Everybody Needs One of These

You just won a contest. Woot, woot!! On the phone is your favorite tour player, asking you what day is good, to get in a round of golf. After a little back and forth, viewing your calendar, you choose the golf course and the starting time.  

Fast forward. It is the day you’ve been waiting for. As you and the tour player (let’s just call him Rory) arrive on the 1st Tee, he says, “Hey, want to play for a drink following the round?”.  

For as long as golf has been around, the game has been intertwined with a wager. A friend once said, “If we’re not playing for anything, it’s just practice.” The unit could be as small as dollar or a frosty beverage. Yet, it can be much larger, depending on the size of one’s wallet or their sense of adventure.  

Pondering this little wager, you come to the realization that there is zero chance for victory. He’s a tour player for cryin’ out loud. Virtually every day, Rory is going to have a score around par and you will have a score maybe eighteen to twenty shots over par.  

We need something to balance the scales. Welcome to the Golf Handicap Information Network, also known as GHIN or the Handicap System. A Course Handicap provides the opportunity for players of different skill levels to play competitively.  

This is how it works, in simple terms. Suppose that Rory’s score for a round of golf is 72.  Every day he shoots 72.  We will assume that your daily score for a round of golf is 90. Every day you shoot 90.   

With a par of 72 being our benchmark and Rory’s daily score being 72 (again we’re keeping this simple), to give you a realistic chance to compete,  your score must be reduced by 18 strokes. This is known as the ‘gross’ and the ‘net’. Your gross score (insert quip here) is 90. The handicap system allows you to take 18 strokes from your total score. This translates to a net score of 72.  With Rory’s gross 72 and your net 72, you have earned a tie.

The next day, you have a career round and shoot 89. Rory maintains his normal score of 72.   He does not receive strokes, he is a ‘scratch’ player. His gross score and his net score are the same.  Your gross score of 89, minus your Course Handicap of 18, is a net score of 71 and you are the winner.  

This is a very basic explanation. How the system arrives at the handicap is more complex. We’ll dive into that at a later date.    For today, you need to know how to get your own GHIN# and start posting scores.  

First, to be official, you must join a golf group or golf club that is affiliated with your state’s Association. Before we go any farther, there is something to be wary of.  A player could reconcile their own scores and come up with a number, or get a generic app, but this would only be for their benefit. If a golfer wants to participate in an event, even with a group of friends, their handicap needs to be verified.  Most events held by your local course or club will require a valid GHIN number.

To become a subscriber, or member, individuals join a local or convenient group. This could be through your favorite golf course, this is known as a ‘regular club’. In some instances, a group of players that is not affiliated with a certain course is known as an ‘associate club’ (a club without real estate).

One more way to join is an online ‘E-Club’, just head to www.oga.org. The Oklahoma Golf Association does many things for its membership and establishing a handicap/index is one of the benefits.

Once you become a subscriber, or member, scored are posted after each round. Each member is assigned a number, like a driver’s license number, that is used for identification. When the round is completed, we enter the course information and score into a computer or through an app on your phone. 

These scores will be gathered and reconciled to establish a Handicap Index. The OGA revises each player’s data on a regular basis and many players wait anxiously for new information. If you’re new to GHIN, one score will not result in a verifiable handicap index, but you will see some results once you have posted three rounds. The system keeps collecting scores until it has twenty.  It will then use the low eight of your last twenty scores.

All people are created equal, but not everyone has the same talents or ambitions. When we play for a dollar with a new friend, or we want to play in an event at your local course, or we want to play with your new boss, or host a new client, we need a valid Course Handicap.  

So, the next time you are out at the golf course, ask the Pro Shop staff about getting a GHIN number. They will be happy to get you started and help you get that next victory!