"When you play at the weekend with your friends in a fourball, no cards are required to be returned, " said Richard Muckart, chairman of the Council of National Golf Unions, or CONGU, which runs the program.

WSJ: Golf Journal: Does the Handicap System Need a Makeover?

Most of the world already uses the USGA's course rating and Slope standards, but CONGU relies mainly on its own system and Australia does not yet use Slope, although it will by the end of 2013.

WSJ: Golf Journal: Does the Handicap System Need a Makeover?