On the other handicap thread (following my mis-post), Tom H. asked about 'match' index.
Match index is simply an index used when playing matchplay. The strokes are spread out evenly to allow the strokes to effect the match evenly. Noel Bartell (whom I referred to in my first post) explained to me that during the mid 1950's, he noticed that many of the handicap matchplay matches would end quite early, often by the 13th or 14th, with the better player winning almost everytime.
The 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th at NSWGC are rated in difficultly 5, 7, 1, 3. This meant that the lesser player never got the full advantage of their handicap, because the tougher holes were at the end of the round. Hence he devised the matchplay handicap index system.
As listed in my first post, most courses in Australia have exactly the same matchplay index, disregarding the difficulty of the holes. It has been adopted widely because it works so well. Most Australian cards will list a par index (used for stroke, par, stableford etc. event) & a Match index (often on the back of the card) for match play.