I trust everyone is getting used to the changes brought in this year, especially the older generation playing off the yellows who are still getting over the shock of losing 2 shots in competitions!
One specific reminder, ‘un-rounded’ Course Handicaps are used to calculate Playing Handicaps in Stroke Play competitions so you cannot look at the board outside the Pro-shop and apply the Handicap Allowance to this to get your Playing Handicap - you should rely on what is printed on your scorecard label.
However, and I’m afraid this can be confusing, for Match Play, you use the ‘rounded’ Course Handicaps so in this case the Pro-Shop board can be used. KO season is well underway and if anyone is unclear how to calculate strokes given an explanation can be found next to the Men’s KO draw sheets on the noticeboard.
As published in an earlier email to members we are focussing more now on Penalty Scores and Deleted Score Intents (when an intent has been registered to play a General Play round, but this intent is subsequently deleted).
For Deleted Score Intents, there is a large field to provide an explanation as to why this was deleted but on most occasions, we are only seeing one or two words which does not then provide a clear an unambiguous explanation for the deletion - please therefore provide a complete and clear explanation to avoid the need for a someone contacting you. To maintain the integrity of WHS only valid deletions are acceptable which is why we are focussing on this.
For Penalty Scores, these are invariably coming from ‘Auto Penalties’ generated by the system when a Score Intent is registered and either no score is entered, or it is not validated. Most often the issue is due to not fully understanding how to enter a GP round using the MyEG App. The following link gives a clear explanation as to how this should be done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yRAJNyCj1s
One specific piece of advice from what we have learnt - check everything is correct and resolve all issues before you leave the course! Due to the geo-location built into the app this prevents some changes being made if you try to do these later from home.
For information, if no score is entered, the Penalty Score applied is Course Handicap + Course Rating (a Score Differential roughly equivalent to a players Handicap Index) which in theory should result in a small Handicap Index reduction (being better than the highest one of your best 8). When a score is entered but not validated the actual score is entered into a players record but still flagged as a penalty for the Handicap committee to follow up if deemed appropriate.
Finally - know the rules!
Sand is a loose impediment only when it is on the green and not when on the fringe or elsewhere. So if you have to putt through sand when your ball is just off the green you may only move the sand which is on the green.
However, if your ball is already on the fringe (say) and another player plays from the bunker, depositing sand on the fringe in front of your ball, you may brush it out of the way as you are entitled to the lie and line of play you had when your ball first arrived on the spot.
Steve Kelly
Handicap Secretary