How Does the Handicap Change?

Once a player gains an Australian Handicap, the handicap is subject to alteration every time the player plays a competition round. As outlined in the Australian Handicapping System, “All scores established in all 18 holes singles stroke competition rounds (including Par and Stableford) played under the Rules of Golf at courses with an Australian Course Rating shall be used for handicapping purposes. A competition round is defined as one conducted by a recognised golf club, its professional or agent, or other bona-fide bodies, for which trophies or prizes are awarded for golfing performance.

Click here...> for a current copy of the Australian Men's Handicapping System.

A “bona-fide body is defined as a formally constituted club, association or group formed primarily for the purpose of conducting ongoing golf events, played in accordance with the Rules of Golf and appropriate local rules, or otherwise to administer golf for a defined area or group of golfers. However scores returned from corporate/trade days not otherwise eligible as above but played in accordance with the Rules of Golf, may be used for handicap reductions only”.

A few other points to note about scores for handicapping are: -

When a player is disqualified his or her actual score may, at the discretion of the home club’s handicapping committee, be used for handicapping purposes. Scores should be used when actual scores are known, but a technical Rules breach has caused disqualification eg. card not signed or handicap not recorded.

Four-ball scores (including mixed events) may be used for handicapping but only for the reduction of a player’s handicap. Only scores of 42 Stableford points or better; 6 up against par or better or 6 under or better in stroke events may be used. In addition, the player’s score must appear at least 9 times on the card for him to be handicapped.

The handicapping of a four ball score is undertaken in the following manner: -

Firstly, the handicapper identifies the player who is in on the card nine or more times.
Where scores do not appear for that player, the handicapper fills in scores on the card as follows: -

When a player has no handicap stroke on a hole and his score is not recorded, he should be given 1 stroke over the par of the hole. On holes where a player receives a handicap stroke but his score is not recorded, he should be given 1.5 strokes over the par of the hole. When a player receives 2 handicap strokes on a hole and his score is not recorded, he should be given 2.5 strokes over the par for the hole.

When all the gaps in the card have been filled in, the scores should be added, and where a half appears in the total, the scores should be taken to the next higher whole number. Except in the most unusual circumstances, the score obtained in this manner will be higher than the score actually recorded by the player and in this way does not unduly penalise the player. The score obtained should be recorded in the player’s handicap record sheet and treated in the same way as all the other scores for handicap purposes.

It should be noted that the course ACR is used as the CCR for Four Ball competitions.

Any stipulated competition round of 9 holes or more, adjusted on a pro-rata basis, may also be used for handicapping purposes. For example, if a player returns a score of 28 points for 12 holes played, he or she would be credited with 42 points for 18 holes.

When a person plays within a competition field, but does not actually enter the competition, the score, if attested by an affiliated golfer, should be used for handicapping purposes.

Handicap Adjustments

When a player returns scores from competition rounds, it is responsibility of the player’s home club to maintain and amend (where necessary) his Australian Handicap. Each player who holds an Australian (or Club) Handicap within a golf club will have a handicap record. The recording of a player’s competition scores on his handicap record are then kept by “differentials”. “Differentials” are the amount by which a player’s gross (or stroke) score is above or below the Calculated Course Rating (or ACR in the case of Four Ball scores). For instance, a player who has returned a stroke competition score of 90 when the CCR was 72 has a differential of 18 for that round.

No Change

When a players’ differential equals his or her handicap or is within the “buffer zone” for the particular handicap category (as outlined in the table below), no change is made to the exact handicap. The “buffer zone” is an allowance that varies between the various handicap categories. It means that if a player’s differential is within a certain amount of strokes of his handicap, then no change occurs to that player’s handicap.

An example of how the “buffer zone” works can be seen where a player with a handicap of 11 returns a stroke score of 84 against a CCR of 72. The differential is 12. However, because the differential is above the player’s handicap by only one, no change is made as the difference between the differential and player’s handicap is within the buffer zone allowance of one stroke for players with handicaps in Category B (5-12).

Increases

If the player submits a score with a differential that is greater than his handicap plus the appropriate buffer zone figure, the player’s exact handicap is increased by 0.1, irrespective of the extent to which his differential was beyond the buffer zone.

Additionally, in handicap category A (up to 4.4), if a player submits a score with a differential more than 5 strokes higher than his handicap, his exact handicap shall be increased by 0.2, instead of the 0.1. A non-returned card in category A without a justifiable excuse such as illness or injury shall also attract a 0.2 increase.

Reductions

If a player returns a score with the differential lower than his handicap, the exact handicap is reduced by an amount per stroke that the differential is below his or her handicap. The amount per stroke is determined by the players’ particular handicap category as outlined below: -

Handicap Categories	Handicap	Buffer Zone	Add 0.1 if differential is above handicap by at least -	If differential is below handicap, subtract each stroke under
A	up to 4	0	1	0.1
B	5-12	1	2	0.2
C	13-19	2	3	0.3
D	20-27	3	4	0.4
E	28-36	3	4	0.5

Accordingly if a player on a handicap of 18.4 returns a stroke score of 84 against a CCR of 72, this results in a differential of 12. The players’ handicap is then reduced by 1.8, which is calculated by multiplying 6 (number of strokes by which his differential was below his handicap) by 0.3 per stroke. The players’ revised exact handicap is now 16.6, which will see a “playing” Australian Handicap of 17. As with the initial allocations of Australian Handicaps, a player’s playing handicap is always rounded to the nearest whole number (0.5 being rounded up).

When a player’s handicap is to be reduced so that it goes from a higher category to a lower category, it should be reduced at the rate appropriate to the higher category only so far as it brings his playing handicap into the lower category. The balance of the reduction should be calculated at the rate appropriate to the lower handicap category.

An example of this situation is where a player on 20.2 returns a score with a differential of 14, i.e. 6 strokes below his playing handicap of 20. The player’s reduction is calculated as follows: -

The first 2 strokes are deducted using the decimal point figure (per stroke) in Category D - 0.4 per stroke. 20.2 – (2x.4) (i.e. –8) = 19.4. At this point the player is moving from Category D (20-27) to Category C (13-19). Accordingly, the next 4 strokes are deducted using the decimal point figure stated in Category C – 0.3 per stroke. 19.4 – (4x.3) (i.e. –1.2) = 18.2. The player’s derived handicap is now 18.2.

To view the Australian Handicapping and Course Rating systems, visit the Golf Australia website.