Once a player has pre-registered their intent to return an Acceptable Score for handicap (General Play or Competition) a score must be posted back to the player's handicap record.
On occasions, it might not be possible for a player to complete their round.
In exceptional circumstances, ‘Expected Score for a Hole Not Played’ will be used when a player has not been able to complete their round (general play or competition), due to exceptional circumstances that are deemed to be valid only by the club’s Handicap Committee.
There are only 2 situations when Expected Score can be used:
1. An expected score will now be used to convert a 9-hole round into an 18-hole Score Differential™ for inclusion on your handicap record.
2. The expected score will also be used in the event where a player has not been able to complete an 18-hole round for a valid reason (and has played a minimum 10 holes).
Where a player has pre-registered their intent to return an 18-hole score for general play or competition purposes, there may be unavoidable circumstances where it is not possible to complete the round:
• Fading light or severe weather;
• Player injury or illness; or
• A hole being declared out of play by the Committee for maintenance or reconstruction purposes.
Provided the player has completed the minimum number of holes (10 holes) and the committee deem the player’s reason for not completing as valid, it is acceptable for a player to submit a “not started” (or Asterix) for those holes not played (or missed out).
Should the player not complete their round for an invalid reason, the club are entitled to use Net Double Bogey for the holes not attempted and mark the score as a Penalty Score, alternatively, the club have the ability to input a Penalty Score of a different value.
The incomplete round will be scaled up to an 18-hole Score Differential using a new and improved method, where an expected score differential for the holes not played, (based on your Handicap Index® and a course of standard difficulty) will be added to a score differential for the holes successfully completed.
The returned scorecard should be processed using the actual scores achieved on the holes completed but designating those not played as ‘not started’ (or inout an Asterix). This process will correctly allocate the correct Score Differential for the round. If a player has not been able to complete their round, they must make their competition committee aware
Example: If only 16 holes were completed before severe weather ended play, your Score Differential would be calculated as follows:
Score Differential for 16 Holes Played + Expected Score Differential for Remaining 2 Holes
In summary, “Hole Not Played” and the application of “Expected Score”, can only be used when a player has not been able to complete their round (general play or competition), due to unavoidable circumstances that are deemed to be VALID only by the club’s Handicap Committee.
• The minimum number of holes completed for a score to be acceptable has been achieved; 9 holes for a pre-registered 9-hole score and 10 holes for a pre-registered 18-hole score.
• All Rules of Golf have been followed and met.
• Any player found to be incorrectly using this rule or repeatedly not completing their round without a valid reason could be subject to a Penalty Score from their club Handicap Committee.
Important Note - It is not a ‘choice’ available for the player - a player may not just ‘decide to walk in.’