Shooting way under your handicap

kydaddy

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I read a lot of people complaining about people sandbagging because the shoot below their handicap and I get but flip side is some times it happens. Especially with handicaps in mid teens

Example. I am 17.2 index and played miserable during our club championship with both rounds over 100. Then I go out today and shoot an 80 on a 71 par 137 slope course. This may be the equivalent of winning the lottery is I hadn’t shot 84 two months ago in the other club championship I played in.

Point in with mid range players with high volatility in their game, isn’t it more likely for an outlier score like those?

And yes a am SUPER proud of both those rounds but then go shoot a 106 and wonder WTF
 
It certainly happens. I played in a THP Event recently and our opponent had 5 straight net birdies on us and 9 total for the round. It was tough to compete against, but a joy to watch.
 
I think saying "like winning the lottery" is a great sample of what most feel when it happens. Baffling, but as long as it's with friends, wonderful to watch. In fact there's a great chart suggesting the potential to score.

d2c5696cdb68b4c1b9e9b3186e1ade6a.png


I wouldn't get upset about people being bothered by it. Just enjoy the great score.
 
if everything was working as intended, this would never happen, however that's not always the case. It is however much more likely for a higher mid to high handicap to do so on occasion than a low handicap to do so.

So, yes, it can happen. But it's an anomaly that the handicap system can't take into effect with the way it's structured, which is why low handicaps get so annoyed and basically left in the dust if it does. If it's happening often, then your handicap wouldn't stay that high as a score that far below your handicap should adjust during the current revision enough to balance it.
 
I've seen it happen a time or two. People always question the score afterwards, and I would have as well if I hadn't seen it in person.
 
It's a good feeling. I've been having an off year but the last few weeks I've been playing out of my mind. It's all clicking and some of our league members accused me of sandbagging. They can accuse all they want - I'm having a lot of fun playing golf.
 
It definitely happens and it’s fun when it happens around you (unless you are losing money to the person!). Pretty darn rare but really makes you want to play more and more.
 
I shot 51-50 on the back 9 at my TH League course that last 2 times I played.
Last night I shot 38, with 1 birdie & bogeyed both reachable par 5s that I normal score well on.
Very happy about it. Tied my best scored every for 9 holes.

Sports is awesome for anything can happen at any time (good & bad)
 
I think saying "like winning the lottery" is a great sample of what most feel when it happens. Baffling, but as long as it's with friends, wonderful to watch. In fact there's a great chart suggesting the potential to score.

d2c5696cdb68b4c1b9e9b3186e1ade6a.png


I wouldn't get upset about people being bothered by it. Just enjoy the great score.

I like the chart. Let me see if I got this right. I might screw this up.

So, Monday, I was at a -11.1 handicap. I played a course with a 123-124 differential (I've found different numbers on it). I shot a 78. My course handicap was a -12 so when I add that to my 78, I get a net 66. The round's differential for handicap purposes was 6.06. Does that factor in?

You know what? I'm lost.

Rating/Slope 71.4/123
Score 78
Handicap 11.1
Height 69"
Weight 170lbs

Where does that round fit on that chart?
 
I like the chart. Let me see if I got this right. I might screw this up.

So, Monday, I was at a -11.1 handicap. I played a course with a 123-124 differential (I've found different numbers on it). I shot a 78. My course handicap was a -12 so when I add that to my 78, I get a net 66. The round's differential for handicap purposes was 6.06. Does that factor in?

You know what? I'm lost.

Rating/Slope 71.4/123
Score 78
Handicap 11.1
Height 69"
Weight 170lbs

Where does that round fit on that chart?

EDIT - Just noticed this poster was the OG not the OP. For you OG - 11.1 puts you in the 10-14.9 column.

(78-71.4)*113/123 = 6.06 diffferential. 11.1-6.1 = Net -5 under your handicap. 1:102 odds
 
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It certainly happens. I post all of my scores, alone or with others. For the first time ever, I have played 3 under par rounds this year. I typically have one under par round per year. I got on a heater for about a month when two of those rounds happened. My handicap dropped from 5.5 to 3.2 very quickly. Once those dropped off, I moved back up to the low 5's where I have been for about a month. My scores are typically very consistent. About all of the 20 scores showing on my current handicap are 75 or 76. Course rating of my course is right at 70. I guess I am an outlier with the very high percentage of my scores that hit right at my handicap. I don't have any other local options so play the same course all of the time so I'm sure that contributes to it as well.
 
If it happens once, it's a fluke. If it happens repeatedly, it should be addressed. I normally shoot 40-45 on any given 9 holes. Today I shot a 45 on the front and a 36 on the back. A 36 is way outside my norm. I was on fire on the back with 2 bogies, and one bird, but multiple bird attempts. In a scramble, that would raise some flags.
 
I could shoot a 70 or a 90+ on any given day. The best part about being honest (correctly adjusting your scores and posting them without fail) is that you never have to apologize for how the chips fall!
 
Anyone can and should feel happy for someone 'winning the lottery'. We've all had great days out there. Where is the love and understanding for the high handicapper who has a horrendous day though???! There's never much love for someone who's 'losing the lottery', unless you're the one they're basically handing their wallet to hole by hole. lol
 
I like the chart. Let me see if I got this right. I might screw this up.

So, Monday, I was at a -11.1 handicap. I played a course with a 123-124 differential (I've found different numbers on it). I shot a 78. My course handicap was a -12 so when I add that to my 78, I get a net 66. The round's differential for handicap purposes was 6.06. Does that factor in?

You know what? I'm lost.

Rating/Slope 71.4/123
Score 78
Handicap 11.1
Height 69"
Weight 170lbs

Where does that round fit on that chart?
You’re a 12 so on average you should have shot an 84. Instead you shot a 78, which is 6 strokes under your handicap. Shooting 6 strokes below equates to a 227-1 odds.
 
You’re a 12 so on average you should have shot an 84. Instead you shot a 78, which is 6 strokes under your handicap. Shooting 6 strokes below equates to a 227-1 odds.

On average wouldn't someone shoot a fair amount higher since the highest 50% of ones score are not even used to calculate the handicap?

I still don't think the conclusions indicated in the chart is all that accurate relative to real world performance. I will more years than not shoot 6 stokes under my handicap during a season and I don't play 200 plus rounds a year. I think the way the chart is developed doesn't account for the constant cycles of regression and improvement that go on with mid to high handicappers. It is easier than suggested and I think relatively common for a golfer to bottom out and then go on an improvement cycle and shoot a low net score. The handicap system can't adjust fast enough to account for how quickly many golfers can "get it together" hence the higher than expected frequency of "WTF" rounds that gets people fired up and asking questions.
 
On average wouldn't someone shoot a fair amount higher since the highest 50% of ones score are not even used to calculate the handicap?

Correct. On average, you should shoot at or better than your handicap 1 out of 4 rounds, and the average strokes over handicap is around 3.
 
Earlier this summer I was around an 8 and I shot 3 rounds of a differential of 2 during one month. It does happen. But it is very very rare. Main thing for me is I made a major swing change before this and finally got it all the click. At least for a month I did :).


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