# How is standard scratch in golf calculated?



## z106 (5 Sep 2008)

Any golfers out there?

How is standard scratch in golf calculated?


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## Caveat (5 Sep 2008)

Don't know much about golf but it is not just when the result from the standard calculation for handicap is so consistently low that it is deemed to be zero or thereabouts?


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## z106 (5 Sep 2008)

No.

You are thinking of a handicap of scratch (or zero)

The standard scratch is a nominal figure caluculated after each competition which a player is compared against to determine whether a player has performed above/below his capabilities - in which case his handicap will be adjusted accordingly.

It is the calculation of this nominal figure which i am trying to figure out.


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## Conan (5 Sep 2008)

Every GUI vetted course is given a Course Standard Scratch. Typically this will be 1 or 2 shots below par (so if its a par 72 course the Course Standard Scratch might be 70 or 71). 

Competition Standard Scratch is a calculation made after all the competition scores are assessed. There is a formula, but again typically it might be 1 or 2 shots below par (or 37 or 38 points in a stableford competition). Depending on the actual scores the Competition SS may vary. If there are lots of good scores in (40 + points) then the Competition SS will tend to be higher. If the scores are poor, then the CSS will be lower.

The CSS is then used to determine whether players lose shots (handicap reduced) or whether they get shots back (handicap increased).

These days the computer works out the CSS for each competition. The Course SS would typically be adopted by Societies since they will not have a facility to work out a Competition Standard Scratch.

Does this help?


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## csirl (5 Sep 2008)

In laymans terms, does it mean that a player with a handicap of scratch (zero) will get level par or below on average on most golf courses?


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## z106 (5 Sep 2008)

Conan said:


> Does this help?


 
Unfortunately not

You basically outlind what a standard scratch is - which i had already done in my previous post.

My question is:
How is the standard scratch calculated?

E.g. Is it the average of the top 10 scores?

If not that, then what is it?


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## z106 (5 Sep 2008)

csirl said:


> In laymans terms, does it mean that a player with a handicap of scratch (zero) will get level par or below on average on most golf courses?


 
Yuo are thinking of a scratch golfer (i.e. a handicap of 0).

Standard scratch is a different thing.


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## demoivre (5 Sep 2008)

qwertyuiop said:


> Unfortunately not
> 
> You basically outlind what a standard scratch is - which i had already done in my previous post.
> 
> ...



A handicap of scratch , Standard Scratch Score ( SSS ) and Competition Scratch Score ( CSS ) are all different things.

A scratch golfer subtracts zero from his gross score to get his net score.

The _Standard Scratch Score_ is the score that a scratch player is expected to return in normal mid-season course and weather conditions over a _Measured Course_. It's different to par because the easier the course the lower will be the SSS. A course with par 72 of length 6500 yards will, in general, be a lot easier than a course with par 72 of length 7500 yards - easier to wedges to greens than 2 irons .

CSS. This is not a straight forward calculation. Broadly speaking, the calculation is as follows : 

*1.*Discount all scores returned by category 4 players (handicaps 21 and above).
*2.*Calculate the percentage of players who competed in the competition in each of the categories 1 (H/Cap 1-6), 2 (H/Cap 6-12), and 3 (H/Cap 13-20).
*3.*Calculate the percentage of scores returned by the category 1, 2 and 3 players which were two over the Standard Scratch Score or the course or better.
*4.*Use the percentages from points 2 and 3 to determine the Competition Standard Scratch Score by referring to one of the two published tables supplied by CONGU for this purpose
*5.*Should points 2 and 3 show 0% then the Competition Standard Scratch is deemed to be SSS+3.( FROM COUNCIL OF GOLFING UNIONS)


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## z106 (5 Sep 2008)

OK - so it's not a straighforward operation after all.
Interesting.

Cheers.


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