From the Clubhouse: Is the World Handicap System working?
On this episode of From the Clubhouse, Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin dive head first into the World Handicap System. Two years on, is it doing what it should?
On this week’s From the Clubhouse, a podcast from National Club Golfer, Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin tackle the World Handicap System.
Tom joins us from Rome, where he is attending the International Golf Travel Market, and tells us a tall tale from an Italian golf course, before he and Steve dive deep into some of their particular bug bears with the new global order.
They discuss whether it’s really a world system, look at the Playing Conditions Calculation and USGA Course Rating and consider a missed opportunity for equality in golf before looking ahead to the future. Steve then delves into the Rule Book to answer a reader’s tricky problem with a bush in his weekly Rules of Golf corner.
After all that, how can you not give it a listen?
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What do you think about the World Handicap System? Has it settled in yet or does it leave you feeling frustrated? Let me know how you feel with a tweet.
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; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
