Did you know that they were making changes to the handicap system for 2024? I typically follow this sort of thing pretty closely, and I only recently heard about it. So I'm going to say that they aren't doing a very good job of publicizing it.
I also think that the new "expected score" mechanism is a step backwards, but we'll get to that in a moment.
The notable changes for 2024 are:
- Allowing shorter courses to be rated.
- Use of "expected score" for hole not played.
- More frequent use of the playing conditions calculations.
The old hole not played calculation was simple. If you can only get in 17 holes due to darkness, you write down par plus any handicap strokes for the 18th. The old system for a 9-hole course was clunky, but also simple. A 9-hole round needed to be combined with another 9-hole round to be included for your handicap. I see room for improvement there, but the new system is much more complicated.
Rather than just doubling everything for a 9-hole round, they match your actual 9-hole round with a fictitious "expected score" back-9 to post as an 18-hole round. Presumably this calculation involves your score, your handicap, the course rating, and the slope. But they don't publish this calculation anywhere that I can find. So you tell them what you shot, and they do the differential calculation for you.
The old (ie simple) method also allowed you to post a 9-hole round after 7 holes, and an 18 hole round after 14 holes. Now you have to play a full nine to post anything. And you have to post hole-by-hole (which I do anyway) for anything that's 10-17 holes.
The new "expected score" combined with the more frequent use of PCC make it much harder for you to actually calculate your own handicap. PCC is only applied after your round is posted.
I will at least show their reasoning on why these changes are good:
• This change benefits the many players who regularly play and post 9-hole rounds because it is more responsive. Players will no longer have to wait for another 9-hole score to be posted for an 18-hole Score Differential to be calculated.
• This change provides a better indicator of how a player will normally perform over 18 holes on a given day when compared to combining 9-hole scores from different days and under different playing conditions.
• This new method produces a more consistent and comparable Handicap Index for those who post 9-hole scores.
» Prior to 2024, the order in which the 9-hole scores were combined could add volatility to the Handicap Index.
» It was also common for two good 9-hole scores to combine and produce an 18-hole Score Differential which was lower than any of the Score Differentials based on an 18-hole score in the player’s scoring record - which resulted in a Handicap
Index that may be difficult for the player to play to.
(link)
It is worth noting that you have to have a good reason to post an "incomplete" round. Reasons for not completing a round that are acceptable to the USGA include:
- light / weather
- injury
- because the committee says so
More details on the 2024 changes here.
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