Golf unites behind fairer handicap system

The vexed question of golf handicaps and how they are calculated is set to be transformed by a new system jointly developed by the R&A and USGA.

The tenets of the new system focus on three main objectives: To encourage as many golfers as possible to obtain and maintain a handicap; to enable golfers of differing abilities, genders, and nationalities to transport their handicap to any course globally and compete on a fair basis; and to indicate with sufficient accuracy the score a golfer is reasonably capable of achieving on any course around the world in normal conditions.

The World Handicap System, to be implemented in 2020, follows a review of systems administered by six global handicapping authorities and will feature the following: