On Par
Golf 1-0-1 contributor Brian Tan is a member of
the Greens Committee, and oversees Rules and
Tournaments at NSRCC. When he’s not busy
officiating as a Rules Official, he can be found
contributing balls to NSRCC’s penalty areas.
Golf 101 – World Handicap System
(WHS) and the Spirit of Handicaps
Today, there are 6 different handicap systems used around the world. In Singapore we use the USGA Handicap
System but come 2020, the WHS will unify the six systems into a single system. The main changes we will see are:
•
•
•
•
•
8 rounds instead of 10 of the last 20 will be used to calculate your latest handicap
54 holes of scores instead of 90 to first get a handicap
New maximum handicap index is 54.0 for all genders (instead of 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women)
Daily handicap updates so your round yesterday will affect your handicap today
The system will also be slightly more responsive to downward movement and slightly less responsive to
upward movement. This is to safeguard against a bad run of scores that is not representative of your playing
ability.
• Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC) will take into account how well all golfers who played on a particular
course that day to help determine if the course played more difficult (or easier) than normal, due to conditions
or setup.
Most golfers’ handicaps will not see any change (from the change in system, not as part of the regular changes)
and you do not need to do anything on your part.
Handicaps are a measure of potential playing ability on a course of standard playing difficulty. It does not directly
translate to a number you should be shooting at NSRCC’s courses. This is where the Course Rating System
comes in.
https://www.whs.com/articles/2019/course-slope-rating.html
Course Handicap = Handicap Index x Slope Rating/113 (rounded to the nearest whole number)
For example, NSRCC Kranji has a slope rating of 131. So a 16 Handicap Index translates to a Course Handicap
of 19. This is the number one should be using to ask for (or give) strokes.
In general, your Course Handicap should be higher than your Handicap Index when playing in Singapore as all
courses in Singapore have slope ratings higher than 113.
Whilst we’re on the topic of handicaps, a less technical aspect of handicaps is the spirit of handicaps. The idea
behind handicaps is to enable golfers of different ability to play and compete fairly and equitably and to enjoy the
game of golf.
So keep your scores accurately, use your Course Handicap, and enjoy your game.