If you are managing a round with players who do not have established Playing Handicaps, you may want to consider using Peoria Handicapping. This handicapping system uses scores from the round being played and computes a Course Handicap for every player.
The benefit of Peoria Handicapping is that your players will not know what holes will be used to compute their Playing Handicaps. So your players will not be able to "blow up" on a hole in order to "blow up" their Playing Handicap.
In this article, we will discuss how to set up a tournament using Peoria Handicapping.
How Peoria Playing Handicaps are Computed:
Below are the steps on how Playing Handicaps are computed using the Peoria system:
Take the difference between the player's scores and par values of all the holes selected to be used in the Peoria scoring (In other words, how many strokes over par the player was on the selected holes). The maximum score that can be taken on a hole is double par.
Divide 18 by the number of holes you selected to be used for Peoria Scoring.
Multiply the number computed in Step 1 with the number computed in Step 2. Then round that number. The rounded number will be the player's Playing Handicap.
Make the Handicap Allowance adjustment (if necessary).
Example:
Danny is playing in a round using the Standard Peoria system (6 holes to be used for handicapping). On those six holes, Danny was a total of 9 over par. Multiply 9 by 3 (18 holes/6 holes used for scoring = 3). Danny's full Playing Handicap is 27.
The Standard Peoria system uses 80% of the full Playing Handicap so Danny's adjusted Playing Handicap would be 22. If Danny's 18 hole gross score was 85, then his net score would be 63.
Setting Up Peoria Handicapping:
To set up a tournament using Peoria Handicapping, follow these instructions:
Go to the tournament setup and select "Peoria" in the "Handicap" dropdown (as shown below).
Note 1: It is not suggested to use Peoria for a Match Play tournament, as it will impact the results after the match is completed. If you do use Peoria Handicapping for Match Play, ensure all matches play all 18 holes. Further, inform players that the tournament results are not final until the round has been set to completed and the Peoria Handicap has been processed.
Note 2: It is not suggested to use Peoria for scramble tournaments because there will be very few scores that are over par.Select what holes to be used to compute Playing Handicaps (as shown below). You should not let your players know which holes you are selecting prior to the round.
If using the Standard Peoria method, select 6 holes (If you are playing a nine hole round, select 3). It's a general recommendation that you select two Par 3s, two Par 4s, and two Par 5s. It is also recommended that you select one of each type per nine. For instance, select a Par 3 on the front and a Par 3 on the back. If you are using the USGA Modified Peoria system, you will want to select four Par 4s, one Par 3, and one Par 5. Sometimes the Double Peoria System is used. This system simply uses 12 holes instead of 6 holes to compute a Playing Handicap.
After you select the holes, select the proper Handicap Allowance (percentage). Here are the allowances to select if you are playing one of these three variations:
Standard Peoria - 80%
Double Peoria - 100%
USGA Modified - 93%
Save the tournament.
The tournament will then be set up.