They were handed the freedom to change – but the majority have chosen not to take it.
Despite receiving new powers over handicap allowances, nearly six in ten Irish golf clubs have left things exactly as they were.
That’s the headline finding from preliminary feedback on a World Handicap System scheme being piloted by Golf Ireland this year – and set to roll out to the rest of Great Britain & Ireland in 2026.
Since April, clubs in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have been able to choose their own handicap allowances for competitions.
But after asking them what they had done, the governing body has revealed that 59.6% of clubs who responded “did not make changes to the previously mandated handicap allowances”.
Nearly half of those did so because they felt the “allowances were about right”.
That may surprise WHS critics, some of whom have blamed Playing Handicaps for driving low-handicap golfers from competitive play.
Golf Playing Handicap pilot: What’s the background, what are the findings, and what’s next?
What is the background?
We reported how Golf Ireland gave competition and handicap committees in the country new powers over how they implemented the Playing Handicap in singles competitions and fourball stroke play, Stableford and V-Par events from April.
The governing body is currently piloting measures agreed by Golf GB&I, the body that replaced CONGU in administering WHS in the four home nations.
The Playing Handicap is a golfer’s Course Handicap adjusted for any allowance. It’s meant to provide equity, and well-known numbers include 95% in individual stroke play and Stableford events and 85% in fourball stroke play and Stableford.
These allowances had previously been mandatory, but Golf Ireland gave clubs a number of options. In single competitions which count for handicap, they could keep the current allowance of 95%, reduce it to 90% or 85%, or increase it to 100% – removing the Playing Handicap altogether.
In fourball, clubs could keep the current allowance of 85%, reduce it to 80% or 75%, or increase it to 90%.
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When explaining the pilot’s introduction, Golf Ireland said feedback from clubs had consistently shown they wanted more options to deal with issues they were seeing in competitions and that “lower handicaps in a number of clubs feel less competitive as a result of the changeover to WHS, and in some cases are even less inclined to play in club competitions.”
At the end of May, Golf Ireland used its Club Newsletter to issue a return form seeking early feedback from the pilot. Some 104 clubs responded – around a quarter of Ireland’s registered courses according to Statista.
Clubs could give multiple answers and there were a multitude of reasons provided.
What did the findings reveal?
Golf Ireland revealed 40.4% of clubs who responded did make changes in “at least some formats/competitions”.
- 71.4% of those said they would “definitely continue with the changes”, with another 26.2% saying they were open to doing so. “Only one club of those responding indicated they would not be continuing with the change they had trialed”
- 83.3% of clubs said they had made changes to “make their competitions fairer for lower handicappers”
- 76.2% said they had done so after analysing scores in their competitions
- 50% said they had made changes after consulting their members, while 50% said they had “made the decision as a Committee which they felt was best”.
Where changes were made, Golf Ireland said these were “predominantly focused on men’s singles competitions”, this representing 83.3% of responding clubs.
It was 38.1% for women’s singles competitions, 35.7% for men’s fourballs, and 21.4% for mixed singles.
The overall figure meant that 59.6% of clubs who responded “did not make changes to the previously mandated handicap allowances”.
While no single explanation for inaction commanded a majority, nearly half – 46.8% – said it was a committee decision because they felt the “allowances were about right”.
- 43.6% said there was “no issue with the previously mandated allowances”
- 24.2% said they “felt their members had enough to cope with in terms of changes following the 2024 changes to the Rules of Handicapping as well as the switchover to Course Rating minus Par“
- 20% said they “felt they need more information before making a change”, with 9.7% open to “changing in the future”
- 19.4% said they were waiting for the results of the pilot
What happens now?
Golf Ireland said it will send out more post-season surveys – both for golf clubs and for golfers – and “there will be a further opportunity for feedback on changes to handicap allowances in these surveys”.
The governing body added: “The above results have been shared with our partners in GB&I Golf – England Golf, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf – in advance of a potential full rollout of this change across GB&I in 2026.
“A final decision on a GB&I-wide rollout of this change will be made ahead of the 2026 season.”
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Now have your say
What do you think of these golf playing handicap results? Are you surprised more clubs in Ireland haven’t opted to change the Playing Handicap allowances within the WHS? What do you think that means for the pilot scheme? Let me know by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment on X.
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