Rankings

You have to post at least three rounds to be ranked.

Yes. All teams have the option to personalize their rankings by format within a Linksfinity Affinity Group.

You will be able to change your team and individual Ranking Preferences if you have not posted more than two rounds.

A team with all men or all women will be ranked separately. If a team is made up of men and women, it will only be ranked in the Men’s Rankings.

We are planning to create a separate Division for both Mixed Gender and Parent-Child team play with participants able to play from different tee boxes in a future release of Linksfinity.

For this release of Linksfinity, teams will not compete and be ranked by age. We are contemplating age based Divisions (e.g. 13-15, 16-18 and over 60) for a future release of Linksfinity. If there are specific age groups you would like us to consider, click on Feedback on the bottom of the website and let us know.

The Linksfinity Ranking System will compare and rank Gross Scores from different courses in a two step process:

Step 1: The Linksfinity Ranking System will do the following series of calculations for every round consistent with the method the USGA uses to calculate a Handicap Index:

• Subtract the Course Rating of the tees played from your team or individual 9 or 18 hole Gross score.
• Multiply the result by the Standard Slope Rating of 113.
• Divide the result by the Slope Rating of the tees played for your 9 or 18 hole round.

As you will see in the example below, this formula results in the lowest number based on the most difficult set of tees as measured by their Course and Slope Rating and the highest number based on the least difficult set of tees as reflected in their Course and Slope Rating.

Example: Four different players with same gross score playing from different tee boxes with different 18 hole Course and Slope Ratings:

Step 2: After doing the calculations above, the Linksfinity Ranking System will award points to each team or individual player by subtracting the result from the standard Par for an 9 hole course of 36 and the standard Par for 18 hole course of 72. As indicated in the examples below, this results in the highest number of points being awarded to the lowest score on the most difficult course as measured by the Course and Slope Rating of the tees played and the lowest number of points being awarded to the highest score on the least most difficult course as measured by the Course and Slope Rating of the tees played.

To minimize ties, all Ranking Points will be displayed to two decimal places. This will give you a clear picture of how many points are needed to move up in the Rankings. Since your team’s Ranking will be based on 3 rounds, the more rounds you play, the better chance you have to improve your Ranking.

Your Gross Rankings will be shown as a single number displayed to two decimal places. It will represent your best three rounds based on the Linksfinity Ranking System formula to calculate Gross Ranking Points as described above.

To make it possible for Linksfinity to rank your team or individual scores from different tee boxes on different courses, it will be necessary to factor in the relative difficulty of each course and the tees played.

Many golfers assume that the USGA formula to determine a Course Handicap already accounts for the differences between tee boxes. This is not the case. As indicated in the USGA’s Position Paper On Competing From Different Tees your Course Handicap is based on the Slope Rating of the tees played. However, the Slope Rating only reflects the number of strokes needed to play to the Course Rating of that particular set of tees. It does not take into consideration the difference in the Course Rating for different tee boxes.

For example, the White tees at your course may have a Course Rating of 71.2 whereas the Blue Tees may have a Course Rating of 73.4. Based on this, a player competing from the set of tees with a Course Rating of 71.2 would be expected to shoot a Net score that is two strokes lower than an opponent who is competing from a set of tees with a Course Rating of 73.4.

To reconcile this difference and make it possible for everyone to compete and be ranked from different tee boxes on different courses on an equitable basis, we will take the following three steps to calculate Linksfinity Net (L Net) Rankings:

Step 1: Determine the Course Handicap for each player based on the standard USGA formula (i.e. Handicap Index multiplied by Slope Rating of tees played, divided by Standard Slope Rating of 113). The result is rounded to the nearest whole number, with .4 rounding down and .5 rounding up.

Step 2: Calculate a Course Rating Differential between the Course Rating of the tees played and the standard Par of 36 for 9 holes and the standard Par of 72 for 18 holes.

Example for 18 holes

Step 3: Add the Course Rating Differential to each player’s Course Handicap and round to the nearest whole number, with .4 rounding down and .5 rounding up. For example, if you are playing from a set of tees with a Course Rating of 73.7, your Course Rating Differential would be +2, and two strokes would be added to your Course Handicap. If you are playing from a set of tees with a Course Rating of 71.2, your Course Rating Differential would be -1, and your Course Handicap would be reduced by one stroke.

Without adjusting for this difference, a player or team competing from a set of tees with a higher Course Rating is at a distinct disadvantage. We refer to this adjustment as your Linksfinity Course Handicap (L CH). For Ranking purposes, your Linksfinity Course Handicap will be utilized to calculate your Linksfinity Net Score (L Net).

To calculate your Rankings, Linksfinity will simply add your lowest three L Net scores. No additional calculation is necessary because your L Net scores will reflect an adjustment to every player’s Course Handicap prior to each round that will have already factored in both the Slope and Course Rating for the tees played.

Your team’s L Net Rankings will be based on your lowest three L Net scores. This will be represented as a Cumulative Net Score or CNS on the Linksfinity website or mobile app.

For Stableford Rankings based on Gross Scores, Linksfinity will calculate your team’s Ranking in a two step process:

Step 1: Multiply the total Stableford points your team has earned for each round by the Slope Rating of the tees played and then divide the result by the Standard Slope Rating of 113. The result will be calculated and displayed to two decimal places.

Example: Four teams playing from four different tee boxes with different Slope Ratings:

Step 2: Add the rounds with the three highest point totals together to determine your team’s Stableford Ranking based on Gross Points. To minimize ties, all Ranking Points will be displayed to two decimal places. This will give you a clear picture of how many points are needed to move up in the Rankings. Since your team’s Ranking will be based on 3 rounds, the more rounds you play, the better chance you have to improve your Ranking.

To calculate your team’s Stableford Rankings based on L Net Scores, Linksfinity will simply add the rounds with the highest three Points totals. No additional calculation is necessary because your Stableford L Net scores will reflect an adjustment to every player’s Course Handicap prior to each round that will have already factored in both the Slope and Course Rating for the tees played.

To minimize ties, all Ranking Points will be displayed to two decimal places. This will give you a clear picture of how many points are needed to move up in the Rankings. Since your team’s Ranking will be based on 3 rounds, the more rounds you play, the better chance you have to improve your Ranking.

Once you have submitted your scores for three rounds, you will be able to view your Rankings by clicking on Rankings within the Menu on the Linksfinity iPhone app or by clicking on View Rankings within the Menu of the mobile friendly version of linksfinity.com on Android devices. You can also view a more detailed display of your Rankings -- including points or strokes behind and the name and state of each team’s home club -- by clicking on View Rankings on the Navigation Bar at the top of the Linksfinity website.

Linksfinity will post a team ranking only after a team has completed and submitted three rounds. Also, if your team is made up of Men and Women, your team will be only ranked in the Men’s Rankings.