The World Handicap System (WHS) has been in place now for nearly four years in this country, a little longer in others. I think it’s had a fair chance to bed in and for people to make their own assessments on whether it’s superior to, and whether they enjoy it more than, the old CONGU system of competition standard scratches and 0.1s.
I can only speak on what I have experienced, and my personal assessment is – I haven’t enjoyed golf as much over the last four years because of the World Handicap System. I don’t get nearly as much out of the competitive rounds I play, and those are the rounds I enjoy most.
I used to be excited at the prospect of the Saturday (or Wednesday or any other day) medal. It was the chance for a handicap cut, it was the prospect of a gritty battle to make the “buffer zone” and avoid going up by 0.1, it was the opportunity to win something. Now the Saturday medal is just another round, a good score may or may not affect my handicap, there’s no incentive if my play turns mediocre and there’s absolutely zero chance of my winning anything.
Last Saturday I shot a reasonable score, one that would have seen me in the buffer zone under the old system. The following day I woke to an email saying my handicap had gone up by 0.6. Clearly, I had knocked a very good score out of my last 20 – I understand how the system works. But it felt like a kick in the privates and further solidified my disaffection with WHS. How is it “more representative of my current playing ability” to go up by 0.6 after shooting a score in which I basically played to handicap?
Anyway, that’s my personal feelings and I know there are counter arguments for why WHS has been implemented and why it is better for a broader range of golfers. I have written about that, and I accept it. I also know that the system is constantly being monitored and adapted as more data becomes available and more feedback is given. God knows, I have given enough feedback on this website!
I don’t think we should look backwards and scrap an initiative that has been designed to unify handicapping systems around the world and to be more useable for new entrants to the game. But I don’t think it’s currently working well enough to satisfy the millions of established golfers in this country for whom maintaining and improving their handicap, and entering competitions to try and win, is key to their golfing enjoyment. With that in mind, here are 4 things I’d change about the…
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