USGA RELEASES HANDICAP REVIEW TOOL FOR CLUBS
Now available through your GHIN Admin Portal to review individual golfers on your roster. This tool is to be used as an additional resource for the Handicap Committee to aid in gathering useful information to be considered as part of the handicap review process.
Dear Member Clubs,
One of the requirements for a golf club to be authorized to use the World Handicap System™ in the United States is to have a Handicap Committee. The Handicap Committee plays a vital role in the successful administration of a player’s Handicap Index, ensuring that it represents the player’s demonstrated ability. One of the ways to accomplish this is by conducting a Handicap Review for golfers and adjusting a Handicap Index upward or downward when appropriate. Important reminder: the player must be informed if their Handicap Index is under review, prior to any adjustments to the Handicap Index becoming effective, and the timeframe for any appeals.
For a deeper look into the responsibilities of the Handicap Committee for a review process, please read (Rule 7.1).
Description and Timing of the New USGA Handicap Review Tool
To support the Handicap Committee in these responsibilities, the USGA is pleased to provide a new data-driven Handicap Review tool available exclusively to authorized golf clubs. It will be used to identify players who are consistently scoring above/below their expected scoring range or have other abnormalities within their scoring record over a defined period of 12 months. In these instances, a recommended adjustment to the player’s Handicap Index will be provided. The recommended adjustment from the USGA should be applied by the Handicap Committee unless they determine otherwise based on other knowledge or evidence that they may have about the player and their demonstrated ability.
The new USGA Handicap Review tool will be rolled out in a phased approach. Below is a brief description of Phase 1:
- A Handicap Review will be limited to a single player at a time
- Handicap Review can be run for any active member of a club whether or not the club is designated as the Home Club of the player.
- The Handicap Committee can choose to “apply” or “deny” the recommended adjustment.
- Additional data points will be provided for a Handicap Committee to use at its discretion – see below document for list and descriptions.
- A history of Handicap Review actions will be retained.
Phase 2, which will run the full Handicap Review procedure for all players on a club’s roster, is planned for fall 2024.
Benefits to the Golf Club
The role of the Handicap Committee is made easier when equipped with a tool to identify when the calculated Handicap Index is no longer reflective of a player’s demonstrated ability. Used appropriately, this tool is designed to ensure that players are treated fairly and consistently from golf club to golf club.
Use of the New USGA Handicap Review Tool
We strongly encourage you to read the USGA Handicap Review documents below which provides more detail about how to use the new USGA Handicap Review tool. The documents below include Questions and Answers, Data Points, as well as a distinction between the USGA Handicap Review tool and other software.
WATCH: How to Use the Handicap Review Tool
Click the image below to view a video of step-by-step instructions on how to use the new tool.
