It's time for golfers in England to find out their new Handicap Indexes ahead of the World Handicap System launch on 2nd November
Have You Got Your New Handicap Index? England Golf Website Goes Live
Today is the day in England where golfers can find out their brand new handicap indexes ahead of the World Handicap System launch on 2nd November.
England Golf's World Handicap System Members Early Access portal is now live and all you need is your CHD number to find out what you're new index will be.
Visit the England Golf World Handicap System platform here
Once you've entered in your CDH number, you'll be able to see your new Handicap Index and the 8 scores that contributed to it - if your club has uploaded your email address to the platform.
My club hasn't yet uploaded my email address so I cannot see which particular scores were taken into account, but I have seen that my CONGU handicap has gone from 4.7 to a Handicap Index of 4.9.
This isn't cast iron just yet as England Golf are warning that it may still change between now and launch.
One of my usual playing partners, who hasn't had the best of successes in competitions recently, has seen his handicap rise from 9.0 to 11.2.
Another playing partner has seen his handicap rise from 14.2 to 18.7!
Let us know your new Handicap Index on social media
Related: World Handicap System - What you need to know ahead of 2nd November
How is a course rated?
Two calculations are made – Course Rating and Bogey Rating.
Course Rating is how many strokes a scratch golfer (someone with a Course Handicap of 0) should take on that course.
Bogey Rating measures playing difficulty for a bogey golfer (someone with a handicap of roughly 20 for a man and 24 for a women).
Knowing these two ratings allows WHS to determine the difficulty of the course and to produce a Slope Rating for each set of tees which allows all golfers to work out how many strokes they will receive on a particular course – Course Handicap.
At a course where all players compete from their Handicap Index, Slope Rating is 113.
Related: World Handicap System - Will my handicap go up?
And how do I work out my Course Handicap?
Every club should have clear signage displaying Course and Slope Rating for every set of tees.
A player will then cross reference their Handicap Index with the table to find what their Course Handicap will be.
They then go out and play to that number.
To calculate your Course Handicap yourself, find the Slope Rating and divide by 113, then multiply that by your Handicap Index.
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