I'm Just curious about people's Handicaps. Putting ego's aside I wonder what the handicap of the people on the board are? I have played with a few co-workers who swear they are 10 handicap (Random number), but when you play with them, count every stroke, no mulligans, and no gimmies, use all rules, all of a sudden their 10 Handicap turns into a 19, you get the idea.

Also, all summer long I played with others as a single and after 50 or so rounds, I only played with about 5 people that broke 85 and only 1 that could get into the 70's, the Avg scores were between 95 - 105 yet all of them were 10 - 15 handicaps

Also, as you read posts etc, it seems that everyone's handicap is from +2 thru 11 so obviously all above avg players hang out on this board and I'm the only who sucks with a 17 handicap.

Thanks,

I am junior golfer, 17 years old, and am +2.7. Stick with with and practice and you'll improve

I wasn't really talking about me, I've improved tremendously over the past year (I've only been played for 1.5 years) and I've very happy with my game. I was just curious about other people's handicaps. It seems that 99% of people that I have met have a hard time breaking 90 or even 100 yet everytime I talk to someone they're a 10 handicap... seems like ego's get the best of some people sometime. You know what., forget it, it's a stupid post.

I get what you are saying. A lot of people either lie about thier hcp or don't really understand the system to begin with. I won't even ask when I play with someone. I might ask what they normally shoot. Sometimes they will still say 80 then shoot 105. Just my opinion, butI think the hcp system sucks anyway because it is confusing and not an accurate reflection of what you score anyway. I have a buddy I practice with who is a + handicap and only breaks par about 1 out of every 3 rounds. He has the index though because we play a 7300 yd course with a rating of 74.7. Off the soapbox now.

I think that the handicap system is flawed by the people that use it and not the principle behind the system.

The way that it gets abused is when there are people who play lots of courses that have a rating over the par of the course. I think this artificially lowers their handicap. The reason why I say that, is because if they constantly show 74's and 75, then they are going to hover around a 0. This doesn't mean that they will go to a course with a rating of 70.2 and shoot a 70 or 71. A handicap is supposed to be the average number you shoot on a course above the average course rating of the courses that a person plays.

I think that some people lower there handicap to make themselves sound like a better player than they are. Most of it is an ego thing. I think that others lower it so that they can get into events that they want to play in. I think others will tell you what it could be if they only counted their best rounds.

I have found that being a true + is quite different from being a 1 or 2. I once played to a +2. During this time I was playing a lot of golf. There was a stretch where I played 14 round and not one of them was over par. I had a few 68's, 69's, 70's, and 72's. This was one of those periods when I was playing lots of competitive golf. Now I am about a 4, and it is 8 years later. I also had about a 4 year layoff during that time, so I know that I won't get back there unless I start to play as much as I used to. I have no problem telling people that I am a 4 and then shooting a 74, because at the course that I normally play at, the rating is only about 71 or a bit lower.

I think it all boils down to an ego issue.

That was kind of my point. At the end of the day par is par. It is all about what you score. I play professionally so hcp is irrelevant. But people think if you are X hcp you always shoot X and that isn't the case. My hcp is +5.3 but my scoring average is 69.9 over 81 rounds this year. Too bad when I play in tourney's and shoot 75 on a course with a 75 rating it doesn't count as par.

I always hated playing hcp tourney's as an amatuer because almost everyone lied about their hcp. That is really irritating.

I guess it depends where you play. I have a bigger problem with the 12's who play to an 8 than I do the 8's playing to a 12. Sandbaggers are the bigger problem.

Alot of it does have to do with course ratings, but not in all cases. My index bounces between 9 and 11, but I rarely shoot better than 85. My home course is a par 70 with a course rating of 74.7 and a high slope (can't remember off hand). So, my 85 translates to a bit better than a 10.

Also, a handicap is supposed to be your potential, not your average. My index right now is 9.7, but my scoring average is 88.9. Hardly makes sense, but in my last 20 scores (those counted by GHIN) I have scores ranging from 78 to 101 (bad, bad day).

Back to the courses you play. My home course is relatively short, has small fast greens, and killer rough much of the year. When I travel to a course with wide fairways, maybe longer, and big greens I shoot low scores. Doesn't matter what the rating is.

