Active/Inactive Handicaps
During the winter of 2007/2008 the EGU toured the country hosting a number of Handicapping Seminars to launch the new CONGU Unified Handicapping System (UHS). One issue that was discussed was that Clubs, although not in favour of lapsing handicaps, wanted to have more control of their members’ handicaps and players competing in Open competitions.
The English Golf Union and English Women’s Golf Association are to launch a system that will identify the competitive nature of an individual. Approved and supported by CONGU the Active/Inactive handicap will identify whether an individual has competed in qualifying competitions and as a result returned information on their playing ability.
This needs to be brought to the attention of playing memberships in order for them to return the necessary qualifying scores during 2009. The Active/Inactive system will take effect on January 1st 2010 with those members not returning the required scores being indentified. All CONGU approved handicapping software includes the new initiative and will identify player’s automatically.
The requirements are as follows:
• Players will be required to have submitted 3 qualifying scores (including Supplementary Scores & 9 Hole Qualifying Competitions and Away scores) during the calendar year 2009 (not the period between annual handicap reviews) to avoid having an inactive handicap for the playing season, 2010. NR’s will be accepted as part of the 3 qualifying scores unless the Committee are of the opinion that they have been returned deliberately in order to gain an Active handicap.
• Clubs will be permitted to exempt players from an inactive (ί) handicap for injury/illness that has prevented them from achieving the required number of qualifying scores during a calendar year. This will also include those players who are transferring membership who have submitted scores albeit at another Club and to golfers new to the game who are being issued with first CONGU handicap. Golfers being allocated a handicap for the first time shall be Active for 12 months from date of allocation.
• Players who have become inactive will be required to return three qualifying scores before the indicator is removed. Qualifying scores of less than 3 are not permitted to be carried over to the next year, i.e. no topping up of qualifying scores permitted, e.g. 1 score in the previous year and 2 in current year.
• Clubs may impose an entry condition that requires an active handicap (3 previously submitted qualifying scores) for specific competitions only such as Trophy or Board events. In all other cases Clubs must allow "home" players with inactive handicaps entry to qualifying competitions in order to provide as much opportunity as possible for the removal of the inactive handicap.
• An inactive handicap can still be used for social golf and those competitions for which an active handicap is not an entry condition. Scores from players with inactive handicaps will be used in the calculation of a CSS.
• The requirement of 3 qualifying scores will be reviewed by EGU/EWGA during 2010 to consider if this should be increased for the following year.
• The active/inactive identification of handicaps will be required as from the beginning of 2010.
• Inactive handicaps will followed by an ί
Example: 12 ί
