New CONGU Category 5 And 6 Handicaps Come Into Effect

From the start of this January, both men and women can have a competition handicap of up to 54

New CONGU Category 5 And 6 Handicaps Come Into Effect

New changes to the CONGU handicap system have come into effect from 1st Jan and the headline news is that new category 5 for men and category 6 handicaps for both men and women are in play.

That means men and women can play off a handicap of up to 54, with the buffer zone and downward adjustment being 6 and 0.6.

Previously men could have a competition handicap of up to 28, and women could have one of up to 36.

This is because 'Club and Disability Handicaps' have been retired.

The club handicap previously allowed men who didn't have the ability to play off 28, and women who didn't have the ability to play off 36, could have a higher handicap, but wouldn't be able to play off it in competitions.

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Other changes that have come into effect are:

Supplementary scores have been relaxed, meaning those above Category 1 can submit an unlimited number per year. The rule for one per week has also been scrapped.

That still means that category 1 players, with a handicap of 5.4 or lower, can only return supplementary cards between 1st September and 31st December if they haven't met the required amount of qualifying rounds.

Mixed tee competitions will now have a single CSS. This means that all scores from a mixed tee competition will be entered into one competition, to gain the overall CSS, and then the scores will be separated into the different competitions.

9-hole medal and 9-hole open competitions have also been introduced, and then for the handicap purposes scores will be converted to stableford and will appear as stableford on the golfer's handicap record.

Another interesting addition is in regards to the annual review. The adherence to Appendix M (which is in regards of the annual review and general play reviews) is now mandatory for all members.

Visit the CONGU website for full details on the new changes for 2018.

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