The Death of the Sandbagger
Starting January 6th of 2020, trying to keep a high handicap so you can clean up at the next event, will be much tougher. Golfers will no longer get to wait two weeks to get their handicap index updated. It will now be updated the day after you play…no lag time. If you get a few low scores in a given week, your handicap will drop like a stone.
Where the old system used to count your best 10 scores of your last 20, the new one will count your best 8 scores of your last 20. It will allow for a bigger adjustment if you’re on a hot streak
That’s just one of the new features that will go into the new World Handicap System (WHS).
Thanks to a $30 million software upgrade, 6 international handicap systems have been rolled into one. The best of each has been adopted to be included in the new WHS.
The new system will also track weather and course conditions, and factor them into your index. For example, if you a play a course you often play…and it happens to rain, that will be reflected in the new handicap. In addition, if the course set up of your favorite course is less or more difficult on a certain day, that will also be reflected in your index. It’s all based on statistics of past performances on the course in good weather, with easy reachable pins. And your index will be altered based on the stats of other players and how they do on a certain day.
A new app out on the App Store and Google Play will give you insight into how your scores are doing, in relation to past rounds…as well as a comparison to other golfers. Your hole-by-hole stats will be compiled and shown whenever you want to see them. College and pro players keep extensive records of past play at a certain course while preparing for a round. Now, you won’t need to do that because the app will keep those stats for you.
The new system will also be friendlier to golfers who are not members of a club. You can now just contact the Arizona Golf Association, and they will assign you to a local course of your choice to get your handicap card up and going.
So, after lots of preparation, and perspiration…the new World Golf Handicap System is up and running. While there are bound to be some unexpected glitches, it should be an improvement…and hopefully will keep the sandbagger from lightening your wallet.
