New Handicap Rules

If you are a nomadic golfer or just playing less competitive rounds of golf than you used to be aware there are changes afoot that may affect your handicap. Deanwood Park Golf Course may have a solution to the following issues…

During the winter of 2007/2008 the EGU gave numerous Handicapping Seminars to launch the new CONGU Unified Handicapping System (UHS). Clubs, although not in favour of lapsing handicaps, wanted to have more control of their members’ handicaps and players competing in Open competition.

Accordingly the English Golf Union and English Women’s Golf Association have launched a system that will identify the competitive nature of an individual. Approved and supported by CONGU the Active/Inactive handicap will identify whether an individual has competed in qualifying competitions and as a result returned information on their playing ability.

Conditions are as follows

* Players will be required to have submitted 3 qualifying scores (including Supplementary Scores & 9 Hole Qualifying Competitions and Away scores) during the calendar year 2009 (not the period between annual handicap reviews) to avoid having an inactive handicap for the playing season, 2010. NR’s will be accepted as part of 3 Qualifying Scores unless the Committee are of the opinion that they have been returned deliberately as part of the 3 Qualifying Scores.

* Clubs will be permitted to exempt players from an inactive handicap for injury/illness that has prevented them from achieving the required number of qualifying scores during a calendar year. This will also include those players who are transferring membership who have submitted scores albeit at another Club and to golfers new to the game who are being issued with first CONGU handicap.

* Players whose handicap has become inactive  will be required to return three qualifying scores before the indicator is removed. Qualifying scores of less than 3 are not permitted to be carried over to the next year, i.e. no topping up of qualifying scores permitted, e.g. 1 score in the previous year and 2 in current year.

* Clubs may impose an entry condition that requires an active handicap (3 previously submitted qualifying scores) for specific competitions only such as Trophy or Board events. In all other cases Clubs must allow “home” players with inactive handicaps entry to qualifying competitions in order to provide as much opportunity as possible for the removal of the inactive handicap.

Deanwood Park Golf Club are offering a Handicap Membership with special qualifying events at just £35.00 per year. This would allow golfers easy access to the means they need to keep their CONGU handicap valid ad also to maintain their freedom to compete wherever they choose. Click here for full details.

Tags: active, competition, congu, EGU, Golf, handicaps, inactive, nomadic, rules

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 7:26 pm and is filed under Golf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.