How to Fix the Broken Handicap System: Dynamic Handicapping

I am not sure that style points really matter in any type of handicapping. But like noted and long-time Packer's fan @drp3434 said, your playing partner made a heck of an up and down from a trap, and you had an off hole putting. So I don't see anything really wrong here, unless the point is that someone who tops a shot should be penalized more than the result (which I totally agree with as someone who 100% did not top each of his drives on hole 1 of the Budget Golf Championship on two consecutive days). I am sure your overall score was rewarded having hit 11 of 18 greens, seems it sounds like you were golfing your ball well from the fairway, and your playing partner was struggling at times.

I would also argue that had there been a different color stake (white vs red) then none of this would have mattered. But the classification of out of bounds vs hazard for fairway boundaries has been long discussed on this form in another thread, with similar passion to what this thread has created.
 
I'm just getting into this thread:
 
I still don’t see how making an error from the fairway is more deserving of a stroke than making an error with a putter. They all count as one stroke, and they are all important. Every golfer has a different game, different strengths and weaknesses and need strokes for different reasons.
 
Kind of like a 36 capper getting a birdie on a par 3.
a 36 cap getting any birdie anywhere is rare and against the odds. Definitely not as against the odds of a 15 leaving an approach just on the fringe 10' to hole and making the putt, so we agree on that.
Is that a firm counteroffer? I’m just kidding. But I am not sure it’s really much different from a practical matter.
If a scratch golfer plays a high cap, let's say a 21 cap, then the high capper still gets a pop on every hole. If a scratch golfer played a 36, the high cap would still get pops on every hole and double pops on some.
 
The issue with the current handicapping system makes no distinction between the difficulty of a shot, making no difference between a tee shot on a long par 3 or a 6 inch putt.
👆 This is what you said in your original post. I disagree. The handicap system takes all shots into consideration collectively to provide one with an individual handicap, and the course rating/slope and handicap number assigned to the hole work in conjunction with that. It just doesn't take shots into account on a one-by-one, current round basis as they occur.
 
👆 This is what you said in your original post. I disagree. The handicap system takes all shots into consideration collectively to provide one with an individual handicap, and the course rating/slope and handicap number assigned to the hole work in conjunction with that. It just doesn't take shots into account on a one-by-one, current round basis as they occur.
It certainly takes all shots into consideration, but it does not weight the shots differently, even though there is a different statistical likelihood of success. Applying an overall course slope adjustment helps resolve that, but I do not think it goes far enough to do so, and on some cases may even exacerbate the alleged issue I am trying to account for and resolve.
 
It certainly takes all shots into consideration, but it does not weight the shots differently, even though there is a different statistical likelihood of success. Applying an overall course slope adjustment helps resolve that, but I do not think it goes far enough to do so, and on some cases may even exacerbate the alleged issue I am trying to account for and resolve.
The obvious solution is that all golfers are required to purchase a Shot Scope device, which will track their performance on all areas of the course. Each golfer will be given a driving, approach, around the green, and putting handicap. Each course will also be rated and handicap allotment given for each area, and based on your performance in each area relative to your handicap, as well as the difficulty of each hole in those areas, your handicap will be assigned in real-time as you play the hole.
 
I still don’t see how making an error from the fairway is more deserving of a stroke than making an error with a putter. They all count as one stroke, and they are all important. Every golfer has a different game, different strengths and weaknesses and need strokes for different reasons.
I'm all for any efforts to creatively improve the HC system BUT in a nutshell, bolded describes what I see as a huge flaw with this proposal. Each of our HCs are an amalgamation of our relative strengths and weaknesses in the various facets of our unique games. I get that GIR and length are strong predictors of expected HC but there are certainly still a lot of golfers who, relative to their caps, hit greens much better than expected but do other things much worse. For some, putting is the primary reason their caps are as high as they are. For others putting is why their caps are so much lower than expected. Basing whether a golfer strokes on whether or not they hit a green is just too one dimensional IMO and assumes we all putt as well as each other.
 
