Hibernating handicaps

Golf Digest, March, 2004

When winter descends on golf courses, nearly everything goes into deep-freeze mode, including the handicap computer. Most regional golf associations in northern climates have so-called inactive seasons, which generally stretch from November to March or early April. You can play all the tundra golf you want, but you can't post a score for U.S. Golf Association handicap purposes. The exception is when you travel to a warmer climate. The rules say you're supposed to keep any scores from those trips and enter them at your home course in the spring.

Why not post winter-weather scores? Because handicaps are based on normal playing conditions, the USGA says. Play against Old Man Winter a few times and your handicap will likely go up, and it won't reflect your true ability come spring.

There is no inactive season for the Golf Digest Handicap, a system designed for those who can't readily get USGA handicaps (18,000 players have registered for this free service at www.golfdigest. com/handicap). If this means your handicap gets a little higher in the winter, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Chances are it reflects your inactivity and will improve when you start playing more often.

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