An Active Season is the period of time when acceptable scores from a specified area should be submitted for handicap purposes. The Rules of Handicapping stipulate that every player is responsible for submitting all acceptable scores into one’s scoring record for rounds played on courses during the active season.

It is the responsibility of authorized provincial golf associations to declare active and inactive seasons, with area clubs and players required to observe these dates for score posting purposes. To make this process easier, the Golf Canada Score Centre automatically considers the active season of the course being played when a score is posted and whether it should be included in calculating a player’s Handicap Index.

In Canada, the active season in each province is as follows:

BC =     Mar.1 – Nov.15
AB =     Mar.1 – Oct.31
SK =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
MB =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
ON =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
QC =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
NS =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
NB =     May.1 – Oct.31
PE =     Apr.16 – Nov.14
NL =     Apr.1 – Nov. 30

Scores made at any golf course observing an inactive season are not acceptable for handicap calculation purposes. This is because course conditions during inactive seasons are not consistent with the way that the Course & Slope Ratings were determined, which can impact the accuracy of a player’s Handicap Index.

Scores made at a golf course in an area observing an active season must be posted for handicap purposes, even if the golf club where the player is a member is observing an inactive season. The club’s Handicap Committee must make it possible for a player to post these away scores at the beginning of the active season.

To Post or Not To Post - That is The Question

It’s important to note that if you are travelling to other countries or regions, you should confirm their active seasons to ensure all acceptable scores are posted. Your home club needs all acceptable scores (even if played during a Canadian “off-season”) to ensure that your Handicap Index is accurate and reflects your demonstrated ability.

For example, if a player belonging to a golf club in Ontario plays golf in Florida (which observes a year-round active season) during January, any score(s) made in Florida are acceptable and must be submitted to the player’s scoring record. If the player is also a member of a golf club in Florida and Ontario, it is important to remember that all acceptable scores must be posted to each scoring record.

The Golf Canada Score Centre has tools available to link Canadian and USGA accounts, so that a score posted to one account is automatically transferred to the other. For more information, or to set up this link, please contact members@golfcanada.ca or phone 1-800-263-0009 X399.

For a detailed list of active and inactive schedules in the United States, click here.

For more information on handicapping, click here.

TO ENTER YOUR SCORES FOR AN OFFICIAL HANDICAP, BECOME A GOLF CANADA MEMBER HERE

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British Columbia Golf and Golf Canada are the authoritative bodies for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a uniform handicap system for golf clubs in Canada in co-operation with the provincial golf associations.

The purpose of the Golf Canada Handicap System is to make the game of golf more enjoyable for golfers by providing a means of measuring one’s performance and progress and to enable golfers of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis.

Through this system, each golfer establishes an “Golf Canada Handicap Factor” which is a numerical measurement of a player’s potential (not actual) scoring ability on a course of standard difficulty.

The Handicap Factor is now calculated using the best 8 of the player’s last 20 rounds and updated with each new round played. The Handicap Factor travels with the golfer from course to course and is adjusted up or down depending on the length and difficulty of the course played, resulting in a “Course Handicap”.

The Course Handicap is the number of strokes a golfer receives from a specific set of tees at the course played and represents the number of strokes he would require to play equitably against a “scratch” golfer (a golfer with a Handicap Factor of “0.0′). The more difficult the golf course, the more strokes the golfer receives and vice versa.

The relative difficulty of a golf course is determined jointly by Golf Canada and the provincial golf association using the Golf Canada Course and Slope Rating System. Specially trained Course Rating Teams evaluate the difficulty of a golf course based on such variables as length and a number of obstacle factors (e.g. topography, bunkers, water hazards, severity of rough, etc).

Verify Players' Handicap Factor - click here

Verify Players' Handicap Index (GHIN) - click here

Golf Course Look-up - click here

Golf Course Slope & Course Rating - search

Handicap Webinars - click here

Handicap On-Line Course - self-paced - click here