RAGS Handicaps – July 2025

RAGS HANDICAP SYSTEM 2025

It has been bought to the attention of the RAGS Committee that a few members were unhappy with the handicap system at Marlborough Golf course for the Ramsbury Trophy.  Below we will try and explain our reasons for putting into place the system that was used.

Background:

Some of you may not be aware of the changes in the handicap system.  The new World Handicap System (WHS) uses a system of giving club players a handicap index which is then used to determine your course handicap at any course, world wide.  Each course has a “slope rating” which determines how difficult the course is.  The higher the slope rating, the more shots you are given. For example Marlborough has a red tees slope rating of 134, and my playing handicap is 18.  A course with a slope rating of 126 would mean I play off 17.  Your handicap can change daily depending on how often you submit a card.

We spoke to England Golf to see if they could offer any advice as how to run the Society with these changes but there reply was to the effect that you can do what you wish.

After much discussion it was decided that we would try and make things as simple as possible.

1. For those with a WHS handicap index, the figure submitted at the first competition entered would be deemed to be that persons handicap for the whole season, ignoring any movement up or down.
2. RAGS members who do not have an official handicap would remain on their RAGS handicap but with the provision that they could ask for an adjustment if they felt it was too high/low. The Committee would look at past results and adjust if justified.
3. We would assume that each member’s handicap would be based as if he/she had that handicap at a course with a slope rating of 125 (the UK average), rather than using the slope rating of the course we were playing.

As we play at 7 different courses, this would mean that at some courses, you may be playing off a lower handicap than usual and at some you may be playing off a higher handicap.  As the differential was the same for all players this was deemed to be fair to all players.  It also meant that those with a non WHS (RAGS) handicap did not have to be adjusted at each event.

We devised this system because we do not have the man power or software to track all handicaps and adjust them each time we play.  With everyone keeping the same handicap during the year, it would simplify the setting up of competitions.  We also run team competitions where the teams are drawn a few days before the event.  For these we try to balance the handicaps across each team so that each team has a similar overall handicap.

We are trying to devise a system that is fair to all and although we may not have it quite right yet, we are trying.  

If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve on the above, or would like to take over the handicap section of RAGS, then please contact us with your ideas.  Going forward, It may be that we need to use the average slope of the courses we play on, rather than the UK average, but this can be discussed at the next AGM.

We hope this goes some way to explaining our reasons.  It is not an easy subject, with many different ways of sorting it out and it was something we discussed at great length before the first competition.  It was also discussed and agreed at the AGM.

From

The RAGS COMMITTEE