IGU announces National Handicapping Service

The Indian Golf Union (IGU) Thursday announced that they will launch the National Handicapping Service (NHS) Nov 3, which will bring Indian golfers at par with their counterparts in other major golfing nations.

IGU will issue all Indian golfers with a globally recognised NHS handicap card which will be based on the United States Golf Association's GHIN (Golf Handicap and Information Network) software, used in over 60 countries.

Golf handicap ratings allows golfers of varying abilities and playing at various clubs around the world to compete on an equitable basis on any course and in any format. The individual ratings are maintained by the national governing body in that country. In India, though, individual clubs have been using inconsistent and arbitrary rules.

Also, till now, only players who were able to gain membership of golf clubs were able to obtain a handicap.

"In addition to providing a fair and consistent handicap to players, the IGU's NHS is set to change the growth scenario of golf in India as golfers of any age and ability will be able to register to get a handicap rating from the IGU without being a member of any golf club," IGU vice-president Raian Irani said.

Former Asian Tour No.1 Arjun Atwal, the only Indian to win a USPGA Tour title, said Thursday: "It is a wonderful development in the history of Indian golf and a great initiative by IGU. NHS will open the doors of golf for people who always imagine themselves walking the greens without worrying about the difficulty of obtaining a membership of any golf course."

Golfers will have to pay annual subscription fee to IGU to avail the handicapping service. A golfer will have to submit a minimum of five scores to establish a handicap index. Thereafter, the index will be updated every 15 days automatically based on scores submitted.

With NHS, golfers can submit their scores online and check their scoring record on handheld devices. A player's IGU issued handicap can be verified instantly online by tournament organisers.