Golf’s future isn’t just in the hands of Tour newbies like Joaquin Niemann, Sam Burns and Cameron Champ. This season — and for seasons to come — the sport is going to look, feel and play different. Here are our picks for the best and brightest players, personalities and technology to look forward to in 2019 and beyond.
Golf, as the old saw goes, is a global game. Starting January 1, 2020, the new World Handicap System will reflect this fact. Out goes the current six different handicap systems used worldwide, in comes the WHS, with the ability to let everyone compete on any course anywhere in any format on a level playing field.
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The current minimum of 90 holes to establish a handicap has been whittled to 54 holes. The maximum handicap will go from 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women to 54 for everyone. Instead of using the 10 best scores from your last 20, an average of your eight best scores from that sample is used. Net double-bogey becomes the maximum hole score for handicapping purposes for everyone moving forward, and your handicap updates daily instead of twice monthly. Score one for the globalists. Now go play.