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How Important Is Your Handicap to You?

I don’t know if it’s important, to me but more indicative of rating of game relative to course.

I’ve been at the number previously but wasn’t as good at golf or knowledgeable of it .

But context needs to be applied also , being older player (60) holding my current hcp, with relation to opportunity to play and time constraints , leads to average of 1-2 times a month (closer to 2) but happily swing the club and try to keep rhythm and swing etc every second day out the backyard .

Would l love to play more yes ,,,

Would l like it lower , yes , closer to 12-15 ish , would be more accurately reflective

My sporting demeanour , l don’t fundamentally brag or boast about it , verbally or other, just let it be and let others talk about it…
 
Snowman said:
The only time mine matters is our Saturday Men's Club skins games - and if those were really important to me I'd have a vested interest in getting my handicap as high as possible to maximize the number of pops I get. :LOL:
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What is a pop ? I’ve heard the term on here before and don’t know what it means ? Thanks
 
I have used a target handicap as a goal/motivation. “I want to be an x by a certain point in time.” Pretty satisfying to reach goals.

I probably care more about my partner’s and opponents’ handicaps in our regular matches. A few bucks and some good natured ribbing are on the line when we tee it up. All in good fun.
 
Im
Snowman said:
That flex of being able to casually throw out "Oh, I'm around a +2 at the moment. Somewhere around there, I don't really keep track...." :ROFLMAO:
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had a chat with a young lady at a golf centre talking about golf and in conversation l mentioned , l imagined her being a scratch golfer , she said she played in USA in a University , ( un named ) and was off +2 , I was thrown a bit , she said it’s a journey to get to scratch , but it’s another journey again to get + … also said and lam, unsure if l get the right number most pga golfer would be around. +6 ish (?) … that is extraordinary 🤩🤯
 
YukonLiving said:
Pop = shot/hole.
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Being from moose country (?) from one , lve seen that was stuffed in ski chalet , they are bloody huge !, ln our golf club we , use the term moose … if you have 10 shots on any particular hole ……. If you put both thumbs on head ,respective temples and wiggle fingers looks like moose horns … hahhaa and thrash the victims ,poor performance on the hole by calling Moooooose lol
 
I'm liking this +2 number. I think by the power of the Late Night THP Committee we should just make that adjustment happen. (y)
 
Hitsnmisses said:
Being from moose country (?) from one , lve seen that was stuffed in ski chalet , they are bloody huge !, ln our golf club we , use the term moose … if you have 10 shots on any particular hole ……. If you put both thumbs on head ,respective temples and wiggle fingers looks like moose horns … hahhaa and thrash the victims ,poor performance on the hole by calling Moooooose lol
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Haha! That sounds like a fun local custom!
 
YukonLiving said:
Haha! That sounds like a fun local custom!
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It’s gets better , we have two guys one off 10 other off 12 hcp , they both had a moose on same par 5 , the 12 hcp brother was playing in the group with me , we were astonished at the score because these fellows are both very competent golfers .. much laughter and a fair bit of mayonnaise on the story after the round ….. lol
 
I reestablished an index this year for the first time since 2008. I did it to see where my game was. For that reason - that it lets me know where my game is and how it compares to years past - my index is important.
 
Hitsnmisses said:
What is a pop ? I’ve heard the term on here before and don’t know what it means ? Thanks
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A "pop" is a handicap stroke given on a hole. So if you get one "pop" on a hole, your par becomes a net birdie - or your bogey becomes a net par, etc.
 
Hitsnmisses said:
It’s gets better , we have two guys one off 10 other off 12 hcp , they both had a moose on same par 5 , the 12 hcp brother was playing in the group with me , we were astonished at the score because these fellows are both very competent golfers .. much laughter and a fair bit of mayonnaise on the story after the round ….. lol
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Haha! That sounds like a fun time! And quite the sight on course if you didn’t know what was going on!
 
Is your handicap a badge of honor? - It was when I got down to a single digit. Then it was just a number.
Is it something you don't like talking about? - Only on bad scoring streaks like the recent one I am on.
Is it something you celebrate? - Not really.
Does it annoy you? - Its annoying that I play consistent and my handicap drops. Being in the 8-10 range really is tough to win competitions as I have to shoot mid to low 70's to compete with popapalooza. In tough playing conditions the lower caps tread water better so I lose there too. I just have to get much better or much worse. :ROFLMAO:

What kind of impact does your handicap have on who you are as a golfer? - None really. I play to my ability. I can look like a 2-3 handicap for 12 holes sometimes then boom here comes the bogey train. Currently I am shooting in the 90's which has raised my handicap from 8 to 11. I like the extra pops but will be called a sandbagger once I get out of my funk.

 
echico said:
...Currently I am shooting in the 90's which has raised my handicap from 8 to 11. I like the extra pops but will be called a sandbagger once I get out of my funk.
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Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), the handicap drops pretty quickly under the new system after a few good rounds. It goes down a lot faster than it goes up, especially when you get up into the "soft cap" range, which is where I've been living for about the past 6 months!
 
