HANDICAP INFORMATION

GENERAL SUMMARY
Handicaps & Indexes

Michigan's posting periods will be on the 1st and 15th of every month, while Michigan's active season begins April 1 and goes through October 31.  Rounds played in Michigan, during the inactive season, cannot be posted for handicap purposes. Scores made while playing under the Rules of Golf, during the active season of any state or region you are playing in, should be posted, in a timely manner (preferably within 48 hours of play).

Each year, GAM membership and handicap records are inactivated in GAM on December 1, for any members that have not paid their next year's MWGA membership fee. These records will be reactivated when you renew or join the MWGA.  You will not be able to post scores until you have renewed your membership.

All members MUST have an email address on their GAM profile to be able to lookup their handicap/index records and to receive GAM emails.  If you are not currently receiving emails from GAM, you need to update your email address. 

MWGA players should have a current USGA Handicap/Index to participate in tournaments.  Those without an index, will play at scratch or as determined by the Handicap Committee.

Before reporting scores, make sure you have made any required adjustments.  Please review and apply, as necessary, the requirements of  Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) and Women's Rating Adjustments as described below.

 On this page: MWGA POSTING FORM,    EQUITABLE STOKE CONTROL (ESC) TABLE ,    WOMEN'S RATING ADJUSTMENT TABLE

The following information and more is also in the MWGA Handicap and Index booklet

To post scores online go to www.gam.org, then on the GAM home page under “Member Login”:

1) Enter your “username” and “password”
(if you don’t remember your GAM login info, email handicap@mwgolf.org)
2) Select “View Handicap/Post Score”
3) Select “Post Score” then follow the instructions

You should post scores where you played your own ball under the Rules of Golf within the last 12 months.  Post your adjusted gross scores when you play at least 13 holes in an 18-hole round or at least 7 holes in a 9-hole round. On the holes that you did not play, you should take par plus any handicap strokes that you were entitled to take.  On holes you did not finish, post the score you would have most likely scored, but do not exceed your ESC. If you are establishing a new index, you need a MINIMUM of five 18-hole scores or ten 9-holes scores or a combination when combined is equivalent to five 18-hole rounds.  No more than your latest 20 scores are used to calculate your index (see the table at the end of this page).

Scores from Michigan golf courses are to be reported only during the "active" season.  Michigan's active season is generally from April 1 to October 31.

MWGA POSTING FORM    

To post scores online, click here => Internet Posting
For a printable Posting Card, click here => print posting card page

THE USGA HANDICAP SYSTEM Please review the USGA Handicap Manual for complete details on the handicap system;  In particular: Section 4 - covering unfinished holes and ESC Section 5 - covering which scores to post and how to adjust ratings when posting scores from an unrated set of tees Section 10 - covering the USGA Handicap Formula - which explanins how your index is calculated

EQUITABLE STROKE CONTROL (ESC)

Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) is the downward adjustment of individual hole scores for handicap purposes in order to make handicaps more representative of a player's potential ability.  ESC sets a maximum number that a player can post on any hole depending on that player's Course Handicap.  ESC is used only when a player's actual or most likely score exceeds the maximum number based on the following table.  Players posted scores must be adjusted to conform to ESC.

Example: A player with a 24 course handicap scores a 98 for an 18-hole round.  Scores on a all holes except two were an 8 or less.  On one hole she scored a 10 and on another hole she scored a 9.  The player must adjust these two scores to 8's and will report her adjusted score for the round as 95.

WOMENS RATINGS ADJUSTMENTS

Posting a Score from an Un-rated Set of Tees on a Rated Course
If you play a rated course where USGA Course and Slope Ratings from any tees played are available, locate the nearest set of tees in yardage that have been rated for you.  Determine the yardage difference.  Find the yardage range in the table below.  Add the table values if the tees played are longer, or subtract the values if the tees played are shorter.

Only your lowest scores are used to create your index

CONVERTING  YOUR  INDEX  TO  A  COURSE  HANDICAP

When you are looking for your course handicap (CH), it is easiest to go to the Course Handicap Table published in the Michigan Links Directory or in a USGA Handicap  publication.  But what if you don’t have one of these publications readily available, or if the tables do not contain the slope rating you are playing from.  It is very easy to determine your CH without one of these tables.  All you need is a calculator.  Your CH is equal to your index times the course slope rating (SR), divided by 113, rounded to the nearest whole number:

CH = index  ´ SR ¸ 113 round to the nearest whole number

MWGA POSTING FORM 
EQUITABLE STOKE CONTROL (ESC) TABLE 
WOMEN'S RATING ADJUSTMENT TABLE