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Golf & Greens Update

2 March 2026

Handicap Eligibility Change for 2026 & 2025 Competition Review

Dear Members,

Below you’ll find details on the upcoming handicap eligibility update, a look back at the 2025 competition year, plus key course news and a special save the date for an upcoming coaching day!

 

Handicap Eligibility Change

The move to a 6-month rolling window is to support Members in maintaining their eligibility to play in Club competitions. The HCC is effectively saying that performance from up to a year ago may no longer be the most accurate way to reflect your current “demonstrated ability. Recognising that competitive opportunities over the winter are weather dependent allowing General Play cards ensures that Members can remain eligible. Ensure that your England Golf handicap index contains 2 scores from the last 6 months prior to playing in a Club competition including any round of a knockout competition.

2025 Season Review

The HCC performed 69 individual reviews in 2025 of which there were 37 downward adjustments and 4 upward adjustments (please click here to visit the Club’s dedicated HCC page).
This proactive and real time approach proved to be a success as evidenced by the wide variety of competition winners (over 50) as well as the outcome that the HCC’s annual review resulted in no further adjustments.
In line with previous years, the Season review highlighted that a broad range of competitors succeeded in winning a Club Competition.

 

Honour Board Winners
  • Chairman’s Bowl: 11.8
  • President’s Putter: 5.1
  • The Arlington: 7.7
  • Tournament of Champions: 4.0
  • The Chalice: 11.2
  • RTJ Trophy: 5.3
  • McKenzie Cup: 17.9
  • Invitation Shootout: 14.9 & 11.1
  • The Concorde Trophy: 11.7 & 16.2
  • Easter Tankards: 5.4 & 8.3
  • Member-Member: 10.3 & 13.0
  • King of Malaysia: 10.0 & 13.4
  • Edwards Cup: 11.6 & 20.4
  • Cap Foursomes: 5.3 & 32.6
Monthly & Other Competitions
  • Monthly Medals: 7 played; 4 won by a competitor with a single-figure index (For example +0.4, 3.0 and 4.8).
  • Midweek events: Wide index range among winners; several top Stableford scores and 7 Midweek Medal wins by a competitor with a single figure index.
The HCC is committed to providing the fairest and most equitable platform to enjoy your golf and should you receive a review email in 2026 – well played, you’ve earned it!

Best regards,
The Wisley HCC

Paul Weston, Jack Hillier, Keith Fleming, Ian Cox

 

NOTE

England Golf (EG) mandate that every Golf Club must have a Handicap Committee (HCC). The HCC must be made up of a majority of Members and mandate that an annual review as well as result-based reviews are held. The Wisley follows the best possible practice as guided by EG to achieve this.

As a reminder, a review is performed whenever a member betters their index by more than three in any Club competition as well as when an EG report highlights a score or pattern that should be scrutinised.

The criteria that EG request be followed is:

  • Has the golfer demonstrated a new level of ability
  • Is the player demonstrating a new scoring pattern
  • Is there a difference in scoring in the various forms of play
  • Peer review
  • The Wisley HCC, mandated by England Golf and the club Membership is required to ensure that a player’s Handicap Index reflects their demonstrated ability and that the Rules of Handicapping are applied correctly.

 

Spring Greens Maintenance Work
24th – 26th March

As you may have noticed (unless you’ve been holidaying somewhere warm!), the weather hasn’t exactly played ball during our usual January and February maintenance window. Thanks to a rather soggy start to the year, we’ve moved our spring greens work to later in March.

As always, it’ll be weather-dependent because we are still in Britain after all, but the plan is to complete the essential pre-season prep then. The good news? It’s a light-touch programme, so recovery will be quick, with surfaces settling back in nicely within a couple of weeks.

The work will include solid tine aeration, topdressing and overseeding across greens, tees and approaches, all vital ingredients in keeping surfaces healthy and performing well through the busy spring and summer months.

We truly appreciate your continued support and patience, and we’ll do everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum. The short-term inconvenience will be well worth it when you’re holing putts on smooth, true greens in the sunshine (we’re ordering that too!).

 

The Grass Tee

The move to the grass tee for the spring and summer is fast approaching, the exact date is dependent on the recovery and growth over the coming weeks; with this in mind, please note that the Driving Range will be closed on Wednesday 11th March (the short game are will be open) to allow for essential maintenance work… with a little co-operation from the weather, the grass tee along with new balls will open in early April.

 

Save the Date: Spring Golf Coaching Day
Sunday 26th April

The Wisley’s Coaching Team are hosting a morning of golf and clinics on Sunday, 26th April. The morning will start with an early, fun 9-hole team Stableford (expect a fun format!), the teams will comprise of three members and one Wisley Professional.

Following this, the Coaching Team will host clinics that cover a wide range of elements, from full swing, pitching & chipping to bunkers and putting. The clinics are interactive, good fun, and a sure way to give your game a boost just as the season is getting underway, don’t miss out and add this to your diary.

 

Kind regards,


Ian Cox
Director of Golf