[<<] [>>] by Christopher Roberts
18th February (CqE Official News)

This is to draw attention to a specific duty of all Club Handicappers (GC) - and particularly when undertaking annual checks of handicap cards.
Dynamic Grades (see footnote) are a 'more reliable' indicator of skill level than handicap cards, because revised start grades are based on opponents' existing grades, and it is a global database.
Handicaps may be correct within a club, but not comparable between clubs.

The following guidance is displayed for on the 'Managing a GC Handicap' page of the Croquet England website - croquet.org.uk/?p=games/golf/handicapping/maintenance

GC Handicappers Should Routinely Compare Players' Handicaps with their Dynamic Grades

If their Dynamic Grade suggests a handicap that is more than one lower than their handicap card shows, their handicap should be reduced accordingly, in the same way as new players who have triggered ASGA* (see the Players whose start grades have been revised by ASGA section - croquet.org.uk/?p=games/golf/handicapping/maintenance#ASGA). If their Dynamic Grade suggests a handicap that is more than one higher than their card shows, the player should be encouraged to enter more competitions to add more ranked games to their record and increase the accuracy of their Dynamic Grade.
Example: A player has a Dynamic Grade of 1421. The first trigger point below 1421 is 1400, which corresponds to a handicap of 6.

Therefore, if their current handicap is 5-7, no change is required.
If their current handicap is higher than 7, it should be reduced to 6 and their handicap index continues from 1400.
If their current handicap is lower than 5, they should be encouraged to play in more competitions.

Dynamic Grades are used by the Golf Croquet Grading (Ranking) System - rank.worldcroquet.org/gcrankdg/rank.php (note - players who only play internal club games or Advatage/handicap games will not have Dynamic Grades).
ASGA - Automatic Start Grade Adjustment - is an adjustment during a players first 20-30 ranking games using one's performance grade.

Chris Roberts
Chairman of the Croquet England Handicap Committee
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