Watching the American Century celebrity tournament on NBC over the weekend, I do not believe that Micheal Jordan or Ray Allen are scratch golfers? The golf digest rank them 1.1 hdcp. http://www.golfdigest.com/rankings/2007/at...rankings_gd2007

Have you seen Jordan awkward swing and that tree root in his mouth?....annoying and cocky..

Do you think that these guys lie on their hdcp?

I shoot a 72

I do not believe Jordan is <2 hci, if he were he'd have better finishes in these events eventually.

ok he's not an athlete, but isn't Donald Trump supposedly a single digit handicap? how did that happen?

I think owning golf clubs has something to do with it.
The owner of one of the courses in my neighborhood says he's a 5 hcp too. I've played with him twice, he might be a 10. He always seems to be a little sick or hung over or ...

In the case of non athletes who are famous, I might chalk it up to playing under pressure in front of cameras, galleries, etc. In Jordan's case, that excuse isn't even conceivable..
Btw, some of those guys flat out smash their irons, especially the hockey players.

When it comes to golf, I'm sure athletes (and celebrities) are no different than the general population. Some fudge (lie), some sandbag, some play it straight. And I would imagine many of their handicaps are established in friendly rounds at the CC or with business associates or clients where three foot gimmies, playing ob as laterals, etc are the norm- not in the crucible of tournament play where everything is by the book.

You have to imagine there is a little pressure for a vanity cap. These guys are world class athletes (or entertainers). Golf is a humbling game. MJ was the best basketball player in the history of the game. From what I read he loves and is addicted to golf. It's probably difficult to reconcile his true handicap isn't as low as 'he' feels it should be.

You see the same thing in the business world. The more successful someone is, the better golf they think they should be. When I play with my someone in our Executive office or even higher than a Director level they feel like they should be a '10' or better. It's like admitting they are a 16 is some sort of weakness that translates to our respective roles in the company. Makes no sense....

I played a match in a 4 ball tourney the other day with a retired Major League Baseball star. I wont name him here, but he was quite a player. Pretty good golfer too, and he mentioned that he was going to play in the pro am for the Hartford PGA tour event, and that he was nervous. I said, "DUDE, you played baseball on tv in front of millions, you played in world damned series for crying out loud!!"

he replied, "yah, but THAT was my element. This is not."

even guys who are exceptional athletes get the golf nerves.

Jordan? ...if his "character" allows him to cheat on his wife then it's logical thay he'll fudge his handicap

Good point, I never really thought about it that way.

I assume its differnt for everyone, but for this particular guy...playing golf infront of people was a big deal to him.

Didnt seem to bother him to have me watch him tho....guy closed me out on 17.

Yes. More than a few of them are action junkies, compulsive gamblers, adulterers and are/were on steriods. "Fans" who are olfers or are at golf course enable them.

Romo is the real deal on the course.

I watched Playing lessons with Samuel L Jackson on TGC. It said he was a 6 but he couldn't hit and or judge some pretty routine trouble shots. Not to speak ill of Mace Windu, but I think 6 was a little low for what he showed.

Also keep in mind that not everyone has a game that "travels" well. (Much less a putting game that translates onto different grass)

If you only play your home course and set your handicap on that, then hop into a tournament and play on a course you have never seen or only played once or twice . . . I'd expect you to shoot a lot higher than your handicap would indicate.

That's what I thought of based on the thread title.

He hit an 84 at the 2008 US Open celebrity match thingy. They played the exact course (tees, etc) the pros were going to be playing.

Pitcher Rick Rhoden has got the game to match his hcp, but did he play on the Champions Tour. In all fairness how can he be allowed to participate in this event. I think a lot was talked about this a few years ago.

I think there's a lot of truth in that. Someone who plays the same course 80% of the time is going to get to know every spot on that course and especially every spot on the greens, and will over time play several strokes better on it than anywhere else he goes. Personally, I think that playing a variety of courses, different grasses, different conditions, different sand, different greens, etc. makes a player better and more likely to be able to deal with whatever comes up.

There are two types of golf games, just like computers: Desktop and Laptop...one's portable, the other not.

Tim

One other thing to remeber is the elevation they are playing at. I'm sure most of those guys dont normally play at 7000 feet above sea level. I know it takes quite a while for me to adjust to the differences when I go play up in Colorado.
The elevation change can lead to second guessing your club selection and not having confidence in your shots causing higher scores. This is prob a factor on the first day or two. But to a point I am sure some of their egos get in the way and lead to a few vanity handicaps.
BTW did anyone else see Aaron Rodgers get snubbed by the kid on sat. The Aaron tried to sign the kids footbal and the kid just brushed him off cause he wanted Ben Rothelsbergers autograph instead

I caught that. The kid tried to play it off, by acting like he was looking for something when Aaron wen towards him. When the kid looked away, Rodgers waved him off and shook his head. then the kid snapped back and was again trying to get Big Ben's attention. Pretty funny.

I've played with Romo a couple of times. When I heard during the event at Torrey that he's a 2.2, my thought was that's a little higher than what I've seen. Maybe I caught him on good days.

No doubt. I watched him on TV and he was good. Justin Timberlake is a jerk but he is pretty decent golfer.

Handicaps and the ability to play are, suprisingly, two different things. Many golfers will lie, but often times a supposedly low handicapper is only low from the second or third tee, or on the course he plays 3 out of 4 times (like TEConner and dorfblee suggested earlier).

So, saying you're a single digit capper does not mean you are a single digit player. If you take a lot of these guys to the tips, they crumble like feta cheese. Some guys admit it, others can't admit it to themselves.

I mean, think about the percentages. How many players can really perform 200 yards plus? If you're a single digit guy, you should be playing a 400 yard par 4 in driver and no more than a 9 iron. Not everyone is Corey Pavin.

btw, has any seen the fairy tales people are posting on the "what's your 200 yard club?" thread? I mean, where are these guys when I'm playing?

MJ .... not a low handicapper , a 80 -85 guy under the gun
Kenny G ... ya , sure I bet he plays some real tough courses
Romo ... he is probably pretty close
Vince Gill ... he is ok but not scratch
Craig Nelson ( Coach ) ... no chance , he hits full rescue clubs from 170
Morey Pulvich or whatever ... no way , plays easy courses and cheats

There's a guy on another board who is a member of the same club as Romo in Texas and said that they got his handicap wrong when they announced it. He claimed that actually it is +2.2, and the announcers just didn't understand the plus. Doesn't surprise me, as he also keeps a handicap at home in Wisconsin that has him at scratch and hasn't yet entered the rounds from a tournament here that he played in a few weeks ago where he had a couple rounds under par before withdrawing to go pick up Jessica Simpson at the Milwaukee airport instead of playing in the 4th round. So that handicap will likely be in the + range as well when those scores are entered.

i wonder what dallas cowboys' fans are thinking when they see how good of a golfer romo is???

Makes sense to me. First time I played with him he shot even par 70 in tough conditions (wind gusting to at least 30 in Feb) on a tight course with a course rating of 74.7 and a slope between 136 and 140. That equates to about a +5 on that day.