In order to bring Indian golfers at par with major golfing nations of the world, the Indian Golf Union (IGU) on Thursday announced the launch of National Handicapping Service (NHS) from November 3.
It will issue all Indian golfers with a globally recognised NHS handicap card.
Such handicap ratings are maintained by the national governing body of the sport in all other countries including neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia etc besides the more developed nations such as USA, UK, Australia, South Africa and others.
Handicap ratings of individual golfers are maintained all over the world by the national governing body of the sport in that country based on a uniform software and rules while in India, individual clubs have been using inconsistent and arbitrary rules so far.
There are an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 golfers in India who will be eligible for the IGU's NHS and growth is estimated to be at 15 to 20 per cent per annum.