Dear Club Members/Residents,
On the 17th September 2013, the Handicap Committee sent a Golf News to all Members informing them of changes to Club Handicaps & Tournaments at Desert Springs. These new changes were implemented on the 1st January 2014. Many factors contributed to this decision, the main ones being to follow the regulations set by the RFEG and to ensure that all members play with an accurate handicap.
The RFEG is following the EGA system for handicaps whereas the UK & Ireland have adopted a handicap system called CONGU, the two systems are different and thus a player can have different handicaps in the two systems. When a player has a handicap in Spain and in another country, which adopts the EGA system, then the handicaps cannot differ.
More details of the RFEG handicap system can be found here (in Spanish): http://www.rfegolf.es/ArtculosDocumento/Sistema%20Central%20Handicaps/Sistema%20Handicap%202013-2015.pdf
The EGA, of which the RFEG is a member, has a different way of calculating a players "Playing Handicap" than the CONGU system – the player gets his/her ‘Playing Handicap’ depending on the Slope & Course rating and tee that they are using (the Slope Table at Desert Springs can be found on the notice board within the changing rooms). There has been a misunderstanding in the past that a CONGU handicap is entitled to receive slope – this is not the case. CONGU players receive the Conversion that was detailed in the Golf News on the 17th September, 2013.
The following information sets out how handicaps are allocated at Desert Springs:
When a CONGU handicap certificate is submitted to join the RFEG we initially apply the RFEG adjustment – CONGU Exact Handicap * (113/124), we also take into consideration the competitions (if any) that the member has played in over the past 12 months and make an assessment of the “Exact Handicap”.
The RFEG software then adjusts your handicap during all “Qualifying Rounds” in the year using all the factors that are intrinsic in the RFEG Regulations for golf competition (e.g. buffer zones, Computed Buffer Adjustment (ASC in Spanish) etc.). There are some differences in the RFEG regulations which CONGU golfers will find strange (e.g. a handicap can be lowered when playing in a Greensome or Better Ball & that the lower handicap wins when two players end up with the same stableford points score).
One of the new RFEG regulations is an annual review of players’ handicaps.
For this we ask that members submit their Home Club Handicap Certificate between September 15th and before the next competition that they enter – this is a condition of entry. The Handicap Committee review the players’ handicap(s) and Qualifying Rounds at Desert Springs, and an assessment is made.
The RFEG requires 4 qualifying cards to be submitted each year for a handicap to remain active. An active handicap is required to be eligible to win competitions. Playing with an inactive handicap in a competition is possible and the “Qualifying Round” is used towards reactivating a handicap. There are now also weekly ‘Roll-Up’s held on Thursdays which, assuming they are supported, are handicap qualifying competitions.
Golfers who do not have a handicap from a recognised National Golfing Association are required to submit three cards along with an RFEG application form in order to obtain a handicap at Desert Springs. Each of these rounds should be played with an “Exact Handicap” of 36 + Slope. These cards should be marked by an RFEG member and played under handicap conditions and at least one of the cards needs to be a “Qualifying Card” played in a Club Tournament or ‘Roll-Up’. Golf Reception needs to be advised in advance of when a golfer is going to play a round with handicap conditions and submit a card for their handicap assessment.
Definitions: EGA (European Golf Association), RFEG (Spanish Golf Federation).
