The USGA Handicap System is based on the assumption that every player will endeavor to make the best score he can on each hole in every round he plays and that he will report every acceptable round for handicap purposes, regardless of where the round is played.

For new members, a minimum of 54 holes, in any combination of 9-hole or 18-hole rounds, must be posted before a handicap can be calculated. These scores can be achieved at any golf course during the golf season. New members are encouraged to accomplish this as soon as possible, so they can compete in scheduled events that require an established handicap. All members are required to have an established handicap in order to receive shots in our events, and new members are required to play events at scratch until a handicap is established.

For more information about acceptable scores, see this publication from the USGA

To post a score, your round must fall under the following guidelines:

1. Played according to the rule of golf
2. Using an authorized format (no scrambles)
3. Over a minimum number of holes (7 for a 9-hole score, 14 for an 18-hole score)
4. With at least one person
5. During an active season (May 1 through October 31 in Minnesota, though if you travel over the winter, you would post those scores as Away scores)

All events will be played with USGA handicaps unless otherwise specified.

In match play, all matches are to be played from the tees selected by the player unless otherwise agreed upon. The player with the lowest handicap will play at zero and other players will receive strokes based on the difference between their respective handicaps.

If the handicap difference is an odd number, the odd stroke will be awarded on the more difficult nine.

Difficulty ranking:

1. WEST
2. NORTH
3. EAST

Unless noted otherwise in the official BHMGC event sheet, all course handicaps will be computed by GHIN and Golf Genius for handicapped events.

The handicap used for an event will be your handicap on the day of the close of entries for that event.

The Pro Shop and designated board members will post eligible scores from BHMGC Wednesday afternoon, night, weekend, and major events. Scores achieved during all other round played are the responsibility of the player to post to GHIN.

All scores should be posted as soon as possible following play. If playing away from Bunker Hills, a guest score may be posted at the course if it is using the GHIN system. Members may also post scores via the Internet. A link is available on the BHMGC web site. The Handicap Committee monitors score posting. Failure to post acceptable scores could result in the assessment of a penalty score or handicap adjustment

The maximum score you can take on a hole when entering a score for handicap purposes is net double bogey. You can use the formula below:

maximum_score = par + 2 + strokes_on_that_hole

The rules require that we post a score if we have completed 7 holes (for a 9-hole score) or 14 holes (for an 18-hole score). But what score do we put down for the holes not completed?

In that case, you give yourself par + any strokes you would receive on that hole.

As an example, someone getting 5 shots on the East who did not finish 8 and 9 would record a bogey for each of those holes. A scratch player would record par for each of those holes.

1. Electronic scoring. Scoring for all events is done electronically through the GGID mobile app. Players may make revisions to scores after play is complete until the electronic scoring deadline is reached, which is 10 PM for Wednesday evening events, and 6 PM for Weekend Major events. Before making any revisions, a player must review and discuss the proposed revision with his playing companions and get a consensus of agreement that the proposed revision is accurate. Once the electronic scoring deadline is reached all scores are considered "returned" and players are not allowed to make any revisions.

2. Posting of results. Official results will be posted as soon as practical after the electronic scoring deadline as been reached.

3. Disputes. Disputes will be considered only if submitted within 24 hours of the first posting the official results on the website. A dispute must be submitted via e-mail or through the Contact Us page and include the following information:

• Name of player
• Event name and date
• Posted result
• Description of the dispute (please be as detailed as possible)

4. Close of competition. The competition is considered "Closed" 24 hours after the first posting of official results and when all disputes are resolved.

When there is no winner for a skins game, skins will be paid out in the following manner:

1. If there are any eagles, the players with eagles on the hardest hole will split the pot.
2. If there are no eagles, then the players with birdies on the hardest hole will split the pot.
3. If there are no birdies, then the pot will be rolled into the general fund.

The handicap numbers from the club tees will be used to determine the hardest holes for a given rotation.

For all events other than the Club Championships (championship flight only), ties are broken using a scorecard playoff (explained below). For the club championships in the championship flight, we use a 3-hole aggregate playoff, followed by sudden death if there is still a tie.

Tournament of Champions invitations will go to the winner of the tie-breaker in the event we have a first-place tie in a weekend major.

Scorecard Playoffs Explained

Let's say two golfers, Ed and Joe, finish 9 holes tied for 4th. In that case, we do a match of cards. Matching scorecards involves using the handicap ranking of the golf holes. Look at the handicap row on the scorecard and find the No. 1 handicap hole. Now, both players check their score on that hole. If Ed scored 6 and Joe scored 5 on the No. 1 handicap hole, then Joe just won the "playoff."

If they also tied on the No. 1 handicap hole, then move on to the No. 2 handicap hole. And continue in that fashion until one player has a better score than the other on the given hole to determine the winner.

Our scoring software, Golf Genius, does this process for us, and you can see the broken ties on the leaderboard.