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Handicapping

In establishing handicaps for disabled golfers, several issues manifest themselves immediately. As an example, consider the discrepancy in Handicap Indices that could arise when a disabled golfer establishes his handicap at a golf course with no bunkers while another disabled golfer of equal ability establishes his handicap at a golf course which is heavily bunkered. The solution to this problem may necessitate determining a maximum number of unplayable penalty strokes allowable during a stipulated round based on the player's Handicap Index and the Hazard Rating of the golf course which he is playing.

Another issue concerns the type of Handicap Index that the disabled golfer should be given once the above modifications to the Rules of Golf and the USGA Handicap System have been fully integrated with one another - regular, provisional, local or some other restricted designation which has yet to be determined? The answer will depend, at least in part, on how closely the procedures used by disabled golfers follow the Rules of Golf.

Prior to establishing permissible modifications to the Rules of Golf for disabled golfers, it was not possible to address handicapping issues because there was no foundation upon which to base the mathematical calculations that are critical in attempting to achieve accurate Handicap Indices. Having created a logical set of Rules modifications, which have been agreed upon with the R&A in St. Andrews, Scotland, discussions have now been initiated with members of the USGA Handicap Research Team and the USGA Handicap Committee.