The obvious solution is that all golfers are required to purchase a Shot Scope device, which will track their performance on all areas of the course. Each golfer will be given a driving, approach, around the green, and putting handicap. Each course will also be rated and handicap allotment given for each area, and based on your performance in each area relative to your handicap, as well as the difficulty of each hole in those areas, your handicap will be assigned in real-time as you play the hole.
I was going to add something like that to my post above, since, according to Shot Scope, I am basically a 10 off the tee, a 5 when it comes to approaches and close to scratch in regard to short game and putting. My thought was one would get strokes or give strokes in each of those four areas based on who has the higher or lower relative "handicap" in each category. Each hole would also have to be rated in each of the four areas as well, I think.
 
I was going to add something like that to my post above, since, according to Shot Scope, I am basically a 10 off the tee, a 5 when it comes to approaches and close to scratch in regard to short game and putting. My thought was one would get strokes or give strokes in each of those four areas based on who has the higher or lower relative "handicap" in each category. Each hole would also have to be rated in each of the four areas as well, I think.
My point was trying to point out the difficulty in even attempting some dynamic handicap where it tries to account for areas of strength and weakness. It would be impractical, overly tedious, and would probably just drive people away from handicapped golf.
 
My point was trying to point out the difficulty in even attempting some dynamic handicap where it tries to account for areas of strength and weakness. It would be impractical, overly tedious, and would probably just drive people away from handicapped golf.
Who's keeping track of all this crap during the round? I have enough remembering to write down scores every hole
 
Copying this over from the Live Round thread.

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Last hole, par 3, mine is 87 yards longer and she gets 2 pops. This is after tee shots. She's red. What's the expected outcome of the perfectly fair and non-dynamic system in place on this?
 
Copying this over from the Live Round thread.

View attachment 9123167

Last hole, par 3, mine is 87 yards longer and she gets 2 pops. This is after tee shots. She's red. What's the expected outcome of the perfectly fair and non-dynamic system in place on this?

looks like you’re off the green, which I’ve been told is the ideal scenario
 
Copying this over from the Live Round thread.

View attachment 9123167

Last hole, par 3, mine is 87 yards longer and she gets 2 pops. This is after tee shots. She's red. What's the expected outcome of the perfectly fair and non-dynamic system in place on this?
She buys you a Coke float.
 
Copying this over from the Live Round thread.

View attachment 9123167

Last hole, par 3, mine is 87 yards longer and she gets 2 pops. This is after tee shots. She's red. What's the expected outcome of the perfectly fair and non-dynamic system in place on this?
You hope that she sinks the putt and won't let you hear the end of it.
 
So, I guess the real question is… just how much of a difference will all of these dynamic handicap metrics make in my overall handicap?

If I’m working my nards off to gather and record all this data, AND play golf… to realize a one stroke difference in my hcp., in either direction, then no thanks. It will suck the fun out of the game for me.
 
Copying this over from the Live Round thread.

View attachment 9123167

Last hole, par 3, mine is 87 yards longer and she gets 2 pops. This is after tee shots. She's red. What's the expected outcome of the perfectly fair and non-dynamic system in place on this?
She 2 or 3 putts and you 1 or 2 putt and the hole is halved or you win. As someone who has to give pops on par 3's it is frustrating, but I still like my chances against the high capper. The system we have is not perfect, but in my experience it doesn't favor the high cap over the low cap.
 
She 2 or 3 putts and you 1 or 2 putt and the hole is halved or you win. As someone who has to give pops on par 3's it is frustrating, but I still like my chances against the high capper. The system we have is not perfect, but in my experience it doesn't favor the high cap over the low cap.
I got up and down for par and she 3 putted for net birdie.
 
I got up and down for par and she 3 putted for net birdie.

I will agree the Par 3's suck. Par 3's aside with the current handicap system do you fill at a disadvantage playing hi cappers? The weekend game at my home course pays the low net round and low gross round. We had to put a rule in that someone couldn't win low gross and low net. Because the scratch or better were winning both gross and net. I just haven't seen where the hi capper has an advantage over scratch or better players in the long run.
 
What happened on the par 5's?
I played the first 3 at -3 and took them. The 4th wouldn't have mattered because she would have closed me out on about hole 13. And I shot a 69 par'ing out after that point.
 
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