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Look good, play good: The golf course Dress code
Does “golf attire” make you think of knickers, high socks, and little caps with pom poms?
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) we take a more relaxed approach to our dress code at Kingswell Glen.
If we trace our dress code back to its beginnings, it was originally intended to stop Joe from wearing his Daisy Dukes in the clubhouse. But because we didn’t want to single him out, we thought we should make the dress code apply to everyone.
Golf course dress codes tend to read like a long list of dos and don’ts.
Instead of doing that, we want to spend some time talking about WHY we have a dress code so you’ll better understand the reasons it exists — and you can make an educated choice to cooperate with it.
Handicaps 201: Taking it to the course
So, now that you have an official handicap, how do you use it?
Remember — your handicap index measures how many strokes you need to deduct from your score to shoot par on a golf course of average difficulty, not necessarily how many strokes you deduct on the specific course you’re playing.
Since no two courses are the same, many courses are rated to measure their relative difficulty. This results in something called a “Slope Rating” which is unique to each course (maybe you’ve noticed it on our scorecard); slope rating varies based on the tees you play.
Your personal handicap is adjusted by the Slope Rating to create a “Course Handicap”.
We won’t get into the math required for this adjustment; just trust us that it’s easiest to use charts like the ones Golf Ontario provides here to convert your personal handicap to a course handicap. Just select the slope rating which lines up with the tees you’re playing (if a course is rated, the scorecard should have this information).
Handicaps 101: Sandbaggers and Vanity Caps
Some of us are drawn to golf for the serenity and solitude it provides. How nice, right?
Others, however, want to compete — whether it’s a match for $5 a side, skins, or drinks after the round.
If you’re in the second group, you may find the competition to be fair when everyone is the same skill level.
But what about if you get a lot of pars and your playing partner gets mostly bogeys? How can you compete fairly? Eventually you’re going to feel bad taking your partner’s money… right? 😉
A Handicap Index solves this problem.
When you and your playing partners each have an accurate Handicap Index (or “handicap” for short) you will each have a personal “ranking” of how well you might be expected to play on a given golf course.
Once you know each person’s scoring potential, the better players can give the others a few extra strokes to even the odds, while knowing it will still be a fair match — no matter which course you play.
The basics of golf course etiquette
Kingswell Glen Golf Club prides itself in being an opening and inviting place for everyone — whether this is your first round of golf or your 500th.
## At Kingswell Glen, golf isn’t just about the game.
**Let’s face it: Golf has a bad rap of being uptight with rules.**
At Kingswell Glen, we don’t expect you to know all the rules of golf (and there are *a lot* of them!) However, we do want to share some etiquette guidelines to make sure everyone enjoys themselves while out on the course!