The Callaway System of One Round Golf Handicapping

While the S.A.G.A. handicapping system remains the approved method for determining basic player handicaps, it does not provide the answer to the problem of determining fair allowances for convention and resort tournaments or 'golf days' which attracts novice or occasional players. The Callaway System is one answer to this handicapping problem.

Under this method, a player's handicap is determined after each round by deducting from his gross score for the first 18 holes the scores of the worst individual holes during the first 16 holes of the round.

The table below shows the number of 'worst holes' the player may deduct and the adjustment to be made, based on his gross score. For instance, if his gross score for 18 holes is 96, he may deduct the total of his worst three scores on holes 1 - 16, inclusive. Thus if he has one 9, one 8, and a 7, his handicap totals 24. From this total a further plus or minus adjustment is made according to the adjustments indicated at the bottom of each column. For a gross score of 96, the adjustment requires a deduction of 2 strokes, resulting in a final handicap of 22. Thus 96 - 22 handicap = 74 nett score for this player.

 

SCORE

DEDUCT

 . 65 66 67  .   Scratch - no adjustment
68 69 70 71 72   Scratch - no adjustment
73 74 75  .  .   ½ worst hole and adjustment
76  77  78  79  80   1 worst hole and adjustment
81 82 83 84 85   1½ worst hole and adjustment
86 87 88 89 90   2 worst hole and adjustment
91 92 93 94 95   2½ worst hole and adjustment
96 97 98 99 100   3 worst hole and adjustment
101 102 103 104 105   3½ worst hole and adjustment
106 107 108 109 110   4 worst hole and adjustment
111 112 113 114 115   4½ worst hole and adjustment
116 117 118 119 120   5 worst hole and adjustment
121 122 123 124 125   5½ worst hole and adjustment
126 127 128 129 130   6 worst hole and adjustment
-2 -1 0 +1 +2   Adjustment ... add or deduct from handicap

Note:
- No hole must be scored at more than twice its par, record 7 on a par 3 as 6
- Half strokes count as whole
- The seventeenth and eighteenth holes are never deducted
- In case of ties, lower handicaps or adjustment should be given preference

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