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Casual vs. Handicap

Bowtiepower00

Bowtiepower00

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Just spitballing here. I was a casual golfer for years. Decided to do some “league” golfing. I haven’t begun to claim a handicap officially, but it’s coming. Quite a difference- an easy 5+ strokes a round.

Amazing when I play with others, how many use the “foot wedge” to improve a lie, move out from behind a tree, remove their ball from rocks, etc.

It has really made me cognizant of improving my lie, etc, to where I don’t do it anymore. Amazing how a few gimmes here or there can change a score 10+ strokes a round.

How strict are you on a casual round? I’ve Become pretty strict on myself. I don’t take many “gimmes” or “mulligans” in search of an honest score.

What is the experience of the members here? Funny how quickly an 85 becomes a 100 if we’re really keeping score.

I think it’s a big benefit for most casual golfers to play a round a month or more under “league”or “tournament” conditions to see where we really stand. And the added pressure helps to improve our game, IMO.
 
I don’t differentiate regardless of social or more competitive play ( league games in your case , what ever they are , not from US) l belong with a social golf group although l have been a member of golf club many years ago . , and it irks me that some are very loose with interpretation and rules and others are following custom and practice of the rules and course.

Agree wholeheartedly , that it affects score , when you watch someone who may win , then you here they did this and that which is not in spirit of game or fair play or rules , and it may affect your chance of winning because of you abiding with previously detailed ….

I not also that , some are so ,blind as to the rules over many years ,they believe , the way they have behaved is correct, wrongly.

IMV the way your playing is correct .
 
Casual golf: I don’t care what liberties you take.

Real life: I can play my favorite course and shoot an honest mid 80s- But throw me on a new course with an honest score and I’m shooting 103, with strangers watching my every shot with money on the line.
 
Overall, it doesn’t matter- we’re all golfing for fun. But it puts scores into perspective when looking at Morgan Cup, Grandaddy, etc.
 
Yes we are , but would like it also if everyone played uniformly otherwise why play at all if we are all not adhering to any application of rules ?
That way it’s fair for all not fairer for some and more more favourable to others
 
It may seem a bit up tight but I follow the rules to the absolute letter in every round I play. Otherwise I’m lying to myself and building an unrealistic picture of my skill set. I’m proud of my 4 handicap playing to strict rules. 2 of my regular playing partners have single figure handicaps using the foot wedge, taking 4 ft gimmies, dropping a ball where it went OOB instead of replaying, improving lies in bunkers etc. They’re more like a 15 handicap if they played by the rules. To me that’s just a bit silly 🤷🏻‍♂️.
 
When I play a non practice round either solo, or with others, my score is what it is. No help what so ever. My 85 is an honest 85.

Now sometimes, when playing with my old golf buds, scoring liberties are taken. The score is important, but only as far as who's buying post round grub, and beverages at the 19th.
 
In my experience, a large percentage of golfers score a good 3-5 shots higher a round than they write down. Most of the time, it makes little difference. A few shots doesn't make a big difference in your handicap, and even when it does, you're only hurting yourself.

I play pretty tight according to the rules, but that's not to say I've never taken a liberty for the sake of pace of play. In such a situation I just charge myself 2 strokes for a lost ball and move on. As for others, if it's a casual round, I could care less what you do if we're having fun.
 
Playing both club competitions and representing the club in matches, I play everything by the letter wherever I can - if I think I have gone OB or my ball might be lost I will hit a provisional, even during a casual round

The only difference during a casual round is that I don't tend to pull out a club when measuring for a drop (whether that be unplayable or GUR etc) and just roughly eyeball the distance, but seeing as a casual round for me isn't going to be for handicap purposes anyway, I don't see that it matters
Other times during a casual round, if it isn't busy, I might replay a shot for practice purposes if I don't execute it the way I wanted, but any casual round score is always based on the first ball I play on the hole
 
I play casual and on two different leagues and each have different rules which is confusing. None are super sticklers when it comes to rules. The only time I move a ball is on rocks, roots, holes, etc., as I won't damage my clubs or myself. If there is a penalty then I take it. I play the ball where it lies even though in one league you are allowed to move it in these conditions penalty free if needed, but it is supposed to be down in the rough.

I watch people move the balls all the time all over the place to gain an advantage. Some times they set the ball on the highest chunk of grass they can find almost like tee height. I may say sometimes, hey, are you supposed to move the ball like that? The idea of the rule is to get it out of a deep divot or hole. Most of the time I don't say anything.

If it is a fun round move the ball where you like but when the round is over don't say to me how you beat me by 3 strokes with a score that was not accurate because you really did not beat me because you conveniently forgot 5 strokes that should be added to your score.

Just the other day during league play I took a shot from the fairway and one of the guys said, "You know you can move the ball, don't you?" I acknowledged and said I generally like to play it as it is unless it is buried or on a rock or something.
 
I typically play it as I hit it, I mean it's my fault if it's in a bad spot most of the time even on average courses if you hit the fairway 99% of the time it's a readily playable lie, so it was probably my fault in the first place when I missed.

I'm debating joining a league next year, we'll see what time is available etc, but I really think I will watch the other people and see how they play to see what kind of rules are enforced by the group and which are custom to our course.
 
