NO NEED TO PANIC OVER NEW MAXIMUM HANDICAPS

New system may cause a little initial trepidation but the game can only benefit in long run. By Brian Keogh

“DON’T PANIC” According to Douglas Adams, that’s what it said in large letters on the front cover of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

It was meant as advice for intergalactic space travellers but as the author Arthur C Clarke pointed out, Adams’ “DON”T PANIC” line “was perhaps the best advice that could be given to humanity.”

Given the somewhat fraught reaction on social media channels to the introduction by CONGU on January 1 of the new maximum competition handicap of 54, one handicapping expert believes it’s advice that club golfers should take on board.

In order to prepare for the proposed introduction of a World Handicap System (WHS) from 2020, a new Category 5 for Men and Category 6 for both Men and Women have been introduced.

In other words, there is now a maximum competition handicap of 54 for all golfers, replacing the old maximum competition handicaps of 28 for men and 36 for women.

It sounds like a good thing but golfers have a habit of getting hot under the collar when it comes to handicaps.

“We’ll never win anything again,” was the immediate reaction of the social media world.

“The bandits will have a field day and win everything.”

The bandits, of course, will always be with us but according to Jerome Clancy, convenor of the National Handicap Committee for the GUI and the ILGU, there is no reason to be alarmed.

“Effectively what we now have is six categories covering everybody,” he said.

“Category 5 for Men has been created for men who are getting on in age and waning in ability. That’s the real reason behind it.

“Many of them have been stuck on 28 for years, going nowhere because there was nowhere to go.

“CONGU offered them the ‘Club Handicap’, but the take up was very poor due to restrictions. Clubs would have to decide if a player was eligible to compete in a club competition off a ‘Club Handicap’ and players just didn’t buy into it.

“So CONGU looked and said, okay, we have Category 5 for women and Category 6 for Juniors and golfers with disability. Let’s put the lot together and introduce Category 5 for men and allow them to move through gradually from 28 over a period of time.

“Nobody who is playing off 28 today — even if they are in the 80s or 90s — will be off 54 tomorrow.”

As things stand, the only 54-handicappers a golfer is likely to meet right now are 10 or 11-year-old boys or girls who are just starting in the game, can only play in Junior competitions and will quickly whizz down in handicap.

“The fears being expressed are very much off the mark,” Mr Clancy added. “There are a lot more men and women in their 70s, 80s and 90s who still want to play golf and they want to be tested in their own category.

“So by giving them that opportunity, they are getting a chance to go out and enjoy their game and the vast majority are really only playing with their pals or playing for €5.

“That extra shot or two could make all the difference in the battle for your fiver every week.

“The people playing off 45 at the moment are all Juniors or Disability Golfers and they have those handicaps for obvious reasons. So there is no need to panic. The era of the 54-handicapper is a long way away.”

The R&A and USGA plan to make an announcement in March on progress on the proposed World Handicap System which will replace the systems currently used by six handicapping authorities worldwide.

For now, it’s clear that the new upper handicap limits are designed to encourage older golfers, or absolute beginners, to get out and play a little more

In others words, it’s all about boosting participation in a game that is struggling to keep its head above water.

The ILGU is very much in favour of the new categories, pointing out during the presentation at its Annual General Meeting at the Red Cow Moran Hotel last weekend that “the 54 handicap is both welcome and necessary.”

While there are just over 47,000 golfers affiliated to the ILGU, no fewer than 10,134 have no handicap at all while another 19,663 are in Category 5 with 9,755 of those women and girls playing off the maximum handicap of 36.

Encouraging some of the 10,135 members to get a handicap and play golf can only be a good thing.

According to the ILGU, 40 percent of the 9,755 golfers who play off 36 — nearly 4,000 people — did not enter a competition last year.

If the new system does anything, it will bring a few more out to play.

Isn’t that what it’s all about?