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| Issue: # 1 |
8/JANUARY/2008 |
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Adios to 2007 and Hello 2008!
This month we have a special issue for you, everything you ever wanted to know (well, almost everything!) about Rules & Handicaps, contributed by our R&H Chair, Suzanne Garcia, and our R&H guru, Patty Ellis.
We hope you enjoy this and would appreciate your letting us know if you'd like to see this kind of issue, dedicated to another specific topic, in a future e-newsletter. Please send your comments to me at: towers807@aol.com.
Jane Gallagher
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All about Rules and Handicaps
It's January, and for many of us that means touching up our games, cleaning or re-gripping our clubs, and signing up for clinics to get ready for the new season. So why not spend some of those cold winter days brushing up on the Rules of Golf and how to maintain a handicap. Here's a few articles intended to help you do just that! Happy New Year to all! |
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KEEPING A HANDICAP
This article is forYOU!
And pay special attention if you have a lower handicap!
(by our very own Rules Guru, Patty Ellis)
This article is not intended to teach anyone how to keep a handicap. It's been written to address mistakes, omissions and other issues for players who currently maintain handicaps. If you need to learn how to obtain a handicap, we want to help. Log onto ewgali.org, click on Rules and Handicap and choose Handicapping Posting Guidelines; or send an e-mail to Rules and Handicap Chair, Suzanne Garcia at sgarcia@optonline.netor, attend one of our Handicap Seminars coming in the Spring. If you already maintain a handicap (or are simply curious), read on.
I've been on the Handicap Committee for our club's entire existence, and I think it's safe to say I've "heard it all" when it comes to players' explanations for failing to follow the basic USGA handicap guidelines. Below are some of the common issues for maintaining a handicap and some examples of what I've heard.
Post all of your scores:
This rule does not say "post only your good rounds if you want a low handicap" or "post only your bad rounds if you want a high handicap". To neglect to post rounds based on scores circumvents the basic handicap calculation.
The handicap calculation system recognizes that players don't play the same round every time. It takes into account the fact that players will occasionally shoot bad (even terrible) rounds. But not posting a bad round is inappropriate. I've even heard the phrase "just a practice round" given to a bad round that a player didn't want to post. There's no such thing for handicap purposes.
The contrary is also true. You must post all your scores no matter how good they are. Someone once told me they weren't going to post a sensational round because "I don't play to that low a handicap and it's not fair if my handicap gets that low." But the system takes this into account by considering your bad scores too! To try to manipulate the system in this way is, simply stated, cheating.
And remember, you have to post all rounds during the posting season of the course you've played. It may not be the posting season here in NY, but if you're playing during the on-season somewhere else (Myrtle, Florida), you must post that round.
Using personal judgment to score unfinished holes:
If a player doesn't finish a hole, the system allows her to estimate what her "most likely" score would have been had she been allowed to finish so that she can post the score for handicap purposes. This happens all the time (it should happen all the time unless a player only plays in stroke play competitions).
But there is very little wiggle room on how to estimate your most likely score. One player said to me "just give me a 5" after she picked up on a par 3 hole on which she had already taken 5 strokes! Her most likely score would have been an 8 (assuming one more shot to get onto the green plus two putts).
For us match play players, if you pick up either because you were conceded a putt or your partner has already holed out for your team's best ball, you still must use reasonable judgment on how many additional strokes to take. If you're conceded a one-foot putt, it's probably fair to count only one additional stroke for that putt. But if you're conceded a 20-foot putt, counting only 1 more stroke would be unreasonable; you should count at least two. A friend of mine (non-EWGA thank goodness) gave herself a 20 foot big-breaking putt on the 15th hole of the Black course because her partner had already holed out for their team's best ball. That's not reasonable or "most likely" even for Annika!
Equitable Stroke Control (ESC): Here's a reminder of what the ESC maximums are:
Current course handicap 9 or less, the max to post is double bogey
Current course handicap from 10 through 19, the max to post is a 7
Current course handicap from 20 through 29, the max to post is an 8
Current course handicap from 30 through 39, the max to post is a 9
Current course handicap of 40 or more, the max to post is a 10
So if someone whose current handicap is 17 shoots a 10 on a hole, she must reduce her total score for posting purposes by 3 strokes. A player with a handicap between 10 and 19 told me she should only have to take a 6 because it was "just a par-3" and taking a 7 would be unfair. But ESC makes up for this seemingly high max on par-3s by capping par 5's to 7 also. Players with handicaps between 10 and 19 often shoot triple bogey or worse on par 5's, yet the system significantly limits the damage to their handicaps.
The USGA handicap system was created with an enormous amount of thought and care. All the reasons I've heard for not following the posting rules simply don't make sense. The handicap system already takes those issues into account. The calculation is fair if we follow the guidelines. Please remember it is your duty to abide by the posting guidelines. Our club's tournaments and even casual play are based on our players having fair and accurate handicaps.
