May 4, 2016

SEVIERVILLE, TN — While the Captains Club finalizes preparation for its 16th Major Championship, a group of similar questions regarding tournament handicapping came to the business office over the past weeks resulting in an impromptu news conference to clear things up. Greg Long (i.e. Slick), Chairman of the Club, led the conference.

"Good Afternoon. Lacey put 10 post-it notes on my desk regarding handicapping and point distribution. I am here to clarify the handicap system and answer your questions," Long said.

"Our 16th Major Championship will be scored just like the 1st back in 2001. We will be using points and each golfer will have their own set of points. The original goal was to statistically distribute points to all golfers so everyone would score 60 points per round. The Poststats business office was extremely confident that was happening over long periods of time. The Leaderboards of the past appear to reward golfers more accurately than the widely used USGA Handicap System.

The handicap system was modified in winter of 2007. Poststats.com added target points to the handicapping. The computer started raising point targets for the best golfers.

The lower the stroke handicap, the more target points. The probability of an unknown high handicapped golfer at the Carl Spackler Open dropping 25% to 30% of this strokes over 54 holes is more than probable; it is relatively certain. An 'A player' that normally shoots an 8-over 80 must shoot a 13-under 59 to drop 25% of his average stroke total.

In regards to the initial target of 60 points, golfers with a handicap of +8 to +11 receive an elevated target to 62 points per round. Participants with a handicap +6 to +8 strokes are bumped to 63 points per round. Handicaps of +6 strokes have target of 64 points and +5 strokes get 65 points. Golfers with a handicap of +2 are targeted at 65 points per round. Jason Ridgeway had a negative stroke handicap years ago before marriage and kids. He received 67 points back when he was a good golfer.

In addition to golf skill, golfers who play the same course 70 percent of the time are given an elevated target of 1 point. This change also came in 2007. These "home course" participants are given 2 points if they play the same course 90 percent of the time. These golfers with club memberships or favorite course almost always slip when leaving their home course. The point upgrade allows the entire tournament field to handicapped equally and remove scoring based on extensive course knowledge.

[Lacey drops off 2 more post-it notes.]

Long continued, "Poststats.com added another target increase in 2010 as a step to decrease Top 10 volatility and reward participants for posting scorecards. Golfers who post 7+ scorecards per year (365 days) including past events registered with Poststats.com will receive an additional target point. Golfers who post 12+ scorecards will receive an elevation of target by 2 points. Bobby Owens (A player) point target jumps to 2 points to offset his consistent play."

The website has a link labeled "HANDICAPS". This is where players attending our 16th Major Championship can find their handicap. The purpose of our event is to determine the worst and best golfer using 54-holes based on real-time handicaps. Players can click on a distributed point to see handicapping detail including how their point distribution is derived.

Are there any questions?"

Dave Nickles of Virginia Beach conference called in, "When are points set for the tournament?" Slick replied, "When are you playing your last round before the tournament?" Dave answered, "I do not know." Slick replied, "Your points are updated after every round entered. It is done automatically with Poststats.com Scorecard Entry process. The cutoff is probably Monday night or late Tuesday night before the Practice Round. Sometimes we reserve the right to use Practice Round data."

Nickles replied, "There is not a set of points that will give me 62 points. Can I pick?" Slick replied, "Nope. The system distributes using priority and sets your points per round. You can see priority in the left column within your handicap analyzer."

Lacey Underall stepped in the room. Can my buddy Bobby seriously win this tournament with 1 point for bogey and 2 points for par?" Slick replied, "Lacey. You are looking really good today. I really like your blouse." [Pause] "Back to your question... I am assuming you are referring to Mr. Owens. Of course. He and Mr. Ridgeway have a better chance than anyone. Both have targets at 67 points with a base of 60 points. That is 21-point favorite.

I will take one more question."

Another reporter asked, "Do you have a favorite?" Slick replied, "To the best of my knowledge, we have never had a drunk champion.

I am not in the business to pick favorites, however Jason Ridgeway or Marty Whalen are my favorites this year. I believe the course suits their games better than anyone attending if they play aggressive. I will be disappointed if they are not putting for eagle four times per day. This year's course will have tremendous amount of water, wind, and excessive heat.

I have gotta go."