Not as important as it used to be. I’m honest with myself the last few years. Kids and work just haven’t afforded me the time to bring my handicap down. That will likely change as I get older but right now I’m just enjoying the moments I get on the course.
 
It's important to me only so I can see where I am and where I'm going. I am likely never going to be a scratch golfer and I'm fine with that. I don't make the time to play or practice as much as it would likely take me. One thing that I'm doing in 2022 is going to work hard with my limited time to improve so it will hopefully be a larger difference in 2023.

As I started 15 months ago, I have seen my ball striking ability go up amazingly and my driver was great after a lesson with it in June/July. I went to a couple different than my home courses and my handicap went the wrong direction and up almost 4 shots, then adding in the Jewel didn't help either.

It's not a competition though, I'm secure enough internally that it doesn't make me feel bad about myself that I'm not a great golfer, yet. I have a great time out playing, and that's all that really matters to me. Now, when it is a legit competition I want to play to win, but I never play to lose I just play to play otherwise.
 
More important than it should be.
I track all my rounds that I’ve kept score and played by the rules on - even if they were solo rounds (I don’t use the bogus HC to compete). I think it’s a better way to track progress than just recording average scores. Certainly nothing to be proud of but at least I’m not delusional about my level of play.
 
For me I don’t care about my handicap any longer. I do have it on a non-official website that’s provided by my home course but haven’t posted a score on it in 2 years. Since I don’t go any more competitions since COVID and probably won’t, it is just a waste of money to have an official HC. I know where I sit based on my scores as I am pretty consistent as far as top-bottom and bell curve.

I enjoy just playing two player match versus two player so HC really doesn’t do anything for me. I actually find that I play better golf in these 2 player matches as opposed to just going out and playing to a score. Keeps my competitive juices flowing and focus.

Most of my buddies also enjoy playing 2 player match play and don’t carry or care about HC, never a topic of conversation. A few of younger fellas I play with occasionally carry handicaps but around my regular group of 12 guys, HC rarely comes up.
 
Do I care what my handicap is? No, don't care. Do I care about my handicap? Yes, because handicaps allow golf to be competitive for everyone regardless of their skill.
 
I wouldn't say it was important to me, it is more of a guide to how well (or badly) I have been playing

When it comes to representing my club, it probably puts a bit more pressure on me as I know I need to perform as well as possible, whereas in general competitions I just let things fall where they do and shrug it off - If I play well, then it might come down, if I play badly it might go up but there isn't the same pressure as playing for your team

I don't consider it a badge of honour, but outside of the golf club, only 1 of my friends has a lower handicap than me, so it does sometimes become a talking point when the group get together and they ask how I am playing
 
Muchmore18 said:
It's way more important to me than it should be. Ever since I started keeping one, and watched it improve quickly, I've been way more cognizant of it during a round. I'm a much harder on myself and my game now. Like I compare myself to my cap everywhere I play and always think I should play better. I let it get in my head during good AND bad rounds. I wish it was as easy to ignore it like others tell me. So in a sense, it bothers me and wish it didn't have such a big influence on the mental side of my game
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I recall probably 7 to 8 years ago when I was approaching a low single digit handicap I was obsessed with my handicap. I just wanted to continue to get it lower as it to me dictated the state of my game. Unfortunately the end result was I started to get very frustrated during a round if I made a bad shot or poor decision.

I just found that obsessing over my handicap was not good for the enjoyment of my game. Upon deep reflection, I was not a fun person to play with. I honestly don’t care what anybody‘s handicap is, to me at 5S is time in my life golf is a game to enjoy not agonize over.
 
I think handicap is important to me as it’s somewhat of a sign of where I am at with my game. It has fluctuated over the years & I used to be more conscious of it, but now I play the game to have fun.
 
This is the first year I've had an official handicap because of the Morgan Cup. I focused on getting better all year.

doubt I'll maintain it this year.
 
I would say a low handicap is still something I strive for but I don't worry about it as much as maybe 3-4 years ago. I'm also more realistic that I'm probably about as low as I'll be able to get with family life getting busier and less time to practice.

With that said I'll do pretty proud to be a 7.6 when I rarely practice anymore.
 
The past couple years, not at all. I have a feeling I might start chasing it again this year though.
 
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