Ptarmigan Course Handicap

Ptarmigan Course Handicap is computed using 4 different sets of player scores. Those 4 sets are:

1. GHIN Index – All scores, home(all tees) & away posted to GHIN (average of the lowest 8 out of the last 20 scores)

2. Blue Tee Index (BTI) – All Ptarmigan scores from the Blue Tees (average of the lowest 8 out of the last 20 scores)

3. Competition Tournament Index (CTI) – All PMGA tournaments or other defined and organized “competitive type events”. Examples – Friday Nooners, TNL, PMGA Matchplay brackets. CTI is the average of the lowest 8 out of 20 competitive scores. All tee boxes apply here.

4. Low Handicap Index (LHI) – computed & tracked by GHIN. This is the lowest handicap index that a player had during the previous 12 months.

In summary - the player's PCH will be the lowest index of the GHIN, BTI, or CTI calculations. The only exception to not using one of those 3 indexes and using the LHI, is if a player does not have at least 12 posted scores at Ptarmigan. Then the LHI index will be used to compute the player’s Ptarmigan Course Handicap from whichever set of tees they choose to play from.

Doesn’t the World Handicap system handle all problems with players' scores? Not exactly, many players at Ptarmigan spend the winter in warm climates on different courses and their GHIN index at the end of the winter can vary drastically from their play at Ptarmigan. Some players come back to Ptarmigan in the Spring and have handicaps that can be as much as 5-6 strokes higher than their course handicap from the fall. This creates an unfair advantage for these players when competing in tournaments at the beginning of the year. It is also problematic for creating match play pairings at the onset of the season. These inflated handicaps are legitimate, yet they do not reflect the players true ability for scoring conditions at Ptarmigan. Adjusting their indices to the PCH value provides for a more accurate picture of the players true ability at Ptarmigan.

Good question, however, the LHI (Lowest Handicap Index in the last 12 months) value can also be skewed by scores from Away courses. It also does not consider the players ability to score well in tournaments. Using LHI would be much more disruptive than using the PCH for most players and does not necessarily reflect the players ability to score at Ptarmigan.

This is true, but it is only used for players that do not have at least 12 scores posted from Ptarmigan. New members do not have enough rounds to meet the 12-score threshold, therefore it was determined that the LHI value would best reflect these players' ability at Ptarmigan. Once they reach the 12-score minimum, then their GHIN, BTI or CTI will be used for their PCH.

Some players can focus more intently when playing in tournaments than in casual rounds. It does not necessarily mean they are “sandbagging”, but more to the point that they rise to the occasion of an event and seemingly player better under pressure. An analysis of past tournament winners showed a statistically improbable number of repeat winners, i.e. the same group of players were winning tournaments every year. To create a level playing field, the players' scores in tournaments are used to create their tournament index. The CTI (tournament Index) will be used if it is lower than their GHIN and BTI values.

“It seems unfair that you are using scores as much as 2 years ago to compute my PCH, I’m older now and can’t play to that same level”. This is a very common misconception of what we are trying to accomplish. We use the same methodology for computing a player’s index as outlined in the World Handicap System Rules of Handicapping, i.e., the average of the lowest 8 scores out of the last 20 scores posted. However, when there are less than 20 scores, the computation uses an average of less than 8 scores - it is a sliding scale that uses between 1 and 7 scores depending on the total number of scores posted. The PMGA and the Handicap Committee decided that to provide a true index for Ptarmigan scores, the player must have a minimum of 12 scores posted at Ptarmigan. Our preferred number is 20 scores, but 12 will serve as the threshold for inclusion in the calculations. The reason we look back so far in the player’s scoring history is to get as many scores as possible. This mainly affects the CTI value (Competition Scores) as there are only so many tournaments each year at Ptarmigan and not all players play in every event. We look back at scores from 2 years ago to collect as many scores as possible. It is to a player’s advantage to use an average from more scores to reflect their true capability. Most players have 20 scores that are less than a year old, we only look back at previous years when there are not enough scores to meet the 20-score minimum.

There are a number of reasons for a player's ability to drastically decline with age. The look back to scores from multiple years was meant to be to the player's advantage, so that there would be a reasonable number of scores to compute an average value that was accurate. However, there are legimate reasons why these older scores may not be applicable to a player's current potential, i.e. injuries, decline in ability due to age, etc. In these situations an appropiate action may be to appeal to the Handicap Committee to give player exceptions for one or more of these Ptarmigan indexes. Players can be put on an Injured List that will exclude all of their Ptarmigan scores from this calculation and their index will default to the current GHIN value. Players must petition the PMGA Board of Directors and the Handicap Committee to be placed on the Injured List.

The BTI calculation for players with White Tee Permits is actually a WTI, using white tee scores. Any player desiring a White Tee Permit must apply to the PMGA Board and Handicap Committee. White Tee Permits are granted based on multiple criteria, and age is not necessarily a factor. For more information, contact any PMGA Board or Handicap Committee member.

The Course Handicap uses a formula based on the slope, rating, and par for any given course. This computation is then rounded to a whole number, that value can be affected by small variations in the player’s scoring index. In addition, there are many formats that recommend using a percentage of the player index before computing the Course Handicap (e.g., the USGA Rules of Handicapping recommends using 85% of the player’s index when competing in a Four Ball format). A decimal point difference in a player’s index may result in different Course Handicaps.

Funny you shoud ask, and a very good question and the PMGA has solved this for you with a simple App. The Ptarmigan Course Handicap is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. You can search for 'Ptarmigan Course Handicap' on either store , use the links below or scan the QR Codes at the end of this page:

Apple App Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ptarmigan-course-handicap/id1614719668

Google Play App Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.erunllc.ptarmigan_handicap_app