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LITLHART

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I hope all are doing well. I just joined this site yesterday and have been reading threads all over the place as they are all very interesting. Anyway i wanted to post something that is interesting to me to get some thoughts from users on the site as hey seem to have them on tons of other topics. So many folks out there are die hard rules junkies and want to learn every rule in the book and as golfers we all are engaged in learning the rules as they come up. It seems as much as we play we always have rules questions come up that we do not have answers to and have to learn them as we go. I love learning about the handicap system and how it works as much as most golfers enjoy learning about the rules.

I find the handicap system neat to learn about due to the fact that i spent most of my life using it while having no idea how the system actually worked. I used to think that it was just an average of what you shot over par. I guess the key word being average as i have now learned that average has nothing to do with it. My goal growing up as i played was how could i break par or what could i do to shoot my lowest score ever. Well i'm not that old but my glory days and lowest scores ever are over for sure.

I have now learned what a differential is, how it is calculated, and that the entire handicap system is predicated getting a number that measures your potential rather than what your average may be. i am a really competitive guy, but i love competing against myself as much as others. I have found that it is really difficult to play to my handicap when i play on a given day and that has become my new goal as i play golf. When i get done with a round of golf the first thing i do is figure out what the differential i shot was for the day was as that is the number that determines how i played on a given course from a given set of tees. Anyway i love playing this game against myself of how can i lower my handicap and how often can i play to it. I find this to be a great internal challenge for myself and I was wondering how many others love using the system to challenge themselves like i do when on the course.

I have never used forums before, but i am hoping i have posted this correctly and that i get some thoughts from others on the handicap system and how they view it as i love talking about it just like the rules guys out there enjoy talking about the rules.
 
Welcome. Post is in the right spot and hopefully it will bring some good discussion around a topic that hasn't really been discussed much recently.
 
I am a fan of the current handicap system for stroke play and when used properly it really allows players of different skill levels to compete against each other and themselves at the same time. It's not perfect as I think there should be a way to incorporate distance to really take it to the next level.

Usually my issues with the system have to do with Match Play where I feel it doesn't work as desired, or to do with courses being so improperly rated/sloped that they are basically facilitating sandbagging indirectly.
 
I appreciate the handicap system although I haven't kept an official HC in some years. But I will punch in my numbers and cross reference them with a couple of various web sources to get a decent idea of where I may be.

But when it comes to personal challenges as it relates to differential, I don't pay that any mind. My goal, quite unfair to myself and perhaps unreasonable, is to break 80 every time out.

Of course that doesn't happen as I've only shot sub 80 twice thru seven rounds this year. But my average over these rounds is 81.2 thus far.

So for as long as I hover around 80, my goal will always be to break it.
 
Iv never had an official handicap though I have been considering it. I would love to play in a local tournament but I think I would need an official cap to enter.
 
Miller79 said:
Iv never had an official handicap though I have been considering it. I would love to play in a local tournament but I think I would need an official cap to enter.
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Check out the VGT if you ever want to take the plunge and give Tournament golf a try. You will need an official RCGA handicap. VGT is well run and there's a lot of great guys out there.
 
For all the warts that you can find, I enjoy the handicap system and feel it's the best we have at the moment. I never had an official handicap before THP and have enjoyed (or not so much sometimes) benchmarking myself against my index, seeing if it travels and using it to compete against others of all skill levels. To me, using the handicap system adds yet another level of enjoyment to this wonderful game.

Welcome to THP! Glad you are here.

JM
 
The handicap system is used to determine a players potential, not what their average score is. The thing that makes it more difficult is that your handicap is different at each course you play at. At my home course my GHIN number usually gets boosted by 1 stroke (14.1 would have me playing off a 15 in my next tournament).

Anyway, I do like the current handicapping system, but like any system there are folks that will try to screw with it but for the most part I find golfers to be pretty honest about it.

And welcome to THP, lots of fun discussions going on around here.
 
Zbuechner4 said:
Even though I'm actually about a 9 handicap, I only use it to input REALLY good scores that keep me "eligible" to play in US Open qualifiers, US mid amateurs, etc. I never expect to qualify, but typically they're played on really awesome private courses so it's worth it. And qualifying is just a bonus!


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I really hope your being sarcastic. I played with a guy once who did this. Watching him shot 100 was no fun for anyone.
 
