Registered Rounds Percentages
These days there are many players who seldom, if ever, play at their so-called “home club”. In addition, there are some unscrupulous players who conveniently forget to record their better rounds, or perhaps even add rounds that were never played and rely on a friend to vouch for the round if ever questioned.
All of this makes it very difficult for the club’s handicap committee to effectively manage or police handicaps, as the system relies on clubs to register all rounds (including nine holes) on the system before a golfer tees off.
The Registered Rounds Percentage – the number of Registered Rounds expressed as a percentage of Counting Scores – is the latest addition to the handicap system and will indicate how many of a golfer’s last 20 scores have been registered at the club before playing.
Since the Registered Rounds Percentage will be openly displayed on the system (see examples above), everyone will now be able to see what percentage of a player’s scores were registered at a club before, or while, playing. Golfers will have their Registered Rounds Percentage launched at 100% and we hope that once it goes live, in the first week of September, most players will remain at 100% by opening each round before they play.
In the future, clubs may choose to only allow players who have achieved a minimum Registered Rounds Percentage to enter major competitions.
The Registered Rounds Percentage will be computed at the end of each day, along with the handicap calculation. It will not be possible to declare a ‘Foreign Round’ a Registered Round.
Registering your round before playing
We have asked all clubs to register rounds on the system for all golfers, including visitors who have a South African handicap. All clubs in South Africa have the ability to do this, either via their Handicaps Terminal’s Open Round button (if enabled) or via their club’s back-of-office service provider.
If a club has access to neither they can make use of our free Open Round Registration Software, which can be loaded onto any PC, and should be placed close to the Players’ Registration office. All this requires is an Internet connection and card reader.
If you have any other handicap-related questions, try logging on to the Handicaps Frequently Asked Questions page.
Quote of the Month
‘Professional golf is the only sport in the world where, if you win 20% of the time, you’re the best.’ ~ Jack Nicklaus