Do you know a golfer who picks his or her ball up a lot? Does that player also want you to put down scores on the card that don't seem quite right for handicap purposes? If so, it might be time for a quick review of the Rules of Handicapping and how to record scores when someone has a blow-up hole.
First, it's important to note that the rules changed in 2020 with the implemation of the World Handicap System (WHS). There also have been revisions to the rules since that debut. So if you've been playing golf for a long time, it's worth knowing that the score you might have recorded pre-2020 might not be the same now.
One similarity between the old and new rules is that the score you post that determines an established Handicap Index depends on what your course handicap was at the time of the blow-up hole(s). We'll use the guy in the headline for a few examples. You know that guy.
The first phrase to remember is net double bogey. In most cases, that's the score the golfer should post. Let's say the guy in the headline had a course handicap of 18 and was playing a par 4. Since he gets a handicap stroke on every hole (course handicap of 18 and 18 holes on the course), his net-double-bogey score on a par 4 is 7 (6 + 1 handicap stroke = 7). He already was lying 5 on the tee because he hit two balls out-of-bounds, so you can bet his gross score, which is not used for handicap purposes, would probably be much higher if he chose to finish the hole. But that gross score doesn't matter once net double bogey is reached.
A second phrase to remember is most likely score. If a player fails to complete a hole, you have to record a score based on this notion, and the Rules of Handicapping have explicit guidlines for how to determine it.
The most likely score is:
- The number of strokes already taken to reach a position on a hole, plus
- The number of strokes the player would most likely require to complete the hole from that position, plus
- Any penalty strokes incurred during play of the hole.
To figure out the number of strokes it would take to most likely complete the hole, you have to factor where the golfer is at the time he or she picks up. If the ball was on the green and less than five feet from the hole, you add a stroke. If the ball is outside of five feet and no more than 20 yards from the hole, you add two or three strokes (depending on the lie and the player's ability). Any farther out than that, like our guy standing on the tee, you add three or four strokes (depending on the lie and the player's ability).
In his case, since he was lying 5 on the tee, you most likely would add three or four strokes to his hole total. But remember, net double bogey for that golfer was a 7, so that score trumps his "most likely score."
If he was a better player and wasn't getting a handicap stroke, his posted score should be a 6. And if he was a worse player, say, a 25-handicap playing the same hole and that hole was ranked one of the seven hardest, his posted score should be an 8.
One more thing to understand about this rule is that applies only to those golfers with established Handicap Indexes. If you're trying to submit your first index, the most likely score on any hole cannot exceed par plus five strokes.
The takeaway here is to figure out what net double bogey is for your course handicap. The average golfer is likely taking 6 on par 3s, 7 on par 4s and 8 on par 5s, but it's important to check before you post.