Handicapping - Making Golf Competition Equitable

Awni K. Kaloti is an established presence in the South Florida entrepreneurial community who heads Global American Consulting and manages transactions in precious metals ranging from silver to platinum. An avid golfer, Awni K. Kaloti enjoys playing in the Miami and Orlando areas, and maintains a 19 handicap.

Designed to promote fairness and equity on the golf course, the handicapping system is one that enables golfers to accurately compare their relative performances when playing against better or less skilled golfers. The lower handicap is better, with a player who has an 18 handicap typically shooting 90 across 18 holes and a player with a 10 handicap shooting 82.

Determining this handicap typically requires playing between 12 and 20 rounds on a course and maintaining a record of the total scores for each round. This number is adjusted to the specific difficulty of the course and elements such as the course slope rating. Various calculations are then performed to arrive at the individual handicap.

With this mathematically derived system in place, players of widely varying skill levels in a competitive event can compete in a way that is meaningful. For example, if a person with a 20 handicap shoots an 85 on a par 72 course (7 under his or her handicap) against a player with a 10 handicap who shoots an 84 (2 over his or her handicap), the player with the higher handicap would win the match.