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On January, 1992, Section 10-3 of the USGA Handicap System manual, Reduction of USGA Handicap Index Based on Exceptional Tournament Scores, was put into effect. Section 10-3 is designed to reduce the Handicap Index of a player who scores much better in tournaments than in casual play. OSWGA has many odd formats that do not allow for posting and so GHIN cannot track exceptional play in many of our formats and so it becomes the responsibility of the Handicap committee to do so. Repeat Gross winners can be moved up a division but moving repeat net winners up just mathematically insures another net win! Be assured there is no feeling that repeat winners are sandbagging or cheating. Again, our formats do not allow for a player’s improving play to be tracked by GHIN.
In reviewing net tournament results and addressing concerns from our members, the indication is that Section 10-3 may not be doing enough to insure that all competitors are competing on any equal basis. If we assume that all golfers are abiding by the score posting guidelines established by the USGA Handicap System, then each competitor should have the same chance as the next to win in tournaments. While it is true that some competitors do play better in competition than they do in everyday casual play, it is the opinion of many that most competitors seem to not score as well in competition as they do in their casual rounds. There are competitors that finish near the top quite often, yet never seem to play well enough to have their handicap reduced under Section 10-3.
Dean Knuth-a statistician and inventor of the slope/rating method in the US has come up with a system based upon awarding points to NET finishers in our tournaments. We are currently tracking Gross and Net winners in our tournaments and applying his system to fit our needs. We are still “tweaking” some aspects but here is what we have so far. Players or teams that finish in the top 3 places NET in the tournament will be awarded the appropriate number of points as listed on the table below. The beauty of the system is the scores don’t matter the winning place does. And yes, points will be given in team events as well as individual events. This is clearly more equitable to all than to just randomly cut someone because of multiple wins. We believe this will help to insure a clear cut and fair method across the board. You may recall, our prior less definitive policy was on page 4 of your handbook:
“The OSWGA Handicap Committee has the responsibility of making certain that a player’s USGA Handicap Index accurately reflects her potential playing ability. As such, the OSWGA reserves the right to reduce a player’s USGA Handicap Index in any and all OSWGA competitions after reviewing exceptional tournament scores for all winners. This stipulation shall be considered proper notice for all members (according to The USGA Handicap System, Section 9-2 and Rule 33-1 of the Rules of Golf). Further, the Committee shall reduce or withdraw the handicap indexes of players who do not return all acceptable scores, or otherwise do not observe the spirit of the USGA Handicap System.”The points below will vary depending on the number of people in a flight.
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POINT ASSIGNMENT TABLE |
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Total Players in the Flight |
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| Finish |
Up to 20 |
21-49 |
50-99 |
100+ |
| First Place |
3pts |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| Second Place |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Third Place |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
Once a player has accumulated X number of points, their handicap will be cut by 2 for the next tournament. Once they accumulate X number of more points an additional stroke will be taken. We have yet to determine these cut lines. We strongly feel this will help to make our many formats equitable for our entire membership.
You may consider this to be due notice. If and when any cuts are made, players will be notified via email.