We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Do you chase a Golf Handicap?

I don't only play one course, my HC is purely made up of traveling scores.

So yes, I pay attention to it, as a metric of where my game is.
 
At 63 and after coming from 13 years off, I still feel young enough for the chase. Got into single digits last year and the goal this year would be around 6
 
ArmyGolf said:
My handicap is a direct representation of what tees I play, thats about it. Since I score the same from any yardage between 6000 and 6600, if I play 6000 it goes up to 9-10, if I play 6600 it goes down to 7ish.
Click to expand...
This is interesting. I just did a cap comparison yesterday of all my 2020 scores based on yardage and it didn't quite come out how I was expecting. I figured it would be more along these lines. 'Cause this makes sense. I was going to make a thread about it, but I doubt people will want to do the math.
 
i chased it for awhile, and it was the most stressed i’ve been on the course. the fear that a bad score would make the cap go up. my goal with my current instructor was handicap based, but that’s just because it’s a measurable metric. i’d rather just be more consistent in my ball striking.
 
Last edited:
I don’t officially have one, but I pay attention to my scores on Arccos. I like to use those numbers as a way to track the progress of my game, and yes, the HC is one of those numbers - it’s just a quick way to see if I’m still improving.
I’m naturally competitive but since this is only with myself, and I’m in control of the outcome it doesn’t stress me out or change the way I’m approaching the game. I enjoy improving.
 
Nope, don’t care. Not sure why I really keep one. I tried putting in the work to lower it last spring for all of a month. It wasn’t fun, felt like a job. So I’m content being a high hc
 
I sadly, don't play enough to worry about a handicap. In instead, I go out in pursuit of a personal best round score. I try to keep myself in check that way.
 
I don’t chase a handicap, but I would say I chase a score for the day. Depending on the distance playing and the level of difficulty, I will look to shoot a particular score at that course. Sometimes that can get me in trouble when you need to make up a stroke or two later in the round or help me out when I go for it.
 
I have a handicap goal, but I wouldn’t say I chase it. My handicap is nothing more than a flawed measure of my consistency. It is what it is.
 
I just really started tracking it. I am on the fence.
 
Not any more. My home course has quite a low slope. I assume that’s how handicaps are calculated when you enter a score. It’s low because the course is short at just under 6k. But being Oceanside, it always plays with a stiff breeze so plays way longer. Couple that with the back 9, where if you miss the first cut, your in a sandy wasteland that will cost you at least a stroke, and the course plays much more difficult than the slope would suggest. And yet, I’ve found, for my handicap to go down, I seem to need to be hitting sub 80 rounds.
Instead I use my score as a barometer generally. Anything below 82 I’m happy. Anything above 86, I’m pissed.
 
Chase it.....no. Pay attention to the fluctuations yes.
 
I think it's a good guage of how well I am playing and I work to get better all the time so I guess I kind of am.
 
I would be lying if I said I didn’t care because I like seeing a + if it there.
 
I do. I've only been playing for a short time so it helps me see how far I've come. And end goal is to be better than @Davidhibler for bragging rights😁
 
Right now I’m trying to establish a more legitimate one.

Since I regularly go weeks in between rounds and rarely practice I wouldn’t say that I’m chasing one. Would be nice to be single digit but if I haven’t played in 5 weeks I would hate to have that going into a competitive round.
 
Have goals to lower HC but don’t dwell on it. Keep it to play in one tournament per year and possibly a couple outings while in Colorado in the summer. Currently trying to gauge game and ability more by improving ball striking. Learning more about how it should be done than the way I’ve played it in the past. Have found that old bad habits are hard to break.
 
I keep track of mine unofficially, but I don’t get too wrapped up with the number. I might if I was better, but at this point I’m just trying to break 100 consistently.
 
I did one time and it almost made me want to stop playing. I’d get super frustrated during a round and would stew on that for hours past the 18th hole.

Now I just try to get better at obvious faults in my game. I love seeing progress but I was putting too much pressure on myself if I wasn’t scoring what I thought I needed to do to lower my handicap.
 
I use the handicap as a general measuring stick to see where my game on average is. However, I use how I am ball striking as my real hands on measurement on where my game is. When I am not striking well, generally speaking my scores are higher. When I am striking it well, it doesn't guarantee great scores but it's more likely.
 
I put all the legal scores in for The Grint Tour, my goal is to play most of them this year and see how it ends.
It is still a b!tch of mine that age is not really accounted for in these Tournaments and I have to play the same tees as a 20 year old with the same cap, there is a clause that says I can move up a set of tees but I hate to be that guy that holds up the process and well ego does come into play.
 
I've always had a goal in trying to become a scratch (or plus) player. Has never happened until recently. I wouldn't call it "chasing" but has always been a goal of mine. Guess I need to come up with a new goal for 2021!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top