In Vietnam, many people are familiar with the USGA's Handicap calculation, but many golfers have only heard of it but do not really understand what Handicap is?

So what is Handicap? Here, Intergolf would like to give an overview of Golf Handicap.

Handicap is considered a measure of each golfer's skill level. Handicap is usually quite It's close to the number of strokes you normally take on the course. It reflects the player's skill through the number of strokes needed to get the ball into the hole. ignore all technical factors.

Tournaments recognized by the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) will require participants to provide the organizers with a Handicap scorecard within 6 months (you can access the website: ehandicap.net or have the signature of an authorized person of a club).

The way handicaps are calculated varies for different countries, for example In Australia, for example, handicaps are only calculated from Golf Australia-sanctioned tournaments, with the USGA system allowing handicaps to be calculated according to course difficulty parameters. For example, an intermediate golfer playing a difficult course may achieve a higher handicap than a golfer of the same level playing an easier course.

There is no convenient way to convert handicaps from one system to another.

When playing golf in any country, golfers must comply with the handicap calculation process of the Golf Association in that country. You must submit a scorecard for each round of golf played. This is both inconvenient and convenient for golfers when they often participate in foreign tournaments or play at different courses. The inconvenience is that there is still no standard for converting handicaps, but the convenience is that the Scorecard can be kept too your golf game to evaluate.

So how can we calculate Handicap points?

Formula for calculating handicap:

(Handicap Index x Slope Rating)/113 (average slope rating by USGA)

To conveniently allow golfers to calculate their Handicap through the results of each match, the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) launched the national Handicap application system. Handicap is certified by VGA and authentication used in tournaments throughout Vietnam.

In addition, there is also the traditional way of scoring using the course's own scorecard, as well as having to submit it to another course in advance. There are 3 problems:

1) Golfers will not only have to register, but also have to pay to submit scorecards at the golf course. This is very inflexible, they will feel inconvenient when having to go to the golf course many times to update their handicap points, and Some clubs in Vietnam today only apply the input of their own course scorecards, which does not fully, accurately and objectively reflect the handicap of a member golfer.

2) Scorecards can be entered incorrectly or incorrectly, and golfers rarely check or complain, and in many cases they are lost and The authenticity of the submitted cards cannot be verified.

3) The person doing the data entry will spend a lot of time editing and updating, so most of them only do it monthly.

What should golfers who are not members or belong to any club do?

They have to manage their own scorecards if there is an individual or group handicap system. This is very inconvenient and It takes time. A positive development for 2018 is that the USGA and R&A are collaborating with other authorities to propose a comprehensive, unified handicap system. This will help create conditions for new golf courses to attract more tourists and become more popular around the world.

Golfers have Vhandicap can be used on computers (access the website) and on mobile phones, for Android and iOS. Golf courses can enter data from players' scorecards into the software installed at the course.

“Many terms at VGA have wanted to build a national handicap system but have not been able to do so due to economic and technological difficulties. Only now, thanks to the support of VGS, have we been able to do it”, said Mr. Tran Duy Canh, Deputy General Secretary Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) shares.

VGS fully sponsors VGA to launch Vhandicap. Golfers using this system are also completely free.

All personal information is authenticated by OTP (phone number), through the automatic switchboard system for only one account. All system data is encrypted and stored on the Cloud. Round details can only be viewed by friends. All personal information and Privacy is absolutely secure.

Users can easily download Vhandicap on any browser on smart handheld devices. The application is available on the iOS Appstore, Google Play for Androids. Just launched, but Vhandicap has entered the top 5 most searched apps related to handicap.

VGA said that golfers are not required to use Vhandicap but encouraged its use, because there are too many many advantages for amateur golfers across the country. “The Handicap is completely beneficial only to golfers, courses as well as the Vietnamese golf movement”, Mr. Tran Duy Canh added.

(Reference and Synthesis from Vietnamese golf news sources)