Half your outing field has no handicap index — and the trophy still needs to be fair. These two systems compute an honest handicap from the round itself.
Both systems build a handicap out of the round the player just shot, so a field of walk-ups can still compete fairly. Callaway throws out your worst holes on a sliding scale; Peoria uses a set of secret holes announced after everyone finishes. Charity scrambles run on these.
Corporate outings, charity scrambles gone individual, bachelor-party medals: someone always shoots 88 claiming to be a beginner, and someone's “12 handicap” hasn't broken 95 since college. The Peoria and Callaway systems solve the no-index problem by deriving each player's handicap from the round they just played — Peoria by projecting six secret holes, Callaway by deducting a player's worst holes on a sliding scale. Neither is as accurate as a real index, but both are dramatically fairer than trusting self-reported numbers, and both are sandbagger-resistant by construction: you can't game a handicap you can't predict.
Worked example. Dana shoots 96 at a par-72 course and made 34 strokes on the six secret holes. Projection: 34 × 3 = 102. Subtract par: 102 − 72 = 30. Take 80%: 24 handicap. Dana's net: 96 − 24 = 72. Meanwhile Alex shot 78 with 27 on the secret holes: (81 − 72) × 0.8 = 7; net 71. Alex edges it — and nobody had to trust anyone's story about their game.
Callaway works backward from the player's gross score: the higher the score, the more of their worst holes get deducted. A published table maps gross ranges to deductions — from half of the worst hole (for scores just over par) up to the six worst holes (for scores of 130+), with a final −2 to +2 adjustment from the same table row.
Worked example. Jo shoots 98 at a par-72. The table row for 96–100 grants deduction of the worst 3 holes: Jo's three ugliest (capped at double par) are 9, 8, and 8 = 25. The adjustment for a 98 is 0. Handicap: 25; net: 98 − 25 = 73. Jo's meltdown holes vanished — which is exactly why beginners love Callaway.
Running a Callaway event? Print the official table on the rules sheet and have one person do all the lookups — consistency beats speed. (The Scheid system is the same idea with a finer-grained table, if your event software offers it.)
Peoria and Callaway are handicap options on a stroke-play game in Duck Hook Pro. The pro picks one when setting up the game. For Peoria, Duck Hook Pro draws the six secret holes (or takes the pro’s own) and keeps them hidden until the round ends; for both, it works out every golfer’s handicap and net score. They aren’t in the free app yet.
See Duck Hook Pro Browse all 42 gamesTake the player's gross scores on the six secret holes, multiply the total by 3 (projecting a full 18), subtract course par, and take 80% of the result. Example: 34 on the six holes → 34 × 3 = 102; 102 − 72 = 30; 30 × 0.8 = 24 handicap.
After the round, the player's gross score sets how many of their worst holes are deducted — from half a hole for scores just over par up to six holes for scores of 130 or more, per the official Callaway table, with a small plus-or-minus adjustment. Holes 17 and 18 can't be deducted, and each deducted hole is capped at double par.
Peoria is simpler to administer (one formula, six secret holes) and feels fairer to steady players. Callaway rewards players whose rounds included a few disasters, since their worst holes vanish. For most corporate outings, Peoria is the easier sell; Callaway suits fields with lots of true beginners.
If players knew which six holes counted, they could grind those and coast the rest, gaming their handicap. Secrecy forces everyone to play a full honest round — the system only works because nobody knows what matters.
A Callaway variant using a larger deduction table and half-hole increments. It's used the same way; if your event software offers Scheid, it plays like a finer-grained Callaway.
Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.
Duck Hook Golf