap differentials. The more times you play, the more handicap differentials you’ll be able to calculate, and the more accurate your handicap will be.

Step 4: Find the average of the handicap differentials. Add them all together and divide by 3 (or the number of handicap differentials)

This value is your handicap.