Unified Handicapping -System in detail
Unified Handicapping -System in detail
9. Standard Scratch Score
FAQ
9.1 The Standard Scratch Score is the score that a scratch player is expected to return in normal mid-season course and weather conditions over a Measured Course.
9.2 The allocation of Standard Scratch Scores shall be the responsibility of the Union.
9.3 Unions shall direct that the Standard Scratch Score of courses under their jurisdiction shall be assessed in accordance with either:
(a) The Course Rating System of the United States Golf Association or
(b) The Rating System of the English Golf Union.
Note: A Standard Scratch Score determined by the Scratch Score System of the Ladies' Golf Union is valid until the golf course is re-assessed under the provisions of Clause 9.3(a).
The Standard Scratch Score (SSS) is a measure of the playing difficulty of a golf course under normal mid-season course and weather conditions. The USGA Course Rating System takes account of the measured length of a golf course together with factors that affect both the playing length and the playing difficulty (obstacle factors).
The factors that affect the effective playing length of a golf course are: Roll, Dogleg, Wind, Forced Lay-up and Elevation.
The ten obstacle factors that determine the playing difficulty of a golf course are: Topography, Fairway, Green Target, Recoverability and Rough, Bunkers, Out of Bounds/Extreme Rough, Water Hazards, Trees, Green Surface and Psychological.
Each hole on the golf course is evaluated on a scale 0-10 for each of the ten obstacles and account taken of the effective length correction factors e.g. the effective playing length of a fast running links course is quite different from that of a moorland course with soft fairways.
The English Golf Union Course Rating System takes account of the measured length of a golf course and location/wind together with factors that affect the playing difficulty. The ten factors that affect the playing difficulty of a golf course are: Terrain, Fairway Width, Rough, Fairway Bunkers, Out of Bounds, Water Hazards, Trees, Green Approach, Green and Green Missed Recoverability.
It is a requirement of the two course rating systems approved by CONGU® that course raters are trained and team leaders tested before being accredited to determine course ratings. To take account of course changes and evolution, established courses are required to be rerated at prescribed intervals or in accordance with license agreements, where appropriate.
9.4 A temporary Standard Scratch Score may be allocated in such manner as a Union shall decide.
9.5 No course of less than 3,000 yards (2,743 metres) shall be allocated a Standard Scratch Score.
9.6 Courses between 3,000 and 4,000 yards (2,743 and 3,558 metres) may be allocated such Standard Scratch Scores as the Union shall determine.
9.7 No course of less than nine holes shall be allocated a Standard Scratch Score.
Golf courses in the following categories are exempt from the above
- Courses of less than 3,000 yards allocated a Standard Scratch Score prior to 1st January 1993.
- Courses of less than nine holes allocated a Standard Scratch Score prior to 1st January 2000.
Par as a Basis for Handicapping
Q. Professional golf uses Par as a measure of comparative playing performance. Why is the UHS not based on Par?
A. CONGU® does not consider that Par provides a suitable basis for a reliable and robust handicap system. Par is a very crude measure of the playing difficulty of a golf course. Two courses having the same Par may vary in length by many hundred yards. To illustrate how great this difference can be, consider two courses constructed in similar terrain:
Course A - Four Par 3 holes each 140 yards in length and fourteen Par 4 holes each 300 yards in length. Total course length 4,760 yards. Par 68.
Course B - Four Par 3 holes each 220 yards in length and fourteen Par 4 holes each 400 yards in length. Total course length 6,480 yards. Par 68.
Assuming similar relative playing difficulties on each course, the scoring potential of a scratch golfer on the shorter course A would be quite different from that expected on the much longer Course B. Although each has a Par of 68 the respective Standard Scratch Scores would be of the order of 63 and 71 respectively. It is obvious therefore, that Par does not provide a viable basis for handicapping. The above example is based on men's course lengths but similar principles apply to the Par of ladies' courses.