New Program for 2020 Focuses on the New World Handicap System
St. Marys, Ontario - effective for 2020 golf memberships, the St. Marys Golf & Country Club (SMGCC) will be including Golf Canada Gold Memberships with any Adult or Intermediate golf membership purchase. Canadian Professional Golf Association Pro Eric Dunn comments, "With the introduction of the World Handicap System, we felt that it was integral to include the Golf Canada Gold membership, which only adds to the many benefits of a (SMGCC) golf membership." SMGCC golf members simply need to advise the Golf Operation team that they would like to participate and a personal account will be set up for them within Golf Canada, to start taking advantage of the many associated benefits and to track their golf handicaps.
Golf Canada Gold Memberships retail for $49.99 + HST to public golfers, however SMGCC felt it was necessary to include the Golf Canada memberships in the new membership model as a way to promote fair play. Matt Staffen, Director of Golf at SMGCC adds, "The goal is also to provide our loyal membership group with a valid handicap index to use when they play golf across Canada and around the world, and to promote the game of golf in our local golf community."
Dunn also mentioned that the Golf Canada handicap index will be used for match play events and the Club Championships at SMGCC, as a way to equalize the playing field and provide an accurate handicap for each golfer participating. Golf Canada will be hosting an exclusive World Handicap System seminar on Saturday, April 4th at 11:00am at the St. Marys Golf & Country Club. Contact Eric Dunn for more details.
The Benefits of a Golf Canada Gold Membership
St. Marys Golf & Country Club members will benefit from more than just a golf handicap index, with the following:
- Up to $6,000 in Incident Protection coverage,
- An Official Handicap Index that is recognized under the new World Handicap System,
- Up to 25% off base rates on vehicles with Avis,
- 11% off the best available rate & complimentary room upgrades through Hilton,
- Golf Canada Score Centre game & score tracking account, and
- Exclusive offers on event tickets & merchandise (including the RBC Canadian Open!).
New World Handicap System
The major change with the new world handicap system is a golfer's Handicap Index in 2020 is based on the modernized Rules of Handicapping and is more responsive to good scores by averaging your eight best scores out of your most recent 20. Under the previous USGA Handicap System, 10 of 20 scores with a . 96 multiplier was used. See Highlights of the World Handicap System in the image below with more details:
Overall, there are four key things to know about the World Handicap System:
- Handicap Index calculation is changing,
- Your course handicap will change,
- Net Double Bogey will replace ESC, and
- Safeguards have been added to protect your handicap index.
More detail surrounding these four key changes are highlighted in the image here:
To inquire more about Golf Memberships at the St. Marys Golf & Country Club, click here. And to learn more about Golf Canada and Golf Ontario and the Gold Membership program, click here.