GOLF HANDICAPPING SYSTEMS

Most of all I get really amused by the jokers who are dismissive of the "golf handicap systems" because these systems are supposedly going to reward the bad sailor who is going to get a rating break for his past performance and then he’s going to win over the serious guy who has done the most preparation and spent the most money.

In the first place, it ain't going to happen. I've been around various golf handicapping systems for a long time. I was involved in a pretty serious effort in the 80's to study the idea and we developed a very scientific program for making adjustments after each race, with all sorts of parameters, limits, multipliers, etc etc.

I guess it worked, and corrected times got closer, statistically speaking, but it didn't make the last place guy start winning. For one thing it was hard to change the ratings enough to make much of a difference, even over the course of a year. Maybe it made things closer, but it was hard to tell. Anyhow it was a lot of work to administer, and for that reason, and the fact that it really didn't do all that much for the club in general, I didn't like it much. We dropped it after one year.

Since then I've been racing in the South Pacific area, and now in Hong Kong. Everywhere we've been in this region we've been in some kind of a "golf" system, where each boat has a TCF (time correction factor) and adjustments are made, if not after each race, then once each year. It isn't too bad. In fact, I haven't had any complaints about the system, and I've yet to see the top sailors walk away in a huff, or the duffer with a foul bottom and poorly trimmed sails start winning everything.

In the end, it isn't about the rating system anyhow, it's about sailing well and having a good time. I'm fine with golf handicapping systems,

or without them.

Fred Roswold, SV WINGS, Hong Kong