How the 'Peoria System' Works in Golf
The gist of the Peoria System is this: Tournament organizers select six holes on the golf course, and tournament players do not know which holes were chosen until play concludes. Each golfer's scores on those six holes are fed into a formula (explained below) that, after some calculations, produces a handicap allowance for each. That handicap allowance is then applied to the tournament scores, creating a net score for each player (e.g., a golfer who scores 85 and whose Peoria handicap is 12 has a net score of 73).
Peoria System is also known by several variations on that name, including Peoria Handicap and Peoria Scoring. An alternate name that was once more common than it is today is Bankers Handicap (or Bankers System).
Which Six Holes Are Used for Peoria System?
If the Peoria Systems starts with the selection of six holes (unknown to players until the tournament ends), which six holes are used?This is the the traditional and most-likely way organizers will select those holes:
- 2 par-3 holes, one on front nine, one on back nine
- 2 par-4 holes, one on front nine, one on back nine
- 2 par-5 holes, one on front nine, one on back nine
The Peoria System Formula: Let's Do Math!
Before we get scared by the idea of doing math, keep in mind that the golfers in any tournament using Peoria System will probably not have to do any math themselves (aside from adding up their strokes). In the old days, yes, golfers, or preferably tournament organizers, would have calculated Peoria System handicaps by hand. Today, most well-run tournaments using Peoria handicaps will be using golf software to handle those calculations. But we'll run through a calculation below in order to make how Peoria scoring works clearer.Step 1: Tournament organizers select the six Peoria holes (not revealing those holes until completion of play.
Step 2: Golfers play the tournament, with double-par the maximum score per hole (8 is the max on a par-4, for example).
Step 3. As scorecards are turned in after completion of play, each golfer's scores on those six Peoria holes is totaled. Let's say Player X scored 3, 7, 5, 5, 6 and 6 on those holes. That's a total of 32.
Step 4: Each player's total for the six holes is tripled (multiplied by three). Player X's total of 32 is, therefore, now 96.
Step 5: The par of the golf course is subtracted from each golfer's total on the six Peoria holes. For Golfer X, that means (on a par-72 course), 96 minus 72, which equals 24. That makes 24 Player X's Peoria "handicap allowance."
Step 6: Each player's handicap allowance is multipled by 80-percent. For Player X, that means 24 multiplied by .80, which equals 19.2. That rounds off to 19, which means that Player X's Peoria System handicap index is 19.
Step 7: Now subtract each golfer's Peoria handicap from his gross score, his actual strokes. Let's say Golfer X scored 93 in the just-completed tournament round. Ninety-three minus 19 equals 74. So 74 is Golfer X's net score using the Peoria System.
(Note that in Step 2 we stated that double-par is the per-hole maximum for a Peoria competition. That is the traditional method. However, some tournament organizers might stipulate that double bogey, rather than double-par, is the max score. Also note that the reduction is Step 6 — multiplying by 80% — is sometimes skipped depending on tournament organizers' methods. Without the 80% modification, the name Blind Bogey Handicap might be used instead of Peoria.)
Is the Peoria System a fair, accurate way to calculate a handicap and net scores? No! It's very reliant on luck. The six Peoria holes might turn out to be the ones where you had your six worst scores, or six best scores. For every golfer in the tournament, luck will play a large part in the final Peoria net scores.
But, for events such as charity tournaments, corporate outings and the like — tournaments in which most of the players won't have handicaps — the Peoria System is one method of producing net scores for the unhandicapped.
Modified Peoria, Shin Peoria and Double Peoria Systems
There are other versions of Peoria System in use that include some variations on the traditional system described above. The most-common variation is in the number of Peoria holes used, and/or the mix of such holes.
Modified Peoria System
The Modified Peoria System changes the mix of holes that are secretly selected by organizers prior to the start of the tournament. In traditional Peoria, those six holes are comprised of two par-3s, two par-4s and two par-5s, equally split between the front nine and back nine. This is the mix in Modified Peoria:- 1 par-3 hole, front or back nine
- 4 par-4 holes, two on front nine, two on back nine
- 1 par-5 hole, front or back nine
Shin Peoria (New Peoria)
The variation most common in Japan, Shin Peoria (also called New Peoria) uses six randomly selected holes. There are no requirements in Shin Peoria for any specific types of holes (par-3, 4 or 5), or any specific mix of those different pars, or where (front or back nine) those holes are located. Just pick six holes at random and those are the "secret holes."One additional change in Shin Peoria that is often seen in Japan and the Far East (although not necessarily in North America): the reduction (multiplying by 80%) in Step 6 above is often skipped.
Double Peoria (New-New Peoria)
The Double Peoria System (also known as New-New Peoria, primarily in Japan) uses 12 "secret holes" rather than six, and those holes are chosen at random — any mix of pars, any mix of front and back nine holes. The Step 6 reduction (multiply by 80%) is typically not done in Double Peoria.As with any tournament format or calculation that is not officially codified by the USGA, R&A or other handicapping body (and Peoria System definitely is not), make sure you read any explanatory materials provided by tournament organizers or golf associations. The rules and procedures set forth locally, by the group organizing your tournament (or just by the golfers within your foursome, if you want to apply Peoria handicaps) is what governs in these cases.
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