On a recent trip to Kiawah Isand, I didn't have a score over 82 on courses with ratings in the mid 70's. They were all more modern courses with wide fairways and big greens. I have the distance, not the accuracy, so I was able to hit most of the fairways and greens.

On another recent trip to the midwest, I played an old Donald Ross course that has never been altered from it's original design. Very windy day, very short, lots of hills, narrow fairway's, and stamp sized greens. Played it twice and my best score was 94 on the par 70 layout.

Handicaps aren't perfect, but they are alll we have.

For my purposes I really like the handicap system. I started about a year ago and keeping an official handicap has given me some type of tangible evidence of my improvement and that is very motivating to me. I haven't played in any tournaments yet, but carrying an official handicap will allow me to when I am ready for that. I carry a 19.8 now and being able to set a goal of getting that to less than 15 this season will help me practice more consistently than a goal of breaking 80,90,etc... because an 80 on one course could be worth a lot more than an 80 on another. While not perfect, the handicap system is a pretty darn good estimate for how good an amateur is.

My handicap index is currently 20.9. It will go to 19.x at the next update. I am an offical sandbagger at the moment.

My index was around 13/14 (consistent low/mid 80's) when I herniated a disc in my back in April 2005 and couldn't play and when I did, I wasn't very good (I couldn't break 100).

I have no problems taking other members money in the groups that I play with or winning men's day events at my club. They had no problem taking my money when I played hurt, was taking a month off in between rounds and was shooting 100+. I'm sure I'll be back down there quickly within a few months and in the end, it will even out.


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Haven't played in a while but...



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so depressing. my handicap has been a train wreck the last month. after some great rounds this summer and early fall i was at a 14.1 and gradually going down every round with consistent scores in the 80's. i started seeing some problems before vacation, but didn't affect my scores. then vacation it fell apart. 19 rounds of golf in 12 days with 12 rounds not breaking 100 and only 1 round in the 80's and worst of all 2 rounds that were in the 120's (one round i had 14 penalty strokes - i should have stayed in bed that day). after vacation my hanicap was a 22.3 (8.2 increase in two weeks). i've got back home, and while the first round back was an embarrasment, the last 3 rounds have been better and my handicap is currently at 19.8. my goal is to get it down to 16 by jan 1st and back to 14 by feb.

i will agree with practicing. while on vacation the range was only used for warming up, but since being back i've had as many range sessions as rounds of golf.

I think an idea for another poll would be to have only people with official handicaps voting. That would be interesting. After all anyone can pluck a satisfactory number out of the air can't they?!?!

Dave

Heres my record:

http://www.masterscoreboard.co.uk/results/...&Player=770

Dave

I'm at 14.12 through gametrack. I don't play as much as I like and definitely don't have as much time to practice so I'm sure it's up now.

I played for the first time in about 2 months last weekend and shot 94. My short game absolutely killed me. Imagine hitting a 260yd drive center of the fairway and then pulling the 100yd approach 30 yards left ended up with a double bogey. That's how my entire round went. I played on one ball the whole round but that ball was doing zigzags instead of a straight line to the green.

Im 14 and off 3.9
I play pretty much anytime i can and over the last year have come down tremendously!

9.8 , my goal in 07 is the have my handicap down to a 8.

I agree, I am currently, or what my handicap says, a 3.6. but I haven't gotten below a 77 in about 3 months. Of course my home course, Chanticleer, is very hard and has a high slope, but it's wierd to have a hdcp of 3-4, and then go out and shoot 79 or 80. Your friends think you're lying about your game.

Originally I had a second poll about the Handicap Numbers (Official, Free Web Service, Pulled number out of my Pooper, etc), but removed it, but you're right I should have kept that in. I personally do not have an "Official Handicap" as I don't play in tourniments, nor do I plan on it. I'm a pure recreational golfer so I just track mine on GameTrack. I only use it to see improvements and trends and just assumed that the majority would not have official and just used Game Track or some other Free Web Service.

I guess I was wrong, as I also assumed that the majority of people's Handicap's would have been over 15, like mom always says, don't Assume...

Thanks,

Maybe I'll start a new poll soon.

OT: But what happened to that amazing bike you used to have as your avatar? I don't know harldy anything about bikes but it look really cool.

Dave