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Posting in the off-season
(by Rules and Handicap Chair, Suzanne Garcia)
Those of us who refuse to put our golf clubs away until the snow blankets all the courses must face the fact the rounds we play when the temperatures barely make it out of the 30's don't count for handicap purposes. Winter golf can be a lot of fun - and a great way to beat the winter doldrums. But it's not the same as playing on a beautiful spring day. The ball doesn't travel as far (expect 10 less yards of distance for every 20 degrees). The winds can be fierce. The courses aren't in the best condition (think mud, bare spots, and leftover snow in the bunkers), and you'll probably find temporary tees and maybe even temporary greens set up to protect the course.
The USGA Handicap system acknowledges that winter golf is not an accurate reflection of a player's ability, and has established active and inactive seasons in geographic locals that deal with snow in the winter time. In New York and the metropolitan area, the active season for 2008 will officially begin on April 1, 2008 and close on November 10, 2008. Any round of golf (or partial round) played in a region during it's "off season" should not be posted for handicap purposes and will not be used for calculation of a player's handicap index. However, any round of golf played in a geographic location that is in an active season, must be posted for handicap purposes.
So, what's a golf addict to do? We have two choices. First, we can play all the practice rounds in New York, New Jersey, PA and Connecticut we want without impacting our handicap or breaking the rules. Play 6, 7, 9, 12, or 18 holes or any number in between (until you can't feel your hands) and use the winter season to keep yourself limber and remind your body that the true golf season will return shortly. Second, and my personal favorite, is to get on a plane to Florida, the Carolinas, Puerto Rico, Mexico, or another warm climate of your choosing and play all the golf you want. When you get back, just log onto GLMS, post your rounds, and they will be included and reflected when your Handicap Index revises in April, 2008.
Happy Golfing!! |
EWGA encourages the use of the Golf Life Management System
"GLMS" for handicap purposes
GLMS is a handicap service provider selected by the EWGA to provide its members with handicap calculation services. GLMS is one of many providers of handicap services, such as GHIN, IDC, Handicomp, EZlinks, and others. The EWGA selected GLMS as its provider, rather than GHIN, because GLMS can provide official handicap services throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada. Using GLMS lets us have one system that can be used by all EWGA chapters.
Some of our members have expressed a reluctance over the last several years to use the GLMS system to calculate their handicaps either because they are members at golf clubs that require them to use GHIN, or because they play competitive golf through other organizations that use GHIN as their handicap service provider. As these are real issues for some members, we have not mandated the use of GLMS for our league and tournament events. However, we do strongly encourage its use, and would like to encourage all members who maintain a GHIN handicap to also maintain a handicap index through the GLMS system. There's no rule that says you can't do both!
And the benefits to our chapter are immense. First, our volunteers spent well over 100 hours last year alone obtaining and calculating handicaps and scores for league tournament prizes, and the Chapter Championship. Second, ever year, invitations to join the Sound Cup Team are sent to our chapter's members with the 20 lowest handicaps, but only if we know who you are. And, while we can find you by printing a roster of all Long Island Chapter members with a GLMS handicap, we can't do that with GHIN. Also, in order to maintain our status as a "club" under the USGA Rules, we need to conduct peer reviews of player's handicaps, and that is simply much more difficult with GHIN. Give it a try - we'll be glad you did! | |
ANOTHER "ASK PATTY" RULES QUESTION
When Balls Collide (the ruling is easy if you know which rule governs!)
"What's the ruling when balls collide" is a question I get asked all the time. And it can be difficult. Why? Because there is no one rule titled "balls colliding" that covers the situation. In fact, two separate Rules cover this occurrence; Rule 18: Ball at Rest Moved and Rule 19: Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped. So the most important thing you need to figure out when two balls collide is which Rule covers you and your ball. If your ball was at rest when the collision took place, Rule 18 governs, if it was moving, Rule 19 governs.
Rule 18 (specifically Rule 18-5) is the easier of the two and states: "If a ball in play and at rest is moved by another ball in motion after a stroke, the moved ball shall be replaced". Wow, that was easy. If your ball is at rest and another ball hits and moves it, just put it back where it was, no penalty.
Rule 19 (specifically Rule 19-5) is just as easy; it states: "the player shall play his ball as it lies". So if you make a stroke at your ball and it hits another player's ball at rest, do nothing extra, just play your ball where it wound up.
The confusion happens because Rule 19-5 has an exception for stroke play. If you're playing match play, just play your ball as it lies. But in stroke play, the exception is you (the player making the stroke) are penalized if both balls were on the putting green prior to the stroke. Basically what that means is if you were putting, and another player neglected to mark her ball on the green, and your ball hits her ball, you play your ball as it lies, but you incur a penalty of two strokes.
Ouch! That doesn't sound fair. She was the one who should have marked her ball. That's why players should ALWAYS mark their ball when on the green. It's a courtesy to your playing companions and they shouldn't have to ask.
And I should mention, if you fail to replace your ball when governed by Rule 18-5, you will incur a penalty, but let's leave that to another article, shall we?
Bring on the collisions!! | |
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