Handicaps - further information

Printing handicap certificates on-line ....

You can now print your up to-date handicap certificate directly from the www.howdidido.co.uk site. For security reasons you need a personal code so that you (and only you) can download your handicap certificate in this way - you get this code from the handicap secretary. If you are not already signed up on howdidido, then you will need to do so in order to access this facility. Signing up is free - click Once signed up, you need to do the following:

go to the "My Golf" panel and click where it shows your current handicap (eg "Handicap 17 Exact 17.3")
on the left hand panel under "My Handicap" click on "Certificate"
on the next page, you will see a box where it asks you to enter a verification code (provided by the club handicap secretary)
entering the code will then generate an official handicap certificate in pdf format that you can print off yourself
note that each verification code is specific to the individual but will not change - so save it for next time also!

If you have any trouble opening pdf files, get the free download from http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader

Handicap categories ....

Handicaps lie in one of 4 size categories - the latter then determines two things:

the 'buffer zone' - how many shots higher than Competition Standard Scratch (CSS) the player can shoot before their handicap is increased by 0.1

the margin by which their handicap reduces for every short they shoot less than the CSS

Category	Hcps	Buffer zone	Hcp reductions per shot	Hcp increases
1	Less than 6	CSS+1	0.1	0.1
2	6 - 12	CSS+2	0.2	0.1
3	13 - 19	CSS+3	0.3	0.1
4	20 or more	CSS+4	0.4	0.1

Example: A player with hcp 11 (category 2) is in a competition with CSS 71. Their hcp will not change for a net score of 71, 72 or 73 (up to CSS+2). A net score of 74 or higher will trigger a hcp increase of 0.1 (whatever the score). A score of 70 will reduce the hcp by 0.2 and a score of net 69 will reduce it by 0.4 etc.

Home/away handicaps ....

If you hold a handicap at another club, you will need to decide which will be your 'Home' club for handicap purposes. This is important because you can only enter County matches or competitions through your Home club. As an 'away' player at Heydon you are entitled to enter all club competitions. However, the performances of away players are monitored continuously by the Handicap Secretaries. CONGU rules will be followed to adjust away player handicaps for the purposes of Heydon competitions if a player performs regularly at Heydon at a level inconsistent with their away handicap.

Handicaps status....

Following EGU rules, our handicap system will automatically flag any player's handicap as 'competition' if three or more qualifying cards have been entered in each golfing year (April-March). The purpose of the system is to increase the rigour with which handicaps are managed. However, it is entirely up to clubs and other competition organisers as to how they treat players without competition handicaps. How this works at Heydon is described below...

In the official club handicap list, any player with the “c” character next to their handicap is deemed to have a 'competition handicap'. Not having that "c" does not mean that you do not have a handicap, it just means that there may be competitions you are not allowed to win/enter because you did not submit enough qualifying scores during the previous year. Please ask the Competition Secretary if you wish to enter an official trophy or medal competition if your handicap is not a 'competition handicap'. To get a competition handicap, you will need to submit a minimum of three qualifying scores each year. These may be in club comps (which you may not be allowed to win) or via supplementary scores (cards you submit via the ‘general play’ box where you declare in advance of the round that the card will be submitted as a supplementary). Please contact the Handicap Secretaries for assistance.