It’s not controversial to suggest the World Handicap System is divisive. There are countless positives and hundreds of thousands of golfers around the world are pleased it came into being in 2020. I count myself as one of those.
But there are plenty of others who oppose the new framework and preferred the old CONGU system, the previous iteration in the history of handicapping.
I’d had conversations with low-handicappers and read articles about how the WHS has ruined golf for low-handicappers and it’s the only sport that rewards mediocrity, but I perhaps underestimated just how many really good players are opposed to the system.
In the Golf Monthly office, nine members of staff are single-figure golfers (and one is a pro). I asked all of them whether they were pro or anti-WHS and seven of them came down on the anti side. I then asked two follow-up questions in the group chat, which led to plenty of heated debate and discussion.
I was keen to establish why they weren’t fans of the new framework and whether the main issues they were talking about carried over from the CONGU system.
“Go back to the old system, it was fine,” said Conor Keenan, a 7.3-handicapper. “Agreed. The old system was great with its buffer zones,” added Elliott Heath (6).
“Back then, anyone in our club could win any competition and nobody ever touched 40 points. Now there’s a 41/42 every Sunday. On a tough day, 37 points used to give you a chance, but now it might get you top 20,” said Conor.
“Truly, anyone could win with the old system. After a few holes, you’d be trying to predict the winning score (i.e. ‘I think someone will shoot 38 in this today’). Now we don’t bother because there will inevitably be a 41/42 from a double-figure handicapper and we know none of us can win.”
“Our club champion was giving 34 shots in a summer knockout. He was 4-up with four to play and his opponent then went net hole-in-one, net eagle, net birdie, net eagle and net birdie to beat him on the first play-off hole!” said Matt Cradock (3.9).
Stableford scores in the 40s are extremely common these days
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
‘Easy to manipulate’
I certainly see why a low-handicapper would be frustrated by the aforementioned scenarios, even if some of the follow-up comments from…
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