What is a handicap?
A handicap is a number that represents a disc golfer’s skill level. Players’ handicaps display as a Starting Score, which could be negative, positive, or zero. A handicap of -10 means that a player typically shoots +10 on average, versus a handicap of +10 means a player typically shoots -10 on average. Handicaps help to even the playing field, giving all participants a fair chance to win!
How does UDisc calculate player handicaps for league events?
Handicaps for your league are generated using a three-step process.
First, billions of scores recorded by nearly a million players on hundreds of
thousands of holes are used to determine the scoring characteristics (overall
difficulty and scoring spread) of all the holes in the UDisc course directory*.
This process takes into account player skill level, so a course won't be
considered very difficult just because it's mostly played by beginners.Next, scores from only your league are compared to each hole's scoring
characteristics to determine each league member's skill level.Finally, for your upcoming league round, player skill levels are combined with
each hole's scoring characteristics on the chosen layout to generate an
expected score for each player. The player's handicap is a certain percentage
of the difference between their expected score and par. his is a league-specific percentage, usually between 85% and 100%, used to provide as equal a chance as possible for all players to place well on the leaderboard, regardless of skill level. This percentage is set based on your league-specific characteristics.
*Holes on smart layouts only. Holes which haven't been played enough times for UDisc to be confident in their scoring characteristics are considered to be typical holes for their distance.
The most important things to remember about the handicap league scoring model is:
The player’s five most recent league rounds within the past year are considered.
Rounds must be singles format and scored on Smart Layouts.
Casual rounds, standalone event rounds, and rounds recorded in other leagues will not factor into a player’s league event starting score calculation.
A handicap allowance (or handicap multiplier) between 0.9 and 1.0 is also applied based on the estimated field size for the league event, serving as a bonus for excellence.
A player’s handicap is rounded to the nearest integer for each league event.
How are handicaps calculated for new league members?
Players participating in their first event within a league are not yet eligible to receive a handicap. They will display with a dash (–) instead of a numerical handicap, and they’ll drop to the bottom of the leaderboard in the default sort order of handicap-adjusted total score.
After the player has scored at least one singles round on a Smart Layout within a league in the past year, they will receive a handicap for their following event in the same league (provided the event is singles format and played on a Smart Layout).
Please note: events must be completed for their results to be considered for future handicap calculations in the same league.
How can I turn on handicaps for my league?
You can turn on handicaps for all future league events in the Settings tab within your League tools. To turn on handicap scoring for an event that's already created, follow the steps below:
Tap the Events tab in your League tools
Select a scheduled event
Hit the Edit button in the upper-right
Scroll down to toggle on handicap scoring
Tap Update event (or update this and all following events)
Please note: Handicaps are only available for one-round singles format league events played on a Smart Layout. They are not available for teams rounds.
Where can players see their handicaps (starting scores)?
Players can see their starting scores (handicaps) when they check into the league event in the app or when their scorecard is published for pre-registration events.
During the event, your starting score will also appear in-app on your scorecard, and on the leaderboards. Sort the leaderboard by handicap-adjusted total score or total round (unadjusted) score.
How does handicap league scoring relate to the “starting scores” functionality in UDisc?
Handicaps are automatically calculated, and manual starting scores are disabled for league events with handicaps enabled. You can learn more about manual starting scores in this article.
Does handicap scoring affect my standings?
Handicap scoring has it's own view. If you have turned on handicap scoring, you will see both a total score and handicap tab in your standings. Players that don't yet qualify for a handicap will not see points displayed in standings.
Does the scoring average or standard deviation on the hole affect how it is weighted in the calculation?
Yes! Both are taken into account.
If I play at a different course, how will the handicap change?
If your league plays a different course than normal or hasn't played a layout yet, a handicap will still be produced in most situations. League-member skill levels (determined from only your league's scores) are combined with pre-calculated scoring characteristics of the holes on the new layout to produce handicaps for the round.
Need more help? Check out the UDisc Landing Zone here for tips from fellow league administrators or reach out to us via chat or at help@udisc.com.