For example, at a company outing, most of the golfers may not carry official handicap indexes. How can they all - with widely different playing abilities - compete fairly at stroke play?
The Callaway System - while, like the similar Peoria System, based in certain part on luck - allows a "handicap allowance" to be determined and then applied to each golfer's score.
When the Callaway System is in use, all competitors tee off and play stroke play, scoring in the normal fashion with one exception - double par is the maximum score on any given hole (i.e., on a par 4, 8 is the maximum score).
Following the round, gross scores are tallied. Based on each golfer's gross score (using the double par maximum), each golfer tallies up a prescribed number of worst scores from their scorecard, then applies a second adjustment that may add or subtract additional strokes.
Utilizing the Callaway System requires consulting a chart to determine a handicap deduction and handicap adjustment. For further explanation and an example of how the Callaway System works:
