Stroke Hole Allocation Guidelines
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the NCGA/USGA Handicapping System concerns the “Stroke Hole Allocation” at a golf course. That is, the assignment of the handicap stroke holes. How many times have you heard a golfer refer to the No. 1 stroke hole on the score card as the “toughest” hole on the course?
Is the No. 1 stroke hole the toughest hole on the course? Maybe yes… maybe no!
Despite the feelings of most golfers, the stroke hole allocation of a course is not suppose to represent a ranking of the difficulty of the holes. Instead, it represents the ranking of the holes where a high handicapped golfer most needs a stroke in order to tie a low handicapped golfer.
In many instances, this need for strokes does occur on the most difficult holes, but not always.
Consider, for example, a 225-yard par-3 with all sorts of difficulty around the green. The hole may prove to be a tough par for even the very best golfers at that club and may sport a high overall scoring average.
On the other hand, the higher handicapper may not be able to reach the green in regulation, but is easily able to pitch it on in two and two putt for a bogey. Even though this hole would have a high overall scoring average, clearly it does not represent a hole where the higher handicapped player most needs a stroke in order to tie a low handicapped player.
Typically, a stroke is most needed on difficult par fives, followed by difficult par-4s, easier par-5s, easier par-4s, difficult par-3s and easy par-3.
The best way to determine this “need” is by an analysis of scorecards. A minimum of 200 scorecards from a low handicapped group (eight or less for men; 14 or less for women) must be reviewed and hole-by-hole averages determined.
A similar breakdown must be computed for a minimum of 200 scorecards of higher handicapped golfers (20-28 for men; 26-40 for women). When the hole-by-hole stroke averages of the two groups are laid out side-by-side, the holes with the greatest need can easily be identified by the large gaps in the scoring averages.
Generally speaking, the odd-numbered stroke hole assignments are awarded to the front nine and even numbered to the back nine. In instances where the back nine holes significantly rank more difficult, the odd and even assignments can be reversed.
Special care must be given to avoid the assignment of low numbered strokes near the end of each nine. In many instances, a 9- or 18-hole match could be completed before this pivotal stroke comes into play. Likewise it is best to avoid a low-numbered stroke to the first couple of holes on a golf course. In the event of a sudden-death playoff, this crucial stroke would be awarded too soon.
The NCGA is happy to perform a stroke hole analysis for your golf course for a fee of $50 ($100 if a separate men’s and women’s analysis is made or if separate courses or tees are involved). The results will be forwarded to your club handicap committee for final review. Ultimately, it is this committee that makes the assignment, not the NCGA. When you think about it, who better than your handicap committee to determine how your golf holes play out?
Some golfers wonder why the assignments are geared for match play. They argue that most, if not all, tournaments at their club are stroke play. To a certain degree, I would beg to differ and argue that dozens upon dozens of games each day involve match play (standard Nassaus) and that the assigning of the strokes in this manner is critical.
Some clubs have taken steps to specifically address stroke-play competitions. In addition to the normal stroke hole allocations appearing on their cards, they have computed an overall ranking of the difficulty of the holes and use this for stroke-play competitions such as four-ball competitions (better balls), best-one or two-net-of-four competitions and Stableford events. Scorecards for golfers of all abilities are collected and scoring averages per hole versus par are computed to determine this alternative ranking.
So the next time you look at the stroke-hole assignments at a golf course, take a couple of minutes to appreciate the reasons for the assignments and the care that went into its preparation.
Director of Course Rating & Handicapping Jim Cowan can be e-mailed at jcowan@ncga.org.
i made a hole in one at paso robles club and need to fill out anypaper work needed and send it in. where would i do this at
July 31st, 2007 at 12:10 pmRichard Norris,
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:07 pmI apologize for the delay in responding but I was only recently made aware of this new feature within our website. Refer to the About the NCGA section on our homepage. Information on our 2007 Hole in One Sweepstakes is available on the pull-down menu. Thanks Jim Cowan
o.k this is bugging me!! In a nassau game example:i am a 12 handicap my partner is a 7..the gentlemen that we are playing. one is a 12 handicap and the other is an 18 handicap.my question is why, just because i am on a 7 handicap team ,being I am a 12 ,why.do I have to give the 18 handicapper more then 3 strokes a side????????its really bugging me because we cant win.not to mention the 18 handicapper is a sand bagger but thats besides the point.how come my partner (not me )give the extra strokes.you know because an 18 handicapper can get a snowman the first (par4)hole and me par but I still have to give the same amount of strokes again(no gain on his handi)I NEED TO KNOW THE RULE.I mean really if it was stroke play they would never win.WHY SO UN-BALANCED?:MY SOLUTION:im a 12. give me on the card a stroke on 12 hardest holes my partner gets the hardest 7.(opp) the 18 handicapper would get a stroke a hole and the other 12 gets same as me 12 on the hardest 12.wouldnt that balance out better???? jeez somethings gotta be wrong.anyone help?
December 8th, 2007 at 1:21 amoh by the way that is team individual hole match not points
December 8th, 2007 at 1:24 amHi Vic and thank you for your comments,
The are a couple of distinctions here.
When competing in match play, all four golfers are reduced by the Course Handicap of the lowest handicapper, who plays at scratch. In this case, your partner would play to a 0 and you would play to a 5. Your opponents would play to a 5 and 11. All three of you would receive your strokes on the 1-5 and 1-11 ranked holes.
Awarding the strokes on the high ranked holes is far superior to awarding them on the “easier” holes. Suppose you were a 17 playing against an 18. Would you rather give the stroke on the #1 ranked hole (probably a tough par-five) or the #18 ranked hole (probably a short par-three)? If you give the stroke on the easy hole, you probably always lose that hole. If you give it on the tough hole, you have more of a fighting chance to secure a halve. And that is the intent, to award the strokes on the holes where a golfer most needs a stroke to secure a halve, not a win.
In stroke play, the dynamics change a little. The USGA recommends that in a better-ball format (four-ball), only 90% of the Course Handicaps be issued. In such a scenario, your partner would play to a 6, you and one of your opponents would play to an 11 and your other opponent would forfeit two strokes and play to a 16. All of you would receive your full complement of strokes on the 1-6, 1-11 and 1-16 ranked holes.
It may not seem like it at times, but you and your partner should be in the driver’s seat in your match. Because handicaps are based on 96% of the difference between your scores and the ratings, not 100%, lower handicappers actually have a very slight advantage over higher handicappers in matches. Sandbagger aside, the statistics of handicapping favor your team ever-so-slightly.
Thanks again. Jim Cowan
December 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pmthank you for the response jim.I think i understand.basically my partner and I have to give the 17 handicapper a stroke on the 6 hardest hole and if the first hole was a 444 par 4 number 1 handicap hole and we all get bogeys ,they win.right?and besides the 6 hardest handicap holes we play straight up.I have an example ?.
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 pmexample:lets say the number 1 handicap hole .my partner (8)gets par i(12) get double bogey the (12)on the other team gets bogey and the (17)handi gets double.we would win the hole right?which would mean that i never get any strokes ,my partner and i give the 17 handi only strokes on the hardest 6 handicap holes.If my example is a halve because there 12 got bogey.then I am still lost.if we win I understand. thanks again jimbo.
Hi Vic,
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pmBased on the 7, 12, 12, 18 in your first message, you are playing one of your opponents straight up and giving the other 6 pops. Your partner is actually giving you and one opponent 5 pops and is giving 11 strokes to the 18.
The best way to picture this is to grab a scorecard and mark down the Course Handicap of each player next to their name. Next, bring the low handicapper down to a 0 (your partner) and subtract his handicap from the other three. In your first message, this would leave the three of you at a 5, a 5 and an 11. Find the line or column where you enter your own hole-by-hole scores and place a single dot in the box of the 5 top ranked holes. Do the same for your opponent with the same handicap. Do the same for the 11 top ranked holes of the 18. This now represents where the strokes fall in the match. So on the #1 ranked hole that you mentioned, a single dot appears in the box for everyone but your partner. Your scores work out to a par for your partner, you would have a net bogey, your opponents would have a net par and net bogey, the hole is halved . . . way to let your partner down! Had one of your opponents parred the hole, they would have won with a net birdie. I hope this helps - Jim Cowan
Jim,
Thank you for the above response. Simply put that the lowest handicap goes to zero and the others ALL stroke off him on the hardest holes depending on the net difference of the handicaps. 5,5 and 11 in your example. This works the same way for skins, correct?
Thanks again,
Steve Knadler
p.s. Sorry Scholl, but rules are rules….
February 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pmSteve, yep, skins too. Thanks - Jim Cowan
February 28th, 2008 at 8:30 am