World Handicap System explained: What does a day’s golf look like?
We had all been building up to the date – November 2 and the launch of the new World Handicap System – and it turned into a bit of a damp squib.
Not only were there obvious teething troubles but, in England at least, we were locked back in before most of us even got out to put the global order to the test.
Our forced absence from the course comes to an end on Wednesday when we’ll finally have to get to grips with terms like course handicap and general play scores.
So, if you didn’t manage to see what all the fuss was about last month, what should you expect?
Dan Murphy and I managed to get in one round – on D-Day as it happens – and we wrote about how it all went down.
But, given we’ve spent so much time swinging in our back yards since, we’ve put down our thoughts in a Vodcast – and discussed how it went, what still confuses us and how it might develop over the next few months.
What do you think about the World Handicap System? Has it affected your handicap? How did you find Slope? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me.
Need more information on the World Handicap System?
Visit our dedicated WHS page where you will find everything you need to know and details of how to contact us if you have any more questions.
Subscribe to NCG
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
