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Equitable handicapping of scramble golf tournaments

Abstract Recreational golf events differ from professional events in that the primary goal is not simply to identify the best golfer, but rather for all golfers to enjoy and participate meaningfully in the competition. For this reason, it can be beneficial in recreational events to employ “handicapping” systems which enable players of varying skill levels to compete on a level playing field. In this paper we use a stochastic model of the most common recreational event format, the scramble competition, to develop a formula for handicapping scramble tournaments. The formula involves only simple arithmetic, enabling its implementation by tournament organizers in a spreadsheet or other user-friendly platform. In theory, the proposed handicapping system provides all scramble teams with an equal expectation of winning the tournament. Data from actual scramble tournaments are used to assess how well this objective is met, using a scramble handicapping system recommended by the USGA as a basis for comparison. We show that the handicap developed in this paper achieves its goal of providing a more equitable tournament.