England Golf's guide clarifies the responsibilities of players under the WHS. Key points include pre-registering to commit to submitting scores, trying your best on every hole, certifying accurate scores for others, and consistently submitting all acceptable rounds. Honesty is paramount; manipulating your Handicap Index for personal advantage is prohibited and can result in penalties. Adhering to these rules ensures fair play and accurate handicaps.

A Handicap Index is calculated from the best eight scores from a player’s last 20 rounds.

Slope Rating is the number which indicates the relative playing difficulty of a course for Bogey Golfers, compared to Scratch Golfers.

The Golf Course Rating will be used to measure the playing difficulty of a golf course.

For golfers in England, calculating a new Handicap Index will be front of mind when adopting the WHS.

The WHS was therefore developed with consideration given to club golfers who play both sporadically and more regularly.

The World Handicap System (WHS) comes into play on 2nd November 2020 in Great Britain and Ireland.