A handicap provides a means for adjusting your golf score for fair competition against players of different abilities. Your handicap is more or less the number of strokes over par that you should shoot on a good day. The Golf Handicap and Information Network is the computerized golf handicap system operated by the United States Golf Association.
The Golf Handicap
The golf handicap is a compilation of the best of your scores in recent history. It is the average of the lowest half of the differences between your scores and the ratings of the golf courses you played. The computed handicap, known as your index, relates to your potential for shooting good scores and also takes into account the relative difficulty of the courses you have played. In succeeding competitions against other players, your index combines with the rating of a course to yield a course handicap for you and the other players. The USGA continually evaluates golf courses to keep their ratings current while golfers post their scores for every round to provide an accurate accounting of their handicap indexes.
The GHIN System
The USGA began using the GHIN system in 1981. Today, it is the largest handicapping system in the world, with some 12,000 golf clubs and more than 2 million golfers using it. Most of the players using GHIN are members of golf organizations in the states and territories of the United States. The system incorporates computer terminals located at individual courses for players to enter their scores and a centralized computer to update and report their handicaps. It also includes software for golf clubs to manage the statistics for their membership.
How the System Works
When you finish a round, you enter your score on the local GHIN computer terminal that connects into the network, or you can submit the data from your home computer via the Internet. The central GHIN computer immediately determines your score differential, determines whether it ranks among your best posted scores and updates the database used to compute your handicap index. Twice each month, the system recalculates and reports your current handicap.
GHIN Alternatives
It is significant to note that the GHIN service is a separate entity from the USGA. There is no requirement for a player to use the golf association's service in order to have an official golf handicap. There are other golf handicap vendors that provide official USGA handicaps as well as the other services offered by the GHIN.
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