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Do you play to your handicap?

EltyGolfs

EltyGolfs

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Location
Bend, Oregon
Handicap
18
I’ve always been curious how many people play to their handicap vs playing to par and just ending up at your handicap. For instance if you’re a 10 and you get a shot on a par 4 do you play it like a par 5?

I personally always try and score the par listed, but maybe that’s why my scores don’t get any better ha.


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I don't keep score, so I have no clue what I'm playing to. I go after each hole as it's set and measure my day by trying to always 2 put or less and not lose balls. :act-up:
 
I'd say that about 50% of my actual scores are around my listed handicap. I just play the course and worry about that later. It seems to work out in the end.

My last 10 rounds ....

Actual Handicap: 13
Handicap 8-10 (1 score)
Handicap 11-14 (5 scores)
Handicap 15-18 (4 scores)


I guess it would help to know before the round what my goal is to shoot. Rather than say a 85..... maybe the course is harder and if I shoot an 88 it treats it as a 85. I still like to sit around +13 from the listed PAR so usually the goal is 85ish with my 13 handicap. If I go lower then I know I scored real well. Higher and I know I didn't and I can definitely tell that before calculating the score in the end.
 
I try to play to par. And end up somewhere around my handicap in the end. On a par 4, I try to play to a 4 not a 5 if based off my HC. I hope to par every hole. But it has never worked out that way.
 
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I try to hover around 90 each round and based on the slope and rating I know if it's gonna be harder or easier to achieve that.

What has helped me is to realize that since scoring 90 would mean I should average a bogey every hole, is to add a stroke to each hole's par. Par 3 is a 4, up to a Par 5 is actually a 6. If I get a bogey, that's the new "par" for me, and getting par is actually a bonus. It helps me mentally seeing if I am +2 after 13 holes, instead of +15, where the +2 just means I am 2 strokes over what I think I should score. If I magically birdie a hole, I go from +2 to E for the day, since it's 2 stokes under my expected bogey.

That sounded better in my head, but hopefully it makes sense to you!
 
BlueHen2006 said:
I try to hover around 90 each round and based on the slope and rating I know if it's gonna be harder or easier to achieve that.

What has helped me is to realize that since scoring 90 would mean I should average a bogey every hole, is to add a stroke to each hole's par. Par 3 is a 4, up to a Par 5 is actually a 6. If I get a bogey, that's the new "par" for me, and getting par is actually a bonus. It helps me mentally seeing if I am +2 after 13 holes, instead of +15, where the +2 just means I am 2 strokes over what I think I should score. If I magically birdie a hole, I go from +2 to E for the day, since it's 2 stokes under my expected bogey.

That sounded better in my head, but hopefully it makes sense to you!
Click to expand...

Yup, bogey golf or 5's all across the scorecard. Then work your way down from there. I do the same.
 
itsOpeningDay said:
Yup, bogey golf or 5's all across the scorecard. Then work your way down from there. I do the same.
Click to expand...

The 5's is a great idea too, never thought of it that way!
 
Going into last year, I hadn't played a lot over the last few years and tried to convince myself that anything better than bogey golf was a win. That's how my early rounds fell. A couple over or under. I tracked my scores for HC purposes and adjusted my total score goal off my HC as it fell. If GRINT said I was a 13, I counted 85 as my "par." But, I do like your idea as perhaps a way to be more focused hole to hole.
 
i always play to par. i accept that i'm going to bogey holes, but i never intentionally play for a bogey. as long as i am playing the correct set of tees, i don't think there is any hole i'm incapable of making par, or that takes some kind of borderline lucky shot to make par.
 
My home course has a 450 yard par 4. I only hit my drive 230ish so this is a very difficult par 4. I just try to hit it as far as I can off the tee, then hit it as far as I can from there. Haven't hit the green yet, but have had a few pars, lots of bogeys, and some worsts.
 
I always try to play to par reguardless of the course I am on. It will even out in the end.
 
Mostly to par. Sometimes I will even play to birdie if there is an opportunity to be aggressive off the tee.

Bogeys just happen.
 
Always play relative to par.
 
At my Handicap, I just try to play for a bogey each hole. If I get a Par, that goes into the bank for the Double that will come at some point in the round. If I get a birdie, wahoo! I might have a better than handicap round.
 
Play every whole with making par as the goal.
 
I play to par. I don't worry about handicap during the round unless it's to decide who may get strokes on what holes head to head in match play.
 
My goal on every hole is the stated par for that hole. Whether I achieve that goal is more reflective of my handicap. In reality, at my current handicap I hope to make at least 3 pars on each side and limit the number of times I end up making a real mess of a hole. If I can do that I expect my index to drop over time.
 
I try to play the next shot that would gives me the highest percentage chance of obtaining a low score on a hole. That varies greatly.

For example, on my home course, #5 is a tight 515 yard par 5 (4 handicap hole) that doglegs right and has a creek down the entire right side and trouble the entire left side. If I hit a decent drive, I will typically use a 3 hybrid or 3 wood and go for the green. However, the next hole is a 178 yard par 3 (12 handicap hole) that can play as long as 200 yards depending on where the tees and flag are (with a creek down the entire left side, two steep bunkers in front and swales behind and to the right of the green). I often use an 8 iron here and lay up short of the bunkers. I seldom hit this green from the tee, so I try to give myself a shot at an up-and-down rather than hitting a ball in the creek or risking a bad lie in a bunker.
 
I’d like to think my cap travels in season
 
Except on a par three, my goal is always play bogie golf. I have a tendency to blow up a hole or two, so if I limit those I score much better.


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Par. It's probably hurt me a number of times. Not out there trying to break records though.

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I think I do. Im usually in the mid 70s and every now and then ill have a low 70s followed by a low 80s
 
EltyGolfs said:
I’ve always been curious how many people play to their handicap vs playing to par and just ending up at your handicap. For instance if you’re a 10 and you get a shot on a par 4 do you play it like a par 5?

I personally always try and score the par listed, but maybe that’s why my scores don’t get any better ha.


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Click to expand...

You’re only supposed to score your handicap 20% of the time. Handicap is not the same thing as average.


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Having a handicap of 12 I am capable of going either way, but I aim for par on any hole where the stroke index is 10 or higher and then try to limit the other holes to nothing worse than bogey

My home course has a 460yd par 4 and last year I actually had a couple looks at birdie, but I never feel bad walking off that hole with a 5

My best scores always happen when I can keep the double bogeys off my card as I am starting to get more regular looks at birdie so if the odd one of those drops amd I have nothing worse than bogey on the card I am happy

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I haven’t established my handicap yet, but since I rarely break 100 my goal is bogey or better on every hole. Unfortunately I tend to have several blowup holes per round.
 
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