The Milk Man said:
I really hope your being sarcastic. I played with a guy once who did this. Watching him shot 100 was no fun for anyone.
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I don't mind these people unless they contend for wins. During the Sony volunteer open a 27 handi won net lowest with a net of 65, Clearly sandbagging. To each there own.
 
Breaking 79 said:
I don't mind these people unless they contend for wins. During the Sony volunteer open a 27 handi won net lowest with a net of 65, Clearly sandbagging. To each there own.
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Sandbaggers (I don't play any handicap events) or vanity caps don't really bother me much. However when you are playing in a USGA or State qualifier and you have to play with some guy shooting triple digits because he has a vanity cap. It tends to really bother you.
 
Zbuechner4 said:
No way man! It's so fun! I'm decent enough to keep up with those guys though. My worst score was an 88 last year but my best was a 74 in the Georgia Am qualifier, missed the cut by 2 strokes! But I know what you mean, ive seen way worse than a 100, you're right it's not fun.
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Not only is it not fun it's not fair to the guys who actually have a chance to qualify. It's really hard to play good when some guy is shooting 110 and doesn't deserve to be there.
 
[My] glory days and lowest scores ever are over for sure
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Curious why you think so. I've seen lots of people play their best later in life.
 
I love all the replies and 100 percent agree with the few of you that realize the system is not a perfect system, but nothing out there is perfect and it seems to be the best we have in place for the time being. I think my handicap travels well and from tee box to tee box. As much as people look at sandbagging to be a major issue with the system I tend to lean towards what the other guys are saying and notice that the reverse bagger (vanity handicap who only posts low rounds) seems to be a more frequent occurrence. At the same time I would never let something like that bother me and not want to play with these people as if i did i more than likely would be unable to meet about 25% of golfers out there!!! LOL!!

I am not really sure what the one person saying distance needs to be taken into consideration means as that is certainly a part of how they rate the courses. I would tell all of you to get a handicap as it is a great way to challenge yourself and compete against others on a equal playing field. Now I love the comment form "mancest" as he is right on with the fact that a handicap is designed to measure a players potential and has absolutely nothing to do with a players average. At the same time we have to be careful on who we point figures at for shooting something like net 65 if you don't know what tees the person played for the day? That person may be older and may have played a pushed up tee box that had a really low course rating like 64.8. If this were the case he would not of even played to his handicap for the day so much be called a cheater. Keep in mind that the course rating on a golf course is your target score to be shot using your handicap and that par means absolutely nothing in the the handicap calculation.

That goes back to what I was saying about always trying to break par being a dumb way for me to look at and measure my ability as 71 on one course from a certain set of tees versus 74 on a much more difficult course the 74 could be a much better round. Now "leftshot" i have definitely seen players who get better as they get older, but for me specifically i played college golf and was a great player when in my late teens early twenty's and the scores I used to shoot i just cant shoot anymore. Why? My job, my family and my kids now eat up all of my time and practicing for hours a day is just something i am unable to do!! MY MENTAL GAME ON THE OTHER HAND IS MUCH BETTER THAN IT ONCE WAS!!!.....Love all the comments and I will check back to see what else gets said in a few days.

Have a good one and keep it in the fairway!!!
 
Interesting thread, I learned some stuff I had no clue about. I assumed it was more of an average thing.
 
LITLHART said:
That goes back to what I was saying about always trying to break par being a dumb way for me to look at and measure my ability as 71 on one course from a certain set of tees versus 74 on a much more difficult course the 74 could be a much better round. Now "leftshot" i have definitely seen players who get better as they get older, but for me specifically i played college golf and was a great player when in my late teens early twenty's and the scores I used to shoot i just cant shoot anymore. Why? My job, my family and my kids now eat up all of my time and practicing for hours a day is just something i am unable to do!! MY MENTAL GAME ON THE OTHER HAND IS MUCH BETTER THAN IT ONCE WAS!!!.....Love all the comments and I will check back to see what else gets said in a few days.

Have a good one and keep it in the fairway!!!
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My mental game got much stronger after the age of 30 as it took me that long to grow up and have control of my emotions.

