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Course Familiarity and Scores

moosejaa

moosejaa

Mr. Inconsistent
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
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Location
WNY
Handicap
12.4
I was thinking about this today after having some high scores on courses I wasn't especially familiar with and some questions came to mind I wanted to pose to THP:

- How many strokes do you think your score improves on average when playing a course you're familiar with vs playing one for the 1st time (Putting seems to be where I suffer the most)?
- How many times do you need to play a course before you're familiar with it?
- If possible, do you try to play a variety of courses so your handicap Index is not based mostly on 1 course?
- If your top 10 differentials are all from the same course do you think this skews your handicap Index and should course variety be somehow built into the calculation?
 
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- How many strokes do you think your score improves on average when playing a course you're familiar with vs playing one for the 1st time (Putting seems to be where I suffer the most)? My scores stay mediocre all the time. I usually do pretty well at new courses because I am not trying to be overly aggressive
- How many times do you need to play a course before you're familiar with it? Once. Maybe twice.
- If possible, do you try to play a variety of courses so your handicap is not based mostly on 1 course? Nope. I frequent the course that I like the best.
- If your top 10 differentials are all from the same course do you think this skews your handicap and should course variety be somehow built into the calculation? It already is.
 
blugold said:
- If your top 10 differentials are all from the same course do you think this skews your handicap and should course variety be somehow built into the calculation? It already is.
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I didn't know that. I thought it took the 10 best differentials out of your last 20 rounds.
 
I have scored very similar over each round recently, one where I know the course well, and the other 2 which were new to me.
i think knowing the course clearly has advantages, but not knowing one means I'm almost unaware of possible danger areas, so I'm more relaxed.
overall, playing on a course I know probably makes maybe 2 or 3 shots difference (lower)
 
I generally play pretty well at new courses, it forces me to play exactly what's in front of me and I keep it in play.
 
Trout Bum said:
I generally play pretty well at new courses, it forces me to play exactly what's in front of me and I keep it in play.
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You are a fairways and greens machine
 
The results are easy to see on my GHIN Card. It shows overall handicap index (19.1), Home course index (18.0) and trending. I expect to get better on my home course, because I play it at least 3 times a week, while playing other area courses three to four time a month.
 
I think it takes one or two times before I am familiar with a course. Obviously, the more I play a course the easier it is to play.

I play the same course pretty regularly, because I have a quasi-membership there that is relatively cheap. I do try to get out and play some other courses though. But, I play other courses more for fun (variety) than concerns about handicap.
 
ATLGolfer said:
I think it takes one or two times before I am familiar with a course. Obviously, the more I play a course the easier it is to play.

I play the same course pretty regularly, because I have a quasi-membership there that is relatively cheap. I do try to get out and play some other courses though. But, I play other courses more for fun (variety) than concerns about handicap.
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This^^^^^^
 
moosejaa said:
8< 8<

- How many strokes do you think your score improves on average when playing a course you're familiar with vs playing one for the 1st time (Putting seems to be where I suffer the most)?
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First time around I need to get to know the route in order to do some course management, to get to know the (semi) rough and the greens. In my experience the first round will probably be a score of 85-90. When I play the same course shortly after that my score will be low 80's mostly, sometimes 80 but breaking 80 is really something special in the first few rounds.

- How many times do you need to play a course before you're familiar with it?
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Depends on how much time there is in between rounds. When I play competition it's no more then 3-4 days and I'll need just one practice round. When there's weeks or months in between it can take me 5-6 rounds or more.
- If possible, do you try to play a variety of courses so your handicap Index is not based mostly on 1 course?
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My finances don't allow it at the moment, but I proud myself that I normally have quite a good 'traveling handicap' :)

- If your top 10 differentials are all from the same course do you think this skews your handicap Index and should course variety be somehow built into the calculation?
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It definitely helps to play a course you know really well. Not my homecourse though as the green keepers are morons that don't know how to grow grass, place tee boxes or where to put a pin. (Had a teebox set at the very end of the box, I had to literally tee up in semirough, there was a pin placed 3 feet from the front of the green and one on the ridge of a slope.. All today!)
I do think that playing another course then your homecourse is important and actually should be mandatory to keep your handicap. But I don't think you should be punished harder when you don't play your handicap on another course then your HC (or you should be rewarded when you do for that matter).
 
