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The SAGA Handicapping and Course Rating Committee has decided that as from 1 April 2010 the SAGA will discontinue with the Handicap Allowance. Therefore, for those competition formats that previously required 75% of handicap to be used (being the Allowance), will now be played using the handicap only. The basic handicap computation is 100% of the average of the best of the last twenty rounds.
It is envisaged that the SAGA Handicap Server will be in place and operational by 1 May 2010 (hereafter referred to as ‘operational date‘).
From the operational date, the basic handicap computation will introduce a ‘Bonus for Excellence’ factor, as used by the USGA, of 96% (down 4%). The rules governing two- and three-overs for handicap purposes will remain in place, meaning that a player may only take two overs on holes where they stroke and three overs where they double stroke.
Ongoing Research
The SAGA is committed to finding the best possible handicapping solution for golfers in South Africa.
To this end the SAGA will conduct further research with the objective being to find a solution that provides golfers with one handicap that works within the confines of the South African context, one in which we play more betterball than medal, unlike European countries for example. Read more... (281 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)
by Clinton Whitelaw
Putt Like A Pro
With Two Simple And Effective Putting Drills
Good putting is the best and quickest way to lower your scores and quickly reduce your handicap. Yet, too many of us golfers spend most of our practice sessions on the driving range looking for that perfect shot.
Many times I visit the practice tee and see the range is full and the putting green is empty! Little consideration is given to this crucial part of the game.
In this tip, I explain two simple drills that are guaranteed to make you hole more putts.
- Keep the ‘V’
At address, your arms form an automotive V – shoulders being the wide end and your hands being the point.
During the backstroke and through stroke, maintain the ‘V’ shape. By maintaining the ‘V’ shape throughout the
stroke, your wrist and hand movements allow you to stroke the putt with a pendulum action.
2. Same distance back and same distance through
Place the ball in your usual putting position. Next place two tees in the ground that are equidistant from the ball,
behind your ball and away from your stroke. The length between the tees varies according to the length of the
putt you’re practicing. Read more... (288 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)
by Samantha Quinn
Most people consider golf to be a benign, low risk sport. It can be played by people of any age and almost any fitness level, but this does not mean that golfers do not sustain golf injuries.
Back, wrist and elbow injuries account for 80% of all golf injuries.
Almost all wrist and elbow injuries are as a result of impact. In amateurs this is usually as a result of hitting large divots. In professionals, the injury is usually as a result of hitting out of the rough or practicing a lot of bunker or impact shots.
Muscle strains, ligament sprains and fractures of the small bones of the hand are the most common injuries occuring in the wrist and hand. The causes of these injuries could be from …..
- Casting the club early in the downswing
- Hitting big divots
- Over practicing (repetitive, overuse injury)
- Suddenly changing your grip
- Suddenly increasing club head speed
If you think you’ve injured your wrist or hand, stop whatever you[re doing and rest your wrist. Don’t play through pain! Read more... (330 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)
by Stephen Simmons
How To Practice Using The Gate Drill
Our highest priority in short game practice is learning how to convert more up and down attempts. Most golfers use the same method of practice in the short game area. They dump a pile of balls and rapidly work thru the pile hitting a variety of shots to one or multiple targets without any effort at attempting to convert those shots with a putter.
How can we measure our success if we do not calculate our conversion percentage?
Practice Like The Pros … Learn To Convert
Your ability to shoot lower scores is dependent upon how well you convert your scoring opportunities. The way you convert more shots is by hitting shots that finish close to the hole or go in. Actually we want the ball to end up past the hole if it does not go in.
We need to approach short game shots with a conservatively aggressive strategy…meaning, we need to hit crisp shots that get to or beyond the hole with the correct read of the slope and break of the shot. The gate drill can help us learn this skill better than any other practice technique. Read more... (572 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)
This is a preview of Golf Short Game Drills – Improve Conversion Success Using The Gate Drill . Read the full post (572 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)
During many years of playing golf, I watched three of my playing buddies get their ‘hole-in-one’ but only one was a real shot ….. the rest were pure ‘flukes’. One even hit the rail of the bridge over the water hole, skidded onto the green and down the hole … nobody asks you how you did this …. you just did!
Then, it was my turn. Picture this …. this par 3 is a real classic. Not a long hole, but the raised green has steep banks on both sides, so anything left or right will leave a very difficult chip shot up to the green with very high scores not unusual! There’s a deep bunker at the front of the green and a flat bunker at the back. From the tee, you see the green through an avenue of trees. This is the 12th hole at Durban Country Club, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa …. also known as the Prince of Wales hole because the Prince (King Edward VIII) who played here in 1924 needed 17 strokes to complete the hole!
Read more... (417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)
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