ENGLISH GOLF UNION AND WORCESTER PGA
Log on here for the EGU www.englishgolfunion.org/golfcentral/
Log on here for the Worcestershire PGA site and pro- am team details www.worcspga.co.uk
Log on here for the Worcesterdhire Amateur Golf Union www.worcestershireamateurgolf.co.uk.
CONGU RULE CHANGES : 2008
Handicaps - 2008
Handicapping issues are governed by the CONGU Unified Handicapping System (UHS) and their website is www.congu.com.
The UHS is based on the expectation that every player will return sufficient scores (qualifying scores) to provide reasonable evidence of their current playing ability.
Currently, for clubs under English Golf Union/English Women's Golf Association jurisdiction, there is no requirement to lapse handicaps for players who have not submitted a stipulated minimum number of qualifying scores. However, in practice we would expect players to submit at least 3 qualifying scores each year and, preferably, 6 or more.
For some players this is difficult. So, to make it easier for players, CONGU have now made it possible for clubs to run 9-hole qualifying competitions (more information in due course) and for players to submit “supplementary scores” that can count as qualifiers.
The men's committee has looked at participation levels in qualifiers during the last 12 months and, for a variety of individual reasons, there are many players who have not managed to submit 3 to 6 scores. This year we would encourage all players to ensure that their handicap is a fair reflection of their playing ability by playing in sufficient qualifiers or by submitting supplementary scores.
Supplementary scores are available to players with handicaps of 6 or above who did not play in 7 or more qualifiers last year. George Parker can advise on individuals' participation levels. A separate note will detail how we will operate the supplementary scores system from 1st March.
Ian Tyrrell and Goerge Parker recently attended a rules meeting organised by the Worcestershire Golf Union and the following explanation pertains to "No Return" cards in club strokeplay competitions.
Additionally the mandate to ALWAYS hand in your card, irrespective of scores, is restated.
No Return (N/R) in a Qualifying Competition
It can happen. You knock three drives out of bounds on the 3rd in a monthly medal and can't face playing 7 off the tee, or you biff a huge slice down the 17th, only to find when you get down there that it has just gone onto the practice ground and can't face the walk of shame back to the tee for a reload. In either case, the result may well be an N/R and an extra 0.1 onto your handicap.
However, there are two things that all players need to be aware of. One you definitely know about, the other you may not:
Firstly, it is mandatory that you return your card, at the end of your round, to the committee. This is so that the competition can be closed off and the results declared. Missing cards cause considerable grief for the organisers who are trying to account for all entrants.
Secondly, and this is the bit you may not realise, although N/R'ing rules a player out of the competition (as the round has not been completed) it can have a different implication for handicapping purposes. Under rule 19 of the latest CONGU Unified Handicapping System (2008 - 2011), we are obliged, whether or not all 18 holes have been completed, to adjust scores returned in stroke play qualifying competitions to establish the nett differential that would have applied had the competition been run as a stableford.
Without going into the detail of how to do that (stableford/nett double bogey adjustment), what it means is that if a player has done well enough on the other holes, despite N/R'ing they can still be in the buffer zone (no handicap change) or can even achieve a handicap reduction. In my examples above, not completing the 3rd or 17th holes could still have enabled a player to protect or improve their handicap if they played ok on the other holes overall.
If you have any questions about this, please see George Parker
TEAMS OF 2 MEN & 2 LADIES
TO JOIN US ON
SUNDAY, 11TH MARCH 2007
TO PLAY IN THE
MIXED AM-AM COMPETITION.
PLEASE ENTER YOUR NAMES ON THE COMPETITION LIST ON THE MIXED EVENTS BOARD IN THE FOYER