CONGU UHS CHANGES

25/11/2015

On 24th November 2015 CONGU® formally announced and published the changes to the Unified Handicapping System that become effective from January 2016.

There are a number of small changes to the UHS which mainly deal how the Affiliated Clubs administer the UHS.

The more significant changes for the club golfer are the following:

Four-Ball-Better Ball Handicap Allowance: Increased from 75% to 90% for both stroke play and match play. (1)

Initial Handicap Allotment: A new algorithm has been introduced in line with the Annual Review algorithm. A handicap may be allotted up to a limit of 54 but handicaps over the existing maximum of 28 for men and 36 for women will be club handicaps (2) and not eligible for “c” status. (3)

NOTES:

(1) Contrary to some believe the handicap allowance is not a recommendation. Affiliated Clubs must adopt this handicap allowance as from 1st January 2016. As the Running Match play Knockout Competitions’ Season in Malta has already started with 75% difference, all the remaining matches will continue with this 75% even those that are played after 1st January.

(2) CONGU® Club Handicap: A CONGU® Club Handicap is a handicap allotted and adjusted by the Home Club of a Member in accordance with the requirements of Appendix J of the UHS. A CONGU® Club Handicap must only be allotted to a Member of an Affiliated Club. Any other club handicap is not a CONGU® Club Handicap. It is only allotted above the upper limits of 28.0 [36.0] and has an upper limit of 54.0.

(3) Competition Handicap: A Competition Handicap is a CONGU® Handicap or a CONGU® Disability Golf Handicap of a player who has returned at least three Qualifying Scores in the current or previous calendar year. Such a handicap is annotated with a ‘c’ symbol after the numeric value of the handicap. Clubs may use the possession of a ‘c’ status handicap as a qualification for entry to competitions.