1. What determines whether a round is play during the "active" season? For example, I played in Florida a couple weeks ago, but its winter up here in Michigan.

2. Should indoor simulator rounds count towards your handicap? Or should they be considered practice rounds? I'm leaning towards practice on this one, just curious how you guys feel.

I think its usually determined by the course or a club. Don't belong to a club? Then I guess its up to you, you have to be your own rules committee.

Don't count the simulator rounds, just don't.

I'm pretty certain that the active season in Florida is 12 months long. Up here in North Dakota, it's about six months long. If you go to the desert, they actually have some courses who declare the summer months to be out of season.

But I think it's a personal thing. When I played in Texas last winter, dispite the fact that we were playing "in season", I knew my game would be off. So I recorded the rounds as practice rounds. If I record a round as a practice round, that means I'm certain to have broken a rule somewhere that would disqualify the round from being eligible for being considered for my handicap anyway.

Season depends on where your handicap is held. The USGA has a website with the schedules for each states' handicap governing bodies.

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/understanding_handicap/handicap_revision_schedule.html

as far as what to call practice, i'd never call something played on anything but a real golf course a "handicap round". You shouldn't post simulator rounds against your HCI ever. In season or out of season you'll have to check with someone else. I rarely travel out of the area during the off season so i don't really know how to post them. I'd recommend the head pro at your local course. I believe you can post anything to the handicap nomatter when it's played as long as the rules of golf were observed during play. It won't count towards your HCI until the revision schedule takes effect however.

jarick098 wrote:

1. What determines whether a round is play during the "active" season? For example, I played in Florida a couple weeks ago, but its winter up here in Michigan. 2. Should indoor simulator rounds count towards your handicap? Or should they be considered practice rounds? I'm leaning towards practice on this one, just curious how you guys feel.

1. The Golf Association of Michigan, the authorized golf association for MI, defines the "active" season here. Typically it runs from 4/1 until 11/15 and GAM lists the dates annually on their website. So if you keep a handicap in Michigan, only post scores from play in Michigan if the season is active. When you go to Florida, Arizona, etc... you should post those scores regardless of the time period or "inactive" status in Michigan. GAM accepts posting via the internet so I regularly post scores from FL and TX during the "inactive" season in MI.

2. I agree with everyone else that simulator scores should not be posted except as "practice" rounds to Oob and never with GHIN or any golf association.

Thanks guys

birdieXris wrote:

Season depends on where your handicap is held. The USGA has a website with the schedules for each states' handicap governing bodies. http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/understanding_handicap/handicap_revision_schedule.html

Wow...the "official" North Dakota season runs from March 25 to October 13, huh? Now if we could only actually get a season to last that long, it would be wonderful. Playing golf in March and/or October here is pretty freaking rare. We typically don't even start until May....

I just found out Virginia (where I am) has a season from March 1 - November 30. Maybe I should switch my last few really horrible rounds over to practice? I actually entered a round from the weekend but put it in as practice because the course conditions were pretty bad.

SteveMM wrote:

I just found out Virginia (where I am) has a season from March 1 - November 30. Maybe I should switch my last few really horrible rounds over to practice? I actually entered a round from the weekend but put it in as practice because the course conditions were pretty bad.

You can edit the scores and show them as either "O" Out of Season or "P" Practice. I think "O" accumulates statistics but does not affect your handicap. "P" neither accumulates stats nor affects one's handicap.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

SteveMM wrote: I just found out Virginia (where I am) has a season from March 1 - November 30. Maybe I should switch my last few really horrible rounds over to practice? I actually entered a round from the weekend but put it in as practice because the course conditions were pretty bad. You can edit the scores and show them as either "O" Out of Season or "P" Practice. I think "O" accumulates statistics but does not affect your handicap. "P" neither accumulates stats nor affects one's handicap.

The "O" is probably the way to go then. Thanks.