GHIN Handicap: Time for the inactive posting

The Pacific Northwest including WA Golf and the Oregon Golf Association are a couple of the 41 golf associations in the U.S. that has an inactive posting season during the winter months. This is because of the general change in course conditions in our region that would adversely affect the course ratings.

If you play golf during the Inactive Score Posting Season in an area where scores are still being accepted for handicap purposes, you must post those scores as soon as practicable – at places like California, Hawaii, Florida and Arizona.

Your handicap will continue to be revised daily when you post an eligible score, even during the off-season.

Each course is rated under the Course Rating System part of the World Handicap System. The single largest factor that impacts a course rating is distance. How far a ball will travel in the air and how much roll it gets on the ground are heavily impacted by weather.

To create a standard course rating, each course is rated as if it is July 4th (or, high summer), and the difference in course conditions in our region between summer and winter are too great and would negatively affect the majority of golfers and their handicap.

There are many courses in our region that drain well and stay in good condition for the winter months, but we cannot evaluate this on a course-by-course basis. The USGA GHIN system does not allow for course-by-course determinations during the inactive season.

The Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC) is a statistical procedure that compares the scores submitted by players on that day against expected scoring patterns. The PCC is not designed to correct for the larger condition changes like we have in the winter months.