The match committee has decided to implement changes to the indexing of some holes as:
(a) the holes have not been re-indexed for a number of years and the course has seen multiple changes in this time
(b) the current “odd” indexes on the front nine and “even” indexes on the back nine are not indicative of the difficulty of some holes
(c) the computerised scoring system makes it easier to access individual hole stats to allow an accurate assessment of each hole and;
(d) the computerised scoring system will make changing the index more seamless as it will minimise the impact of manual errors by players.
Process:
The match committee looked at scores taken from stroke rounds over the last 2 years and formulated new indexes based on:
(a) assessing the hole difficulty based on differences to par across ALL handicap ranges
(b) assessing the hole difficulty using handicap ranges of 3, 6 and 9 to determine hole rankings for each variation
(c) using the above information to formulate indexes which are as close to hole difficultly as possible whilst still retaining some balance across the course.
Outcomes:
There were a number of difficulties with balancing hole difficulty across both handicaps, and the front nine and back nine of our course, which resulted in a decision to make the new index system:
(a) Rated to 36, rather than the current 18, in order to better reflect the difficult holes for players with handicaps 19 and above.
(b) No longer being evenly spread across the front and back nine. However players will never have a difference of more than 3 shots across nines (for example a player off 21 now receives 12 shots on the front nine and 9 shots on the back nine, rather than the current 11 / 10 split).
New index:
The new index is shown below. It is proposed that this new index will be used from 23rd May 2015 with information indicating this change displayed around the clubhouse.
The match committee envisages that the change to the index will have minimal member impact. Whilst there will be a learning curve as players get used to any changes that impact them the input of scores and calculation of results and handicaps will be handled by the computerised results system. Players will continue to input their gross stroke scores and should use the system to confirm that their resultant score in stableford and par events matches that which is produced by the system.
Match Committee