When I started golf I was a curious kid who was pretty good at math and right away learned everything about handicaps and how to calculate mine. I've always looked at the differential at the end of a round as being a way better indicator of how I played than my actual score. I also quickly came to understand that you only play to your index 20-25% of the time and your average score is about 3 differential strokes higher than your handicap. Par is important but the differential is more important. I've never enjoyed playing short or easy courses that have a low slope and course rating. I will always to pick courses and tees that put the course rating at a minimum of 71.5 but preferably higher than that.

A lot of us here certainly understand family and job responsibilities getting in the way of golf! For the first time in since becoming a parent, my free time for golf finally is on the rise with my son now in his freshman year of college and my oldest daughter getting her license last year. Soon I'll be looking at retirement where I'm hoping to hold off father time for a little while longer and get back to something close to my top form from 25 years ago.
 
I enter every single round . . . good, bad or ugly. To me it seems like the only fair way to do it. I never enter any tournaments though so it really doesn't matter. If I understand the calculation you don't / can't enter 9 hole rounds. Correct? Why not?
 
Handicap used to be something I focused on but I find myself caring less about it, ironically as it's up 3-4 strokes over historical lows. Very focused on the quality of shots I hit versus the luck I make these days.


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TripleF said:
I enter every single round . . . good, bad or ugly. To me it seems like the only fair way to do it. I never enter any tournaments though so it really doesn't matter. If I understand the calculation you don't / can't enter 9 hole rounds. Correct? Why not?
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Sure, you can enter 9 hole rounds. Courses are rated by each nine so your scores can be combined after two 9 hole scores.
 
yes if you play nine holes not only may you post your scores you must post them to keep you handicap accurate.
 
You are spot on. Differential is definitely the way to assess how well you played to your cap on a given day. I'm sure you figured out that it's a moving target though. You're only going to be successful matching or beating your cap about once every 4 or 5 rounds, on average. As soon as you start beating it more frequently your cap will drop lower. If it were baseball, we'd never get out of the minors with that kind of average success.

Welcome to THP.
 
Daddio said:
You are spot on. Differential is definitely the way to assess how well you played to your cap on a given day. I'm sure you figured out that it's a moving target though. You're only going to be successful matching or beating your cap about once every 4 or 5 rounds, on average. As soon as you start beating it more frequently your cap will drop lower. If it were baseball, we'd never get out of the minors with that kind of average success.

Welcome to THP.
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I myself am still trying to understand some of this. I established an official handicap the for the first time last year at 27.2.

My first time out this year I shot a 98 on a course with a rating/slope of 68.20/123. That calculates out to a handicap differential of 27.4 according to The Grint app. So this means I pretty much shot my handicap for that round, correct?
 
Dartgod said:
I myself am still trying to understand some of this. I established an official handicap the for the first time last year at 27.2.

My first time out this year I shot a 98 on a course with a rating/slope of 68.20/123. That calculates out to a handicap differential of 27.4 according to The Grint app. So this means I pretty much shot my handicap for that round, correct?
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Yes, you pretty much nailed your cap. Good job. You'll probably see that score will be one of the ten differentials used as you play your next 20 rounds too. That is unless you improve and start hitting or beating your cap regularly.
 
Daddio said:
Yes, you pretty much nailed your cap. Good job. You'll probably see that score will be one of the ten differentials used as you play your next 20 rounds too. That is unless you improve and start hitting or beating your cap regularly.
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Thanks.

That would be my goal for this season.
 
Zbuechner4 said:
Even though I'm actually about a 9 handicap, I only use it to input REALLY good scores that keep me "eligible" to play in US Open qualifiers, US mid amateurs, etc. I never expect to qualify, but typically they're played on really awesome private courses so it's worth it. And qualifying is just a bonus!


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From the USGA handicap guidelines...

"Fair handicapping depends upon full and accurate information regarding a player's potential scoring ability as reflected by a complete scoring record. Every player must be responsible for returning all acceptable scores, as defined in this section. For handicap purposes, all Section 4 adjustments, including Equitable Stroke Control, must be applied to all scores, including tournament scores."

I don't understand how you consider what you are doing is ethical? Also, if you have good rounds, won't your handicap be based on those instead of the poor rounds you post? This only makes sense if you only post a few rounds a year. Do what you want but if you are taking someone's spot that inputs all their scores correctly then that is BS.
 
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