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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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This looks like fun, and I look forward to participating and watching it grow. The score entry and course entry facilities are quite Anglo-centric. US golfers hardly ever play Stableford, and have little idea what SSS is. The equivalent is a two-number process in the US and Canada, the rating is a decimal number showing expected average score for a scratch golfer from that tee, (e.g. 67.9), and the "slope" is a integer, between 55 and 155, actually a ratio showing the relative difficulty of the course for a bogey golfer, with the average course earning a 113. A "course handicap" integer for a given day can be computed from the player's current USGA Index and the slope. Women have separate slope and rating, calculated for the average woman, and sometimes from a tee that is also played by men. Perhaps there should be settings preferences for a golfer, choosing either SSS or USGA Slope/Rating, and choosing either stroke play scoring or Stableford scoring for entry.
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Ian Halliwell
Handicap: 25
Lancashire
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 82
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I play on the american amateur circuit and its far more transparent no dodgy handicaps..... you pay in flights....
championship.......... scratch to plus 5 golfers............ 5 to 10 above.......... group a............ 10 to 15......... group b............. 15 to 20group c
20 plus group d.......... all scores recorded and this allows progression based on scores as you proceed.... so theoretically a novice has a standard progression curve all the way to the championship flight. competions are based strictly on each flight. you play the same course only the tee box changes per flight. there is little thought given to handicapping, progression is transparent and it allows women to compete regularly against the men. the word bandit is rarely heard here in the states.
ian
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TheSocialGolfer
Handicap: 36
Essex
Pro Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 782
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Hi Bill, When you enter your scores the system always records the Gross Score and then calculates Nett Score and (almost for fun) the Stableford points tally. Plus the TSG Golf Leaderboard can be toggled between showing Nett Scores or Stableford Points. With regard to SSS/Rating & Slope, you are correct TSG started as a UK Social Golf Community in January 2008 and in order to open TSG to everyone as quickly as possible we made a couple of compromises. One of which was to cheat and change the UK course rating (SSS - 'Standard Scratch Score') into 'SSS/Rating' because they are (almost) the same thing ie they are both the score a scratch golfer would be expected to complete the course in. The difference being that in the UK the score is always shown as a two digit number eg 69 and on US/Canadian courses it's shown to one decimal place eg 68.9.
We always intended to make the system smarter so that it would show SSS in the UK & Australia but Rating & Slope in US, Canada (and now most of the top European courses). This would also have a small impact on the calculation of handicap revisions as we currently use the CONGU system (Confederation of Golf Unions) but that does not use 'Slope'.
We've planning a new release in a couple of months and I certainly hope that these changes will be included. -- 28/10/2009 17:58:11: post edited by TheSocialGolfer.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Thanks for clarifying. I think I should probably use Firefox or Internet Explorer, because I couldn't find a way to enter hole by hole scores in Chrome. In your new release, you might want to consider that USGA golfers have an Index, but their course handicap could vary depending on the "slope" of the course they play. For example, I'm a 20.7 Index right now. At the course I played Monday, I was a 23. But on the next day, on an easier or harder course, it could have been anywhere from an 18 to a 25. Bill
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Hi Bill, are you saying that in the US you have your own personal playing handicap eg 19.4 but then it's adjusted for each course you play based on the Slope Rating of the particular course? Sounds like that could suit my game - when it's a tree lined heathland course I need another 10 shots...
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Pete, That's correct. The USGA formula computes a "handicap index" based on the best 10 of your last 20 rounds. All rounds, not just tournament rounds. Each state or region has an association that contracts with committees to play and rate each course. To determine how many strokes you give or get, you take your index, multiply it by the "slope" of the tees you are playing, divide by 113, and round to find your "course handicap" for a round. And just to keep it from being too easy, if you are playing in a mixed-gender group, or from different tees, then you also are supposed to adjust strokes by the difference in the "rating." All the Brits and Scots who play with us in the States mock our system no end.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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I've got a headache just trying to work out the maths...
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Ian Halliwell
Handicap: 25
Lancashire
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 82
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its ok pal, when you book in the pro shop they will work it for you. when i played sawgrass i tried it and i thought i was of 2.4 but fortunately id put decimal point in wrong place...in the end 24 would have been better at 240 after the 17th.
ian
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TSG
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