Handicap Committee Member Paul Taylor has requested that the Club issue the following announcement for all members at Desert Springs:
Handicap Reminder
1) All Spanish Federated Members are required to provide their Non-Spanish (if they have one) Handicap Certificate once a year, between January and Easter which will be used to carry out a review to ensure that the Home Club handicap and Spanish Federation handicap are kept reasonably in line.
Please submit your non-federated 2011 handicap certificate ASAP.
2) All Non-Spanish Federated Members are required to produce their handicap certificate with their entry form for a competition.
Failure to submit a handicap certificate as above may result in a golfer being disqualified from a competition that they have played in.
The Desert Springs Handicapping System
The Handicap system introduced in May 2008 has now settled down and is generally accepted as a fairer method of managing handicaps for Spanish Federated Members, Non-Spanish Federated members and guests.
The system we are using is as follows:
1) For those members who have both a Spanish license and another official handicap in a different country, they will be asked to present at the beginning of the year a current handicap certificate to review and evaluate if any adjustment must be made. This player will play off the Official Spanish Federation Handicap all the time they are in Spain.
2) For members and guests not affiliated to the Spanish Federation, they will be asked for an official current active handicap certificate every time they wish to enter a Desert Springs Club Competition. If the player records a round where the handicap is lowered, an adjustment will be applied for the next competitions. Subsequent rounds where there is an addition to the handicap can only take place a negative adjustment back to zero. In other words, a person not affiliated to the Spanish Federation will not play at a higher handicap than the handicap certificate states, but can play at a lower handicap if the scores allow for a handicap reduction. This adjustment should be used all the time a golfer is playing in Spain.
An example:
| Competition Date | Adjustment | |
| 19/10/2008 | -1.1 | |
| 25/10/2008 | -0.2 | |
| 04/04/2009 | 0.2 | |
| 12/04/2009 | -0.2 | |
| 16/05/2009 | 0.1 | |
| 09/10/2009 | 0.1 | |
| —————- | ||
| Total Adjustment off Home Club Handicap for next Competition | -1.1 | |
This adjustment is the one that is updated after each tournament and posted on the club notice board and is added to the competitors club handicap.
The reason that we have to use this system is that there is no reciprocation between the Spanish Federation and other handicapping systems.
The system does favour, slightly, the Spanish Federated members and we do encourage all members to join the Spanish Federation.
Some benefits from joining the Spanish Federation are:
- Insurance on all golf courses in Spain.
- No need to present your handicap certificate on every competition.
- Handicap can go up and down.
- It is the committee’s policy to move towards a position where only Spanish Federation Handicaps are accepted for Club Competitions.
For more information, please contact Handicap Committee Members Paul Taylor and Lynne Taylor.
For further information contact: Handicap Committee
Email: paul.f.taylor@btinternet.com
Telephone: +44 (0)1277 286120
