A Good Place to Start

By Peter Dennis, USGA Assistant Director of Handicapping and Course Rating
 Larry Streiff was barely a beginning golfer in early 2000. The recently retired U.S. Navy officer had spent a good part of his 21 years at sea, so the game had not crossed his mind. Streiff bought his first set of clubs at a Goodwill store for $65 and spent his first 30 days on a driving range, just to see if he would like golf. It was not long before Streiff realized he loved it.

One day his brother -in-law and some friends were trying to explain the philosophy of handicapping. Intrigued, Streiff asked questions of the shop personnel at Columbia Point Golf Course, not far from his home in Richland, Wash. When Streiff learned the USGA was responsible for handicapping, he located its Web site and began reading. Somewhere along the way he discovered that one of a series of USGA handicap seminars would visit Seattle, so Streiff signed up for the one-day session.

"I learned how it all works, how you can take women, men, people of all abilities, people who play different tees - and they can play equally," Streiff recalls of the seminar. "I walked out of there and could talk about a handicap index better than the people who had tried to explain it to me. That sounds stupid and trite, but I now know that many people don't know exactly what it is."

The sessions began as three pilot seminars in 1999. They were created as a sister program to the Rules of Golf workshops offered since 1975 by the PGA of America and USGA. Like the rules seminars, they are held annually across the country and are enormously helpful in educating people about the proper procedures. The instructors are members of the USGA staff who deal with handicap and course rating issues on a daily basis.

Yet there is one important difference between the rules and handicap offerings. Unlike the multi-day rules workshops, a few of which are tailored to those with extensive knowledge, the one-day handicap seminars can be enjoyed by those with minimal understanding of the topic. While many attendees are club professionals and handicap chairmen, there are several people who, like Streiff, simply wish to have a better understanding. The lesson plan's flexibility allows the instructors to cover everything from rudimentary to advanced topics, depending on the attendees and their inquiries.

From those first three seminars, the program expanded to 16 offerings last year and to nearly 30 this year scattered across 25 states. The fee of $40 includes lunch and a complete handicap information kit.

Streiff, now 53, finds that during nearly every round he can help correct someone's misconception about the handicap system.

"We will walk up on a tee and someone will say that it's the hardest hole on the course because it's the number one handicap hole," Streiff says. "I'll say, well, no, that's not necessarily the case, and explain it to them."

As a player, Streiff made tremendous progress in his first season. His scores dropped steadily and he jokes that friends should expect him to improve enough to make his way to the Senior PGA Tour by age 56. But Streiff also can explain why the scoring improvement has brought his handicap index down to 15.4, and that's a talent few veteran players have mastered.