Surely what happens to a player who shoots 50 points differs greatly depending on the situation with their handicap? - Someone at my club shot that exact score recently with a handicap of 29 - As I understand it, he only had 5 recorded scores on his handicap record, so WHS adjusted his handicap from 29 to 18 - If he'd had 20 recorded scores on his handicap record there is no way his handicap would have come down so much with just one score?
My real beef with WHS is that in an effort to include everyone who wants to play golf, they have set the maximum handicap to more than double the old CONGU limit of 28 (for men) - There is no incentive to learn how to play, get instruction, practice etc when you can just head out on the course with a handicap of 48 & hack your way round? - Hard to believe that clubs around me would not let you join without being able to play to a certain standard (depending on what club you were trying to join?) - I applied to join a club in Surrey with a CONGU handicap of 5 and I was told I would have to play with a member of the committee to prove my playing ability & knowledge of course etiquette! - That same club now would allow anyone to join of any standard as long as they cough up their subscription fee
Maybe in several years WHS will work as planned, but I will be sticking to social golf for the foreseeable future ...
Yes, I was assuming an established handicap with the full 20 scores. Using the example of only 5 returned scores, the Handicap Index is based on the lowest differential, with 6 scores it's the average of the lowest two minus one stroke, so 50 points should decrease the Handicap Index by ten strokes (14/2 = 7 for the actual score + 1 stroke extra adjustment + 2 for the exceptional score).
I see your beef really isn't with the WHS.I don't know how it worked in the U.K. and we've had handicaps going up to 54 for ages. But if a club member was a maximum 28 and couldn't play to it, nothing about the the player's skill level actually changed even if he now has a handicap of 48. Of course, if a certain club requires its members to be able to play to a 28, that's on the club to enforce that rule. Just like it's up to the club to set a maximum handicap to play off for competitions. For us that's always been 36, so a 48 would always be essentially starting 12 strokes back in a competition.
As for not having an incentive to improve, I don't think that's true except for those who might play only a few rounds a year. I would assume most people have an inherent desire to get better at what they do and make the game of golf more enjoyable by getting better at it (we all know that's not exactly true but at least you'll lose fever balls as you improve
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My assumption is the clubs letting anyone join now are simply struggling to find new members and therefore have been forced to change their recruiting policies and requirements. Most of mainland Europe has the golf license as a requirement to play on courses (and most clubs require handicaps of at least 36 from visiting players, especially during the busy hours) but certain clubs and pros have figured out the licenses are a good way to make easy money by providing one-day beginners' courses, or even online courses and practically giving away the licenses.
When I did my license, it was a two-week course with range sessions, lectures on rules and etiquette, walking on a course with a pro or a captain showing things and asking questions, practicing on your own etc. And now we're starting to see the results of those online licenses in players who are clueless about the most basic etiquette etc. The "golf is for everyone" idea has attracted a crowd for whom golf is an equal option to a night out. They rent a buggy and expect to advance on the course at the pace the buggy allows them to, they hack up the course, hit into the groups ahead etc. Luckily it isn't a big issue at our club yet as we're quite far away from the city but we've had an influx of new members, long-time golfers changing clubs after getting fed up with those issues.