Golf Australia to roll out Slope and Daily Scratch Rating in 2013
Golf Australia has revealed a little more about the Australian handicapping system; notably the inclusion of Slope and a Daily Scratch Rating.
Golf Australia begun an overhaul of the handicapping system in 2010. Since the original roll out, Golf Australia have made several changes, such as the “best 8 of 20” method, which most golfers are now familiar with. At the very least, handicaps now tend to be more dynamic than they were under the old system which makes for more interesting golf.
Golf Australia have announced that the next components to be added will be the Slope and Daily Scratch Rating (DSR). These components won’t be introduced until late 2013, largely because of the computer and software changes needed to introduce the system across all Australian golf clubs.
We’ve previously explained the Slope system here at Aussie Golfer and in the latest communication, Golf Australia stated:
“The key principle underpinning Slope is that a high-marker finds it more difficult to adjust to a hard course than does a low-marker. And what Slope actually does is it assesses the extent to which the difficulty of a course increases for each increased level of handicap.”
We have also previously reported on Golf Australia’s intention to introduce a Daily Scratch Rating which will allow some variation to the course rating depending on conditions. One may be tempted to liken this to the old CCR, however the new DSR is much more complex.
“The formulas used to assess the DSR are complex because our statisticians have advised that simple formula options are not efficient enough to produce reliable ratings – this was the problem with CCR.”
Golf Australia also noted that as well as these components, several others are still slated to be introduced at a later date which include Stableford handicapping adjustment, handicapping of conforming social scores, and changes to 9-hole regulations which will see 9-hole scores automatically held in GOLF Link for combination with the next 9-hole score.
If you want to know much more and get ALL the details, check out the communication from Golf Australia here.
So many changes to the handicap system in the last few years.
Hopefully after the next one the system will remain constant. Although in saying that, if we can find a better way of measuring a golfers handicap then it should always be considered.