Handicaps & Course Rating | Oregon Golf Association

Handicap Hub: Handicapping Head-Scratchers Part II

06/15/18 —

Part II: Golfers Playing From Different Tees By Kelly Neely, Sr. Director, Handicapping & Course Rating Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives This is article No. 2 in a series of Handicapping Head-Scratchers – procedures within the USGA Handicap System that puzzle and perplex. Looking for clarity? We can help. Not sure what the driving reasons are – whether concurring with the USGA and PGA of America’s “Tee it Forward” campaign, or realizing that shorter distance equals more success and smiling on the course – but I’m thankful that more golfers are gladly moving up to a forward tee. There...

06/01/18 —

By Gretchen Yoder, Manager of Handicapping & Course Rating Tied for fifteenth in our OGA series about the Most Interesting Holes is the 15th hole at Old Macdonald. The 15th hole is a slight right dogleg par 5 with tees at 535, 482, 424, 340 and 313 yards. Playing from elevated tees one can see the bunker trouble and difficult rough on the right side. Designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, Bandon’s fourth 18-hole course is meant to pay homage to Charles Blair Macdonald. Hole 15 is planned with a nod to #18 at Southampton New York’s National Golf Links. As with many of the holes on Old Mac,...

05/14/18 —

Part I: Reduction of Indexes Due to Exceptional T-Scores By Kelly Neely, Sr. Director, Handicapping & Course Rating Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives This is article No. 1 in a series of Handicapping Head-Scratchers – procedures within the USGA Handicap System that puzzle and perplex. Looking for clarity? We can help. Ah, spring at the Oregon Golf Association; the air is full of the heavy hum of mowers and the satisfying crack of golf balls being hit. But there’s another familiar sound ringing in my ears, and that is the phone – especially on the 1st and the 15th (Happy Handicap...

05/01/18 —

By Gretchen Yoder, Manager of Handicapping & Course Rating Fourteenth in the OGA's series about the Most Interesting Holes is the 13th hole at Ocean Dunes Golf Links. The 13th hole is a dogleg par 4 with tees at 341, 364 and 384 yards. It sure looks tempting from the elevated tees to hit over the dunes and go for a shorter shot to the green, but there is a reason this hole is called “Deception”. A quick search for a ball hit left of the fairway would find only OB. A ball hit straight at the green from the tee would have to carry about 285 yards just to reach grass. That’s not even...

04/13/18 —

By Kelly Neely, Sr. Director, Handicapping & Course Rating Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives If you’re a curious person – which I assume most golfers are, since this game is nothing if not complex – you’re going to want to know how your handicap is calculated. Notice I didn’t say that you’re going to want to calculate it yourself. Thankfully those days are long past, and we’ve got clever, modern processes to take care of the number crunching. But if you’re a nuts and bolts golfer and like details, it helps to know the method behind the madness of a USGA Handicap Index. Besides, you can...

04/01/18 —

By Gretchen Yoder, Manager of Handicapping & Course Rating Thirteenth in our OGA series about the Most Interesting Holes is the No. 9 hole at Broken Top Club. The ninth hole at Broken Top is a short dogleg par 4 with tees at 356/332/298/268 yards, but don’t let the lack of length fool you. For those of you who follow golf course designers, this hole is the epitome of a Tom Weiskopf “risk/reward” hole. When he left the tour to go into course design, Tom decided he would implement at least one reachable par 4 on each golf course he designed. The concept of the drivable par 4 is appealing...

03/15/18 —

By Kelly Neely, Sr. Director, Handicapping & Course Rating Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives When talking with golfers about handicapping, what comes up over and over is an ill-advised way of thinking about score posting. Unfortunately the default setting seems to be why a score shouldn’t be posted. No, I’m not making a blanket indictment that everyone is looking for excuses to falsify their record. Reflexing to the negative (and overthinking) is sometimes simply human nature. But, since the season just began and the sun is shining, this is a good time to talk about resetting the...

02/20/18 —

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. and ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (Feb. 20, 2018) - The way golfers around the world will calculate their handicaps is set to be transformed by a new system developed by the USGA and The R&A, with key features designed to provide all golfers with a consistent measure of playing ability. The new World Handicap System, to be implemented in 2020, follows an extensive review of systems administered by six existing handicapping authorities: Golf Australia, the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association (EGA), the South...

02/14/18 —

By Kelly Neely, Sr. Director, Handicapping & Course Rating Click Here for Handicap Hub Archives You’ve got to love the Scots. They came up with more than a few brilliant inventions that brought about incredible societal change – the steam engine, the telephone, the television, and penicillin. (Full disclosure – I am of Scottish descent). They also invented golf – that cerebral and artful game that revolutionized recreation. But did you know the Scots also invented handicapping? While some of you might be pondering whether to thank them or not, it really was another bit of brilliance on...

02/01/18 —

By Gretchen Yoder, Manager of Handicapping & Course Rating Eleventh in our OGA series about the Most Interesting Holes is the #4 hole of Bandon Dunes. With tees at 410, 362, 340, 308 and 228, and a dog leg right, Bandon Dunes' #4 is a test for ball placement. The initial fairway landing zone is fairly wide. Sandy dunes to the left, dunes with gorse to the right. Depending on how far the player hits the ball and which tee they are playing, they would want to be very cautious of the end of the fairway. A long hitter playing forward would definitely want to think about laying up. A short...