The golf handicap system has once again changed. People now have one handicap only, and not a lower one for competitions. Essentially your handicap is the average number of shots in your best 10 games out of your last 20 games that you have shot over the course rating.

The changes mean, in my opinion, that people probably also ultimately drop a shot in their handicaps, because there will be a few more holes they can double bogey and as a result will probably take an extra shot in some places.

Interestingly enough, when men talk about what handicap they used to be, many of them are referring to the old system, which gave you a far lower figure and they talk about their golf as if it was at the peak at that time when in reality, that system essentially gave you as much as a 30% lower handicap than you get now, as it used to be the average of your best six scores, less 25%. To take the best 10 scores, and average those out, is in fact the far more realistic reflection of one’s actual game and so the 9 handicap of 3 or 4 years ago, on today’s system was probably really a 13 at that time.