The sun., 1908-12-27
COLI HANDICAP pROBLBNS
COMMITTEEMEN on EVERY
i COURSE AT WORK.

1
I COURSE AT WORK.
epiendid WOrk by the metropolitan A.
seoiatisns AdJusters, Although MOI
Helped Much by club OniciAis--Nln-
| nors Lower ThAn Par Seven Times
| There Ia mental worry beginning now
In the handicap committees OF the State,
district and city leagues Of golf clubs
throughout the country over the advance
work In connection with their spring
lists OF 1909. Circulars asking for infor-
nation have to be sent out and arrange
ments made TO obtain and classify the
local handicaps made by each club Of its
members. The Massachusetts, list NUM-
bers 2, 900 names or over. and Ia the longest
This distinction was formerly held by the
Metropolitan Golf Association handicap,
but beginning with 1909 only those were
listed with rating from scratch to nine
This only gives 800 to 900 names. but when
all to eighteen were printed the list num-
bered 2.s0O or So, Taking the country
In birdseye view probably $4,000 play
era are handicapped each spring in the
thirty-tbree odd leagues and district
organizations now minor branches Of the
United States Golf Association.
There is no uniform standard Of handi-
oapping and consequently each list IN Of
value only to THO clubs 1t governs. In
Massachusetts, Very good results are
gained by taking as the basis the soore
tho scratch men Of the scneral List will
average at q particular course. Some
leagues handicap from bogey, others
from the par score. In the Metropolitan
Golf Association the ratings are given
from the official par to govern all courses,
with an allowance for possible improve
mont In play. At the Southern and Cali
fornia resorts the handicappers are at
work now and not planning the cam
paign. Their ratings. il not based en-
the players home mark. are usually made
by guesswork. Players come and 60
80 fast no permanent system would do
Adrian II. Larkin, elected this month
as president of the Metropolitan Golf
Association for two years. some time ago
was chairman OF the handicap commit
tee, and he understands the requirements
Of the job-the hardest labor Of love in
the domain Of golf. The list has been
brought out since 1899, but on the par
score only since 1908. Lionel H. Graham
conceived the idea Of par with frac-
tional strokes to even up the uncertain
holes the easy So and hard 4s. for ex-
ample. His par table has since been the
NJ. q. A. standard. 1t is:
Distance up to 200 yards. strokes: 2oi to
$50. s1S 2si to 375. a. 37e to 425 t1i;t2s to $40.
S: sii to 600. S,1; COL to $50. 9.
In 1908 and 1904 the custom was to fix
as q players allowance the difference
between the average Of his three best
scores and the par of his course. When
Leighton H. Calkins became chairman
In 1905 he improved this method by shaw
ing of q few strokes from the high men TO
cancel their probable improvement during
the season. All but the scratch and near
scratch men have since had this rebate.
II is based on the principle that player
whose average best score is 97 might by
playing regularly for month very easily
cut Il down by five strokes. but that the
scratch and near scratch men find it very
difficult TO get stroke of their average
best score.
About the first announcement by Prtsi-
dent LariSin will be the Nj. q. A. handi-
CAP committee of 1909. The present
oommitteemen are j. E. Erickson, chair
man: Findlay s. Douglas and F. j. Phil
fins. the latter on the board since 1906.
They hold frequent meetings and keep
orcss card index Of all the players.
They canvass in person and by letter
every club in the endeavor TO keep up
L.. l. ho n ipor ,f,ip ora
on par. The summary of these reports
makes the bone and sinew Of the general
report. The committeeman find some
thorus strewn in their path and it is by
no means a rose bedecked one OF dali
lance. Keeping in mind that much
of the assistance from club secretaries
is limited to sending IN list OF names
from the report of the present committee
az submitted to the NJ. g. A. become OF
signifcance:
Following the recomme ndation OF the
1907 committee the han dicap committee
adopted the pAme plan Of confining handi-
CAP list containing ratings up to nine strokes.
After two years trial Of this plan the COM
mittee ID firmly convinced that IL is by
far the best plan Of issuing handicap
list In A large association and we therefore
unapimously recommend the continuation
OF the present method. In order to he
made serviceable, however. clubs giving
tournaments should print on their circulars
the condition for the ha ndicap event. requir-
ing any player whose name is not on the
association list to present a letter from his
club stating how many strokes he gets
at his home club from some player whose
name is on the list and thus provide q
reliable way OF enabling tournament ofi-
cials to ret good line on all players whose
ma mes are not on the list. Unless clubs
do this they cannot expect to get good
results
During the season the results as whole
have been satista ctory, especially at tourna-
ments where clubs have followed the recon-
mendation Of the committee in printin e
the handicap rule on circulars requiring
a letter from unrated players. In at least
one case, however. the importance Of fol-
lowing the recommendation is proved by
the poor results at the handicap event.
At this tournament two unrated players
returned net scores three under par and
two were two under par. That all OF them,
or al iesst three. we're given too high q
handicap 10 evident from the fact that three
of them were reported to the associa ton s
committee In the early part OF the year.
when the reports were sent lin. as being
entitled to eleven strokes. whereas at the
tournament one received fifteen strokes
aud the other two sixteen strokes.
During the last season IL was only with
the greatest trouble and difficulty that all
the reports were obtained. We therefore
would request for the benefit Of next year o
committee that the handicap committees