Best Club Handicapping Practices Shared And Discussed
On October 22, handicap chairmen from around the state convened at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton to discuss common interests and practices of handicapping.
Rich Kennedy, NJSGA Director of Handicapping and Member Benefits, was also in attendance and served as a consultant.
Clubs represented included Forest Hill Field Club, Montclair Golf Club, Essex Fells Country Club, Hollywood Golf Club, Navesink Country Club and Upper Montclair.
Among the topics of interest:
1) The best ways of ensuring and tracking that member golfers post scores, and the debate over whether family fun, instructive rounds should be included.
When more of the focus is on friends and family and instruction than on the golf shots being played, the rounds should not be counted.
Some clubs will establish a minimum number of rounds played to be eligible for club events and prize funds.
2) Ensuring that rounds played at the club be posted by tracking through a tee-time reservation service.
3) The best ways of ensuring that handicaps entered for club events are fair and equitable.
The Knuth System was discussed. Dean Knuth, known as The Pope of Slope, was a former leader of the USGA Handicap Department. He developed a tournament point system detailed on his website: www.popeofslope.com
There is a way of using a point system determined by performance in tournaments played within the year that adjusts to how the golfer performs in club events. The USGA strongly recommends that clubs use handicapping the way it is set out in the handicapping manual, but does allow clubs to use a tournament handicap for their events.
4) Away scoring: There is a concern that golfers playing away do so to basically raise their handicaps.
5) The correct handicap policy to employ for major member-guest events.
6) Vanity handicap: Golfers whose handicap is actually lower than that golfer’s ability level.
"This is the first meeting of this kind that I am aware of since I have been with the NJSGA", said Kennedy, who has won national handicapping awards presented by the USGA. “It was a great opportunity to listen to the exchange of concerns of clubs in regards to handicapping. “It was a great opportunity to listen to the exchange of concerns of clubs in regards to handicapping.
“I wish more clubs had been present to learn what another club can do about these concerns. I am hoping this becomes an annual event. No doubt, this kind of discussion and exchange of ideas will make the handicapping system better,” he said.
“I thought the meeting was fantastic. It addressed a lot of concerns for things we don’t have in place here such as Fore-Tee (a tee-time reservation service). All of the clubs have the same issues. Keeping track of people is the tough part. I think more clubs should and will get involved in this,” said Steve Dzitko, handicap chairman at Forest Hill.
“It was very helpful and valuable to hear the approaches that other clubs take on similar handicapping issues. We look forward to doing this again,” said Tim Lazarus, Upper Montclair handicap chairman.
