TGCT Handicap Idea == Thoughts!?

[Tim]

Hey Guys,

Been a while since I've been plugged in, but re-engaging a bit more.

Before I share this next crazy idea of mine, I want to give a bit shoutout to Scott and Jeff (Doyley and SmilingGoats), and all the guys volunteering behind the scenes that have kept this crazy idea of mine going for almost 8 years. Our initial goal of 500 when we started was shattered within the first 6 months of launching. Almost 40K players later who have joined this community at some time or another, we are still going strong!

Thanks to all of the players that have generously donated in the past and especially this year to cover the costs. In the next week or so, we will be pushing changes to our donation platform that will allow you to see all the donors along with their donation levels (Gold, Silver, and Bronze), with the added ability to setup recurring donations.

So now, for my idea.

Idea: Build an internal official TGCT Handicapping system that mimics the GHIN.
The Why: To allow players a fun alternative way to play in tournaments and compete against others in a fair, yet fun way!
The How:

* In no way, would the handicap events be a replacement in the "official" tour stops.
* Only official completed/verified tour rounds will be used in the handicap rating.
* Designers would be allowed to establish their own course rating and slope within certain guidelines that will be published for any course used on Tour.
* Just like the real GHIN (Golf Handicap Information Network) you would need 20 official rounds before the handicap would publish.
* The handicap would use your best 10 differentials in your last 20 rounds
* Handicaps will be adjusted weekly.
* Max handicap index will max out at 36.4
* Only official tour card holders would be eligible.

What do we do with these handicaps?
Great question. I would love to provide a fun alternative event each week (Think True Sim), that would allow everyone to complete but we will rank the leaderboard based on "net" score. I'm still thinking about how to limit the events so we are not playing against 2K people. Have thought of also only allowing entry for those that have donated a minimum amount of $5 to the community. (Currently we have only had 117 players donate at least $1 this season). I'm also floating around the idea of creating an internal challenge system on the site to allow you to matchmaker against others within +- handicap range and have relegated handicap leagues.. Just another crazy idea.

Anyway, just trying to find some ways to pump some new and fresh ideas into the community.

Now flood this thread with your thoughts and ideas!

[Tim]

Another thing we could do is just build a basic slope/rating based on the submitted easy/medium/hard to keep it simple. But I do think designers would love to specify this for their own courses.

[prowse00]

Sounds like an interesting concept to spice things up a little.

Very much in favour of entry by donation. Would love you guys to have the problem of 2k suddenly donating to compete.

[SkyBlueBen]

Love the idea of a Handicap competition on the side and a great idea to open it up just to those that support the site financially. If you ended up with too many donators perhaps flights could be implemented?

[Deleted]

Brilliant as usual Tim! I'm all in and agree with a minimum donation required to compete. One of the things I loved most about the old Links golf was having matches on Cases Ladder where you could challenge those on the ladder and move up. Matches were mostly 9 holes and went quickly with match play. Special events or finals in smaller tournaments were 18. With a handicap system this allows all to compete fairly. Of course we all know there are sandbaggers in golf, but I'd be happy to assist as part of a handicap committee that could help figure that out. I'm a former PGA golf professional, so know this area well running tournaments at clubs.

[coruler2]

I'd love to play this. Would be great if we could play in a net event and our standard league event each week!

[Q]

Jun 23, 2022 14:46:40 GMT -5 Tim said:

I would love to expand donation options in general as I feel there's a lot of cool things you could do there. Considering how tournament names are fairly generic currently (something something championship/invitational) I think a cool perk would be to donate to name one potentially 

[Tim]

Jun 23, 2022 19:00:47 GMT -5 Q said:

Jun 23, 2022 14:46:40 GMT -5 Tim said:

I would love to expand donation options in general as I feel there's a lot of cool things you could do there. Considering how tournament names are fairly generic currently (something something championship/invitational) I think a cool perk would be to donate to name one potentially 

Jeff has been trying to get me to do this for years :-)

[up mup kupen nup]

Jun 23, 2022 19:00:47 GMT -5 Q said:

Jun 23, 2022 14:46:40 GMT -5 Tim said:

I would love to expand donation options in general as I feel there's a lot of cool things you could do there. Considering how tournament names are fairly generic currently (something something championship/invitational) I think a cool perk would be to donate to name one potentially 

+1

Great idea! Would love to introduce some more Luxembourgish 😃

[materialization]

I'm in! Sounds like fun to me and fair. It sounds a bit like how Red Fast Review does it and it works really well.

Will there be any difference to the difficulty in comparison to the main tour? That would be my only thoughts or questions right now.

[woolmerc]

Super great idea Tim. In a financial sense this will definitely increase donations.

Depending how the finances work you could even offer a fiver or 10 to the winner. For me I'd need this incentive to play the extra rounds on top of the Challenge Circuit. And even if it was just a 1 rounder I think that would work. Takes time to do the full 4 rounds.

You could even add in a few crazy courses for this event. That way it differentiates from the other leagues a lot more.

Once more fantastic effort to you and everyone running this society

[woolmerc]

OR the course could be a preview for the next CC event. I know I like to have a quick practice on the upcoming course so could tie in well with that for some.

[eastnortheast]

Like everyone who has posted above, I would enjoy having something like that implemented.

[SkyBlueBen]

Jun 24, 2022 18:25:48 GMT -5 woolmerc said:

Super great idea Tim. In a financial sense this will definitely increase donations.

Depending how the finances work you could even offer a fiver or 10 to the winner. For me I'd need this incentive to play the extra rounds on top of the Challenge Circuit. And even if it was just a 1 rounder I think that would work. Takes time to do the full 4 rounds.

You could even add in a few crazy courses for this event. That way it differentiates from the other leagues a lot more.

Once more fantastic effort to you and everyone running this society

Not sure of the need for financial incentive. Why take funds in with one hand only to give them away with the other? 

I'd personally like to see a separate society like TST where you can play additional rounds within TGCT if you so wish and the HC idea gives it a different focus. Crazy courses I can live without. Best course selection on TGCT nowadays is on TST and they are all RCR's. I like to play like the pro's but don't need paid like the pro's if you see what I mean 

[CGib2]

Great idea Tim. Like the idea of a tournament for those who support the tour. Sad that we cannot get more support from the community, but, I’m all for any tour for those that have and will support the community. Big Thanks for getting this started, and most importantly, keeping the Tour/Community together.