RTP Golf League : Handicap Calculation
This page explains how handicaps are calculated for all Nortel leagues. The explanation may seem a bit complicated. However, all these computations are performed automatically by the golf league software. If you ever would like to know how your handicap is calculated at any time during the season, your Nightly Coordinator can provide you with a report that shows it. The golf league report for the example provided below can be viewed here.
# of Scores Available |
Discard Highest |
# of Scores Available |
Discard Highest |
1 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
13 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
14 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
15 |
5 |
8 |
1 |
16 |
5 |
Number of Scores Used
During the course of the season, which scores will be used to calculate a players handicap changes. The table to the right shows which of a players scores will be used during any given week of the season.
The initial handicap for a player is determined by the score they shoot in the first event they play in. From event 2 on, some of the higher scores the player previously shot will be discarded and not used in future handicap calculations. For the first 6 weeks, no scores are discarded. For weeks 7 and 8, the the highest score is discarded. For weeks 9-10 the two highest scores are discarded, etc.. You can see from the table what scores for the rest of the nights will be discarded.
Handicap Calculations
Once we know how many scores, and which ones, will be used, a series of formulas are applied to generate the actual handicap. The following factors are used in these calculations.
- The course rating
- The course slope
- The league handicap percentage (which is 96%)
The first step is to calculate the differential value for each score used. The formula for this is:
Diff = (Gross Score - Rating) x (113/Slope)
After the differential values are calculated, they are then added together and divided by the number of scores used to obtain a pre-handicap. .
The pre-handicap value is then multiplied by the league handicap percentage used, which for our leagues is 96%
Finally, this value is converted to a 'course' handicap using the slope of the course being played using the following formula:
Handicap = Pre-Handicap x (Slope/113)
This value is then rounded to produce the final handicap value that will be used for the next match.
The Lakeshore Front and Back 9's have different slopes. The fact that the course slope is used in these calculations can often mean that a players handicap may be one stroke different for a given match depending on whether they are playing the front 9 or the back 9.
Example
| Event | Score | Course | Rating | Slope | Diff | Used |
| 1 | 43 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 10.4 | |
| 2 | 44 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 10.5 | |
| 3 | 44 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 11.4 | |
| 4 | 42 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 8.5 | Used |
| 5 | 34 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 1.3 | Used |
| 6 | 40 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 6.5 | Used |
| 7 | 38 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 4.6 | Used |
| 8 | 45 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 12.4 | |
| 9 | 43 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 10.4 | |
| 10 | 40 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 7.4 | Used |
| 11 | 40 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 6.5 | Used |
| 12 | 38 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 4.6 | Used |
| 13 | 42 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 9.4 | Used |
| 14 | 41 | Front | 33.4 | 114 | 7.5 | Used |
| 15 | 42 | Back | 32.7 | 112 | 9.4 | Used |
The table to the right shows a players scores from for the first 15 events. Since there are 15 scores, the highest 5 will be discarded and the rest (highlighted in yellow) used to calculate what the handicap will be for Event 16. This table also shows the differential calculation for each of the scores.
Now that we have the scores that will be used, and have caculated the differential values for each one, we add the differentials together:
9.4 + 7.5 + 9.4 + 4.6 + 6.5 + 7.4 + 4.6 + 6.5 + 1.3 + 8.5 = 56.3
This value is then divided by the number of scores used to determine the pre-handicap:
65.7 / 10 = 6.57
This value is then multiplied by 96%
6.57 x .96 = 6.30
To get my final handicap for round 16, the slope of the course I will be playing is used. I am scheduled to play the back 9 at Lakeshore, which has a slope of 112. Therefore, my handicap will be:
6.00 x (112/113) = 6.24 Final Handicap
This is then rounded to 7.