Dear Members,

Following the recent communication from the Chairman, the HCC wishes to ensure members are aware of their responsibilities regarding the Rules of Handicapping and the submission of cards for handicap purposes. We also would like to explain the role of the HCC in both monitoring the above and making appropriate adjustments to a member’s Handicap Index (“HI”) to support fair competition golf at The Wisley.

England Golf and the R&A require that all clubs have a handicap committee. An overview of the World Handicapping System (“WHS”) and the role of the HCC can be found here.

Under the previous handicapping system primarily competition scores counted for handicapping purposes. The WHS, as adopted and applied by England Golf, allows for the submission of social General Play (“GP”) scores for handicap purposes, so long as the round and player have met certain requirements, such that it is an acceptable score.

It is the member’s responsibility to ensure that a GP round meets all the requirements to be an acceptable score. Guidance for members on the WHS and their responsibilities under the Rules of Handicapping can be found here. Critically these include the requirement to register the intent to submit a GP score prior to commencement of the round, and the requirement for attestation of the score by someone who witnessed the round. We highlight the above as the HCC recently uncovered a breach of these rules where GP scores had been submitted over an extended period which were neither pre-registered prior to commencement of the round, nor attested by someone who was playing in the round. Subverting these rules could allow a golfer to curate or manipulate their GP scores for handicapping purposes, so potentially gaining an unfair advantage through their Handicap Index (“HI”) not reflecting their demonstrated ability.

The HCC has ensured that in addition to the England Golf app, the club provides a number of convenient methods by which a GP round can be properly registered, and a score submitted. These are detailed in our guidance note on our website here.

The HCC’s role is to ensure any member’s HI reflects their demonstrated ability through a combination of regular reviews and triggered reviews. Any review of a member’s HI follows a process which provides for input by the member ahead of any decision, as well as customary review and appeal options regarding any adjustment. Detailed information on The Wisley review process and triggers can be found on our website here.

An HCC section has been added to our website under the ‘Golf’ tab and on our app inside ‘Menu’ (bottom-right) > ‘Golf’ to ensure this information is available for members to refer to at any time. We trust that this assists members and supports the values of The Wisley as referred to by the Chairman in his recent communication.

Kind regards,

The Wisley Handicap Committee