How to get a handicap at Hoebridge Golf Club.

If you haven’t held a handicap before, you will need to play 54 holes on either the Hoebridge Course or the Shey Copse Course, or a combination of these courses. The 54 holes can be a mixture of 9 hole and 18 hole rounds and must be played over a ‘measured course’, that is from the white or yellow square stone markers for a man, and the red square stone markers for a lady on the Hoebridge Course, and the white/red stone markers on the Shey Copse Course for both ladies and men. You must be accompanied by someone who is an adult member of Hoebridge Golf Club, who is a WHS handicap holder, and they will act as your marker.

You may play for handicap during some of our regular competitions. For Men these are monthly weekend and Monday Stablefords and Medals, and the weekly Wednesday Stableford, which is run as a ‘Roll-up’. For Ladies Stablefords and Medal competitions are held on Thursdays and at weekends. Participation in these events when playing for handicap is subject to the agreement of the organiser and the availability of a marker. You will therefore need to talk to the Competition Organiser for the event, who will be listed under the Men’s and Ladies’ Committees on this web site and in the Club Diary, if you wish to play for handicap in one of these competitions. In addition to entering qualifying competitions, you can also submit cards during general play. (See General Play Scores below)

Before playing your round, ensure that the details required at the top of the card are completed, especially your full name, the full name of your marker, and the date on which the round is being played. You must also indicate which of the measured courses you are using (white, yellow, or red) by circling the appropriate coloured Course and Slope Rating Box at the top of the card.

When playing for handicap, the maximum score accepted for any hole is par x 2 (i.e. 6 on a par 3; 8 on a par 4 and 10 on a par 5). If you score more than this, your score on that hole will be reduced by the computer programme we use for handicap purposes to this maximum score. It follows that you can pick up your ball once the number of strokes you have played on any hole reaches par x 2. This can save you and your playing partner's time, and maybe even relieve some embarrassment if you are of a sensitive disposition.

When you have finished your round you must check your card, mark it ‘FOR HANDICAP’, and both your marker and you must sign it. It would also be useful if your marker printed their name under their signature. The card must then be photographed using a mobile phone and the image forwarded to the Handicap Secretary by e mail to hoebridge.handicaps@gmail.com. The original card must then be placed in the post box marked ‘Handicap’, which is located next to the notice board in the rear foyer of the club. It is recommended that you submit each card immediately after your round has been played. That way any error can be picked up quickly. Once you have submitted cards for 54 holes the Handicap Secretary will enter them onto the computer system and inform you of your allocated handicap.

General Play Scores (Casual Scores and Supplementary Scores).

Whilst the main focus for handicapping purposes is rightly on handicap adjustment following Club competitions, it is permissible for players to submit scores from other rounds played over a measured course almost anywhere in the world, and outside the competition environment providing the course played has been allocated both a Course and Slope Rating. These scores will be treated the same, and handicaps adjusted accordingly, as if the score had been submitted following a club competition.

A player intending to return a supplementary score must first notify their intention to do so, and the time and date of the intended round, to the Handicap Secretary by e mail to hoebridge.handicaps@gmail.com . If that round is at an away club the notification must include the name of the Club, the name/colour of the course/tees for the intended round, and the name of their nominated marker. Attention is also drawn to the following:

• The score card must be clearly marked ‘Supplementary Score’.
• The marker must hold a current WHS handicap.
• Both the players and the markers full name must be clearly and legibly written in the appropriate place on the card.
• Play must take place over the ‘Measured Course’. This is indicated on the Hoebridge Course by the White, Yellow and Red square stone markers, and on the Shey Copse Course by the Yellow and Red stone markers, located adjacent to the edge of each tee. (As a matter of courtesy, and before commencing their round, players will need to request authority to play from these markers from the course warden, or, in their absence, from BGL Staff in the Pro Shop.)
• The course used for play must be clearly indicated on the score card by circling the appropriate Course and Slope Rating box at the top of the card.
• At an away Club, players should ensure that play is indeed over a full ‘Measured Course’. Please note that ‘Tees of the Day’ often present a shorter course than a full measured course, and if the shortened course is more than 100 yards shorter than the full ‘Measured Course’ the score is not acceptable for Handicap purposes. (That is 5.5 yards per hole!)
• The card should be marked as for a medal round and must be signed by the player and the marker at the conclusion of the round.
• The score should be entered into the WHS handicap system immediately following the round at the Club where the round has been played, using the Club technology if available.
• A photograph of the card should then be sent by e mail to the Hoebridge Handicap Committee at hoebridge.handicaps@gmail.com and the card subsequently placed in the post box marked ‘Handicap’ located adjacent to the Notice Boards in the rear foyer at Hoebridge. The card will then be processed by the Handicap Committee in due course.
• If for any reason the player was unable to enter the score using the available technology, the player should advise the Handicap Secretary by e mail, and the card will be processed using the photographic image and confirmed by the original card.

N.B. If the My EG app is used to record and process the score, prior notification to the Handicap Committee by e mail is not required as notification is automatically given through the app. But members must ensure that the full process set out by England Golf for recording scores via the app is completed.

If any of the above conditions are not met, or the My EG app process is not completed correctly, the score will be viewed as invalid and will either not be processed, or a penalty score may be applied equal to a net par score for the player concerned.


Peter Becque
Handicap Secretary