A Handicap Index is necessary in order to compete in the Chapter Championship event. By establishing an accurate Handicap, you are sure to be placed in a flight with players of comparable ability. It is also a great way to track your progress throughout the golf season as well as from year to year.

You must be a member of a golf club. The USGA® defines a golf club as an organization of at least ten individual members that operates under bylaws with committees (including a Handicap Committee) to supervise golf activities, provide peer review, and maintain the integrity of the USGA Handicap System™

Once a player joins a golf club, the player should post adjusted gross scores. When the player posts five adjusted gross scores, and a revision date passes, the club will issue the player a Handicap Index.

A Course Handicap represents the number of strokes needed to play to the level of a scratch golfer—or the Course Rating™ of a particular set of tees. A Course Handicap is expressed as a whole number (e.g. 12).

Course Handicap is determined by using charts located at the golf course where the round is to be played.

The maximum Handicap Index is 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women (18.2N and 20.2N for a nine-hole Handicap Index, respectively).

If a player does not finish a hole or is conceded a stroke, record the most likely score for handicap purposes. A most likely score is the number of strokes already taken, plus in the player's best judgment, the number of strokes needed to complete the hole from that point more than half the time.

ESC is an adjustment of individual hole scores (for handicap purposes) in order to make handicaps more representative of a player's potential ability. ESC is applied after the round and is only used when the actual score or the most likely score exceeds a player’s maximum number. ESC sets a limit to the number of strokes a player can take on a hole depending on Course Handicap™. Apply ESC to all scores, including tournament scores. Below is the maximum number a player can take:

Course Handicap	Maximum Number
9 or less	Double Bogey
10-19	7
20-29	8
30-39	9
40 and above	10

Almost all scores are acceptable because of the basic premise of the USGA Handicap System™ which states that every player will try to make the best score at each hole in every round, regardless of where the round is played, and that the player will post every acceptable round for peer review. Therefore, all of the following are acceptable scores:

· When at least seven holes are played (7-12 holes are posted as a 9-hole score; 13 or more are posted as an 18-hole score)

· Scores on all courses with a valid Course Rating™ and Slope Rating®

· Scores in all forms of competition: match play, stroke play, and team competitions where each player play their own ball

· Scores made under The Rules of Golf

· Scores played under the local rule of “preferred lies”

· Scores made in an area observing an active season

Each nine holes on a golf course has its own Course Rating™ and Slope Rating®. Make sure to post the nine-hole score with the appropriate nine-hole Course Rating and Slope Rating. Two nine-hole scores will eventually be combined to create an 18-hole score and be designated with the letter "C." Acceptable nine-hole scores posted at the golf club where a golfer is issued a Handicap Index will be combined with other nine-hole scores posted at that club, regardless of score type. The combining of nine-hole scores may be any combination of nine (e.g. a front-nine middle tee score combined with a front-nine back tee score). Nine-hole scores posted at a golf club where a golfer does not receive a Handicap Index will be combined with other nine-hole scores posted in the same manner.

We do not recommend any particular set of tees based on factors such as age or gender. A player may use the bogey rating or Course Rating™ (which you can find on the USGA Course Rating and Slope Database™)
http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/course_ratings/course_rating_lookup.asp
to help choose a tee that will best match the player’s ability, and perhaps enjoy the round a little more.

A Handicap Index® is a portable number that can be converted to a Course Handicap™ from any set of tees rated for a player’s gender so the game will be equitable no matter what tees are played. In fact, based on Section 5-2g of the USGA Handicap System manual, a temporary Course Rating™ and Slope Rating® can be derived from a set of unrated tees. Therefore, we do not have rules or policies that require you to play from a certain set of tees based on your age, ability, Handicap Index, etc.

You can join anytime! Just follow the How to Join link on our website to get started.

In the Clinics/Education section of our website you will find descriptions of each level. If you have any other questions, you can also contact Lynn Mulligan, the Education Chair, directly at: phsgolfchick@yahoo.com.

First, make sure the email address provided is correct. If it is, check your SPAM folder, sometimes emails get hung up there. If your mail is right and it's not caught in your SPAM folder you can send an email to Jeannie Bennett, the Communications chair at jagbennett@cox.net.

Great! There are lot of sponsorship opportunities. You can find descriptions of each at the Sponsorship link on this website.

Absolutely not! EWGA is set up as an opportunity for all women of all playing levels to learn, play and enjoy the game of golf.

In addition to clinics for people of all levels, we have the S.W.I.N.G program which allows women to paired up with a mentor.

Yes, you can send a check and mail it to EWGA Omaha at PO Box 540722, Omaha, NE.

When logged into the Members Only pages, mouse-over Edit and click on "Update Your Profile." When editing your profile, there are two separate tabs: Contact Info and Subbing. Click on the subbing tab, and then hold down the CTRL key to select or unselect the days you are available to sub.