There has been much discussion about the proposed handicap changes in 2020 as well as many things written about the changes and how to understand them. This is a synopsis of the changes and how they will affect Metro Seniors in 2020.
Max Handicap Guide
In 2019 the maximum handicap guide was 36.4 for males and 40.4 for females. In 2020, this will be increased to 54.0 for both males and females. What impact will this have to Metro Seniors? Only to D Flight, where those who really had a higher handicap guide than 36.4.
PS – If you had a max handicap guide of 36.4 at the end of 2019, you may start 2020 with a higher handicap guide due to this change.
Number of rounds considered for handicap guide
In 2019 we used the lowest 8 out of your last 16 rounds (no earlier than 2017). The USGA changed their usage to 8 of the last 20 rounds, so we changed ours to be a similar percentage, by using the lowest 7 of your last 16 rounds. In addition, all scores prior to 2018 will disappear from our records.
Course Handicap in 2020
The change in 2020 revises the formula by replacing the Course Rating delta between the Back and Forward tees to Course Rating – Course Par. This will not impact your competitiveness against others, but it will decrease the strokes you might receive at a particular course. As an example, a 10 handicap golfer at Gateway National might have received 11 strokes in the past, but only 6 in 2020. But ALL golfers will be similarly impacted, losing 4-8 strokes from the strokes they received in 2019. Net scores better than par will be an exception, not the rule. Another way to put it is that handicap guides will not change; course handicaps will.
Clear as mud? Bob Zaruba will discuss this briefly at the Annual Meeting on March 24th, then the entire Handicap Committee will be available after the meeting to answer any additional questions.