JohnnyO3478
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2023
- Messages
- 198
- Reaction score
- 372
This time of year, we play a lot of 9 hole rounds after work. It will be two years next month or so since I took up the game. I started 2024 with an index of 20.0 and it is slowly coming down - 18.8 this morning. Side note - I broke 40 for the first time ever last night!
The new 2024 rule on how a 9 hole score is handled in the GHIN system has proved to be interesting. If you have not looked into it, what they do is calculate a 9 hole differential for the holes that you do play (assuming your course has 9 hole ratings) and then they add that to an expected 9 hole differential that is based upon what everyone at your level is likely to card. The differential I got for yesterday's round is 14.7. If you fuddle around with the math - that means the system expected me to card a 46ish on the back nine.
When I first started seeing my differentials for 9 hole rounds this year - they seemed higher than what I expected for a good 9 hole score. But in all honesty - that's how a lot of my 18 hole rounds work out. Sunday I went 47/42. Bottom line - I think the new approach in handling 9 hole scores is probably better than the old - where at certain times of the year - you may go weeks or months waiting for a score to combine.
Here's a link to the USGA explanation: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/h...sion/2024-treatment-of-9-hole-scores-FAQ.html
"Once the player’s 9-hole Score Differential has been calculated, it is combined with an expected Score Differential based on the player’s current Handicap Index to create an 18-hole Score Differential.
The expected score is based on the average Score Differential of a player with a given Handicap Index and a normal distribution of scores – so it is not specific to each player."
The new 2024 rule on how a 9 hole score is handled in the GHIN system has proved to be interesting. If you have not looked into it, what they do is calculate a 9 hole differential for the holes that you do play (assuming your course has 9 hole ratings) and then they add that to an expected 9 hole differential that is based upon what everyone at your level is likely to card. The differential I got for yesterday's round is 14.7. If you fuddle around with the math - that means the system expected me to card a 46ish on the back nine.
When I first started seeing my differentials for 9 hole rounds this year - they seemed higher than what I expected for a good 9 hole score. But in all honesty - that's how a lot of my 18 hole rounds work out. Sunday I went 47/42. Bottom line - I think the new approach in handling 9 hole scores is probably better than the old - where at certain times of the year - you may go weeks or months waiting for a score to combine.
Here's a link to the USGA explanation: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/h...sion/2024-treatment-of-9-hole-scores-FAQ.html
"Once the player’s 9-hole Score Differential has been calculated, it is combined with an expected Score Differential based on the player’s current Handicap Index to create an 18-hole Score Differential.
The expected score is based on the average Score Differential of a player with a given Handicap Index and a normal distribution of scores – so it is not specific to each player."