I think there is a big advantage to being home. Like the old saying from "Dorothy" "There's no place like home"

Just so many variables that one becomes second natured with when being "home" on top of the already given advantage of being warm and comfy and confident. This is why I am soooo very good :) ......... yea right :(
 
I play everywhere .. And playing all tourneys away this year . Keeps you fresh. , gives u a true handicap. And shows weakness in any area of your game . Play easy/ middle of the road / and hard courses . They all have one thing in common .. Tee box / and a green with a flag in it . Keep that mentality and you will be just fine .

Enjoy the ride

add on. So wish I didn't buy a golf membership at our local municipal . 5 rounds there and I have no intention of going back to play it . Next year. , no membership . Just travel everywhere
 
I will generally shoot right around my handicap regardless of how well I know the course. I play aggressive and am not really good enough to play that way, yet it's my game.

Once maybe twice and I've got a course in my head.

I have a course membership but still travel to play.
 
3 of my best 4 differentials in my last 20 rounds were from courses that were new to me or courses that I play less than once a year. I had a 68 on Tuesday at a course that I'd never played before with the added challenge of adjusting for yardages at 5,000 feet elevation. I think I actually concentrate and make better decisions at new courses.
 
I've put up some horrible rounds on courses I know like the back of my hand abs played lights out on tracks I've just seen. I tend to grind more on course I don't know that well.
 
Tadashi70 said:
I've put up some horrible rounds on courses I know like the back of my hand abs played lights out on tracks I've just seen. I tend to grind more on course I don't know that well.
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I think this question also depends on ones ability level too. It may stand to reason imo that the higher cap player probably has more to gain from familiarity and comfort of being home.

But basically for you, you try to be more careful when the course is unfamiliar? And being as good a player as you are that works towards a better round perhaps. I can see that happening for better players.
 
For me it's all about knowing the greens. Since I don't hit a lot of greens I need to be able to chip and putt to save my rounds. If I can't figure out the speed and break fairly quickly, my scores are going to skyrocket. I know the greens on my home course extremely well, so I can hack out a 75 -80 fairly easily. Unfortunately that translates to mid to upper 80's on a course who's greens I don't know or can't figure out. Which lately seems to be most of them.
 
BradMorris said:
For me it's all about knowing the greens. Since I don't hit a lot of greens I need to be able to chip and putt to save my rounds. If I can't figure out the speed and break fairly quickly, my scores are going to skyrocket. I know the greens on my home course extremely well, so I can hack out a 75 -80 fairly easily. Unfortunately that translates to mid to upper 80's on a course who's greens I don't know or can't figure out. Which lately seems to be most of them.
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I can relate to this. The course I grew up playing I'll regularly have less than 30 putts. On a course I don't know the greens, there's around 9 more strokes right there.
 
It generally take one time playing the course for me to get familiar with it and know where trouble is and where not to hit it
 
i think if you play the same course all the time you're handicap will be lower than if you play different courses and also you game won't travel as well cause you're so used to one place. i don't play the same place more than 4 times a year normally and thats due to that course being so close to me and convenient when i wanna just play a quick round. I also love playing new courses and i think it helps my game. I would say knowing a course takes off 5-10 strokes from a place i've never played before probably closer to 5 now but a higher cap would be closer to 10 easily thats what my instructor told me when i was first starting with him. If i play a course one time i feel like thats enough for me to know it well enough to not lose strokes to not knowing the layout and greens. I wish i played more conservative on newer courses but i still tend to play them pretty aggressive.
 
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