For most of this year it’s been honest scoring - to the best of my knoewledge. I’ll take an unplayable lie penalty if I need to - sometimes it just makes sense. I will hit provisionals if there’s a good chance I won’t find my ball. I will sometimes drop in play and give myself a two stroke penalty when I can’t find it and haven’t hit a provisional.

In the end, there’s little difference between an honest 103 and a mulligan round of 99. At least I know the 103 was honest.

I play solo rounds almost exclusively these days but when playing with others don’t have a problem with how they score.
 
the only time I will move a ball is if I'm in harms way. really has nothing to do with score as my group does not talk about score. at times, I will suggest to someone in my group they take a double par and pick up if someone is having a rotten hole. pace of play is the reason.
 
Speaking for my personal game I play the ball as it lies 90% of the time. The occasions when I don’t it’s because I’ve landed in a divot or somewhere that could damage my clubs or body.

I don’t care at all what others do in casual rounds.
 
I always try to play by the rules regardless. I’m so inconsistent I’m not sure it makes a difference 🤷‍♂️
 
I always play by the rules as the only rounds that don't count towards my handicap are practice rounds before a tournament. In those rounds, I may drop multiple balls for shots and hit them, but I don't score the round.
It is amazing how much a score goes up when the rules are followed.
I have a neighbor that I play with that keeps telling me that he's about a 10-12 handicap so he should shoot mid 80's to low 90's and he tells me he shoots that. But.....when I really watch him play and count all the strokes, he's never broke 100 in my mind. He takes mulligans, drops balls from his pocket when he can't find the ball in the rough and doesn't take a penalty or rehit, doesn't count the whiffs when he misses the ball completely(at least twice a round), etc...etc...
 
I record all my rounds, including 9 hole rounds. It keeps track of how many I've played during the year, and I like my index to be accurate. Mulligan's and foot wedges are something that was never a thing from when I started playing, and my competitive(high school) golf started a couple of years later at age 15, so playing by the rules is the only way I've ever known. That being said, about 10% of my rounds I'm not really mentally into for 18 holes, so I'll throw away a stroke or two those days. I'll typically play a little better if there is money on the line.
 
I started playing golf at 19 with my Dad back in 1990. Who was an absolute stickler for the rules. At first I didn’t know any better. All I knew is these were the rules and they must be followed. After a couple of months of playing with just him, we played a couple rounds with some of his buddies. Who needless to say took some liberties. Foot wedges, Mulligans ect. My Dad never said a word to them. I remember on the ride home I asked him, “Dad. Those guys are cheating right? I mean I saw them break several rules today. You didn’t say a word.”

I’ll never forget his answer. He said, “Son. The rules are the rules. You can’t make everyone follow them. But we play the game the way it was meant to be played. So when we write our scores down we KNOW that it’s a legitimate score that we can look at and be proud of, or know we need to get better. Either way it’s the right way to play the game.”

This has always stuck with me. So I never take mulligans. Or move the ball. Or cut myself any slack that breaks the rules. Not ever in a scored round. I simply don’t see the point in doing it. If you want to play a “practice” round then play one. But don’t keep score. Keeping score is when the rules must be followed to me. That’s the difference.
 
I don't play very many really casual rounds. Most of my rounds I have a match going with some money on the line (not a lot but enough to keep us honest) and those rounds there are no foot wedges involved. There are conceded putts like always happen in match play. I do think there could be a putt or two that might be missed but generally nothing longer than 2 feet is conceded.

True tournament medal play rounds generally have higher scores. There is more pressure in those events when you have to post a score. I do believe that if every round was a true medal round with everything in the hole people's handicap would be two or three strokes higher. People would have less fun and rounds would take at least 15-30 minutes longer under those conditions though.
 
I mostly started keeping a handicap to track my personal progress so I started out being pretty loose with the rules. Mainly taking breakfast balls or giving myself relief if I'm on a rock or root. I was a 22 when I got my first HC and am down to an 18 now so nothing to really stress about. As I have improved I have tightened up quite a bit with the rules and try to follow as close as possible.

There are a couple of rules I definitely break but it's out of respect for others and pace of play on the course. If I'm having a bad hole and its holding up the group behind I will always pick up at triple. I also always play lost balls from where they went out with a penalty if I can't find it. I would never consider going back to the tee if I didn't hit a provisional. I'm trying to be very accurate these days as I want to start playing some tournaments for the first time but I will never prioritize my accurate handicap over pace of play which affects everyone on the course.
 
Way back when I played well and had a handicap I followed every rule, but was not interested in somebody else's play what they did. Now on the other hand when I played tournaments amateur tournaments of course I watched every 1 like a hawk.
 
This year, I decided to reestablish a handicap index. So, in rounds that I post for handicap purposes, I follow the rules. I have “ casual rounds” where I play less than 9 holes and do not post. Typically, that would be playing a few holes after work in the summer. Then I have no concern for the rules.
 
TheDoctor said:
The only difference during a casual round is that I don't tend to pull out a club when measuring for a drop (whether that be unplayable or GUR etc) and just roughly eyeball the distance, but seeing as a casual round for me isn't going to be for handicap purposes anyway, I don't see that it matters
Click to expand...

Measuring with a club isn't required at all. As long as the ball is within the one-or-two club lengths allowed, the drop is legal. Measuring with a club is advisable during a tournament though, because the penalty for a wrong guesstimate (playing from a wrong place) is severe.
 
I never miss shots off or improve lies.

A handicap is there to help your score, not inflate your ego.
 
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