Jump to content
IGNORED

whats a good handicap?


evinkc05
Note: This thread is 2801 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

All this too depends on how honestly the golfer plays. No one at the USGA is looking over your shoulder. I know guys who maintain a handicap while taking mulligans and breakfast balls. They move the ball to their advantage and pickup putts inside 5 feet. As amateurs no one wants to get hurt or damage their clubs, I can understand "adjustments" for that, as long as you do not give yourself an advantage. A handicap of 14 can actually be a 18-20 if the score is kept honestly, it's all relative.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note these are people who keep official handicaps. The "breakfast ball" sometimes has a good reason, too. My foursome has gotten to the course an hour before our tee time, checked in, and paid. We get our "free"  bucket of  warm up balls. Then three foursomes have canceled and we're called to the tee before we've even stretched out hit our first practice ball or even had time to putt. Okay, so one or two may feel rushed. Others like myself  are taking our sweet  time since  we're already and hour ahead of pace, stiff and everything and trying to loosen up. Two to three practice swings without a warm up before hitting a our first shot doesn't cut it, especially at our age. So the agreement is -  if you put it in the fairway it's good. If you roll it, or put it OB, take your mulligan. It's on the first hole only.

And we don't pick up putts inside 5 feet. 18" is another story, unless it's for a birdie.

Julia

:callaway:  :cobra:    :seemore:  :bushnell:  :clicgear:  :adidas:  :footjoy:

Spoiler

Driver: Callaway Big Bertha w/ Fubuki Z50 R 44.5"
FW: Cobra BiO CELL 14.5 degree; 
Hybrids: Cobra BiO CELL 22.5 degree Project X R-flex
Irons: Cobra BiO CELL 5 - GW Project X R-Flex
Wedges: Cobra BiO CELL SW, Fly-Z LW, 64* Callaway PM Grind.
Putter: 48" Odyssey Dart

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

What about all those players that don't have time to warm up but still follow the rules in that they don't take "breakfast balls"?

If you take "breakfast balls" your HI won't be comparible to those that follow the rules.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Mulligans are pointless anyway. It's just a stroke. Your best and worst rounds never come down to just one stroke.

I've started double double and followed it up with a bunch of pars and some birdies. If you get in trouble play smart and be patient the scores will come. I know from tracking stats what to expect. If I double the first hole because I hit a crap drive it's probably the only double I will make that day. Whether it happens on the first hole or the last I don't care it's what the total score is that counts.

Dave :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Ha yeah and even then a good handicap and good golf not necessarily the same thing. I play with guys in league that are scratch to sub 5 and they hit some real WTF shots. When I think of the massive amount of work I'll have to put in to hit just a couple more good shots a round and make my miss slightly less punishing I often wonder if it's worth it.

Dave :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

1- a good handicap is an accurate one- but a good golfer is one that enjoys the game and has fun.

Here's my tiers - just my opinion.  This is just speaking in general terms.  It doesn't mean that because you're a certain handicap you fit into that category - these are just my stereotypical thoughts.

25+  Needs to work on something repeatable - swing varies dramatically from shot to shot.  Contact needs to be improved.  May have a lot of fun but has plenty of room to improve by finding something they can go to that's repeatable. 

19-24 Has fun but has some major flaws in fundamentals.  Still hits good shots but lacks consistency with misses.  Doesn't avoid penalty strokes as well as they could.  Course management can use a little improvement.  Not bad golfer but has a lot of room for improvement.

16-18 Avg decent golfer - respectable

13-15 Good Golfer.  Understands golf and hits some good shots.

10-12 Consistently decent, limits big mistakes but still makes them- understands concepts and can has good knowledge of game and strategy.  Decent recovery skills.  Starts to understand their game.

6-9 Consistently reliable, Does still have some mistakes and will make stupid mistakes from time to time.  Good recovery skills, but still takes a big number once in a while.  Really starting to learn their game, but still has a ways to go.  Starting to learn how to use knowledge about their game to maximize scoring.

3-5 Consistently good.  Doesn't make stupid mistakes but still has a few misses that get them in trouble but good recovery skills limit big numbers.  Great grasp of what they can and can't do and knows when to hit what types of shots and generally is able to pull it off. 

<2 Really good player.  Good knowledge of game and concepts, good all around game with no major holes.  Avoids big numbers and minimizes misses.  Knows how and where they miss and why and is able to consistently put them selves in position to score by knowing their game in and out.

JP

In the bag:  R1 Diver, Rocketballz 3 tour spoon (13*), Adams A12 pro 18* hybrid, 4-P Callaway Razr x black (dg s400 shafts), 50* & 58* Ping Tour S, and TM Ghost Manta Putter cut down to 32". and my Tour V2 Rangefinder (with extra batteries of course)!  Ball - Srixon Z Star XV

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

1- a good handicap is an accurate one- but a good golfer is one that enjoys the game and has fun.

Here's my tiers - just my opinion.  This is just speaking in general terms.  It doesn't mean that because you're a certain handicap you fit into that category - these are just my stereotypical thoughts.

25+  Needs to work on something repeatable - swing varies dramatically from shot to shot.  Contact needs to be improved.  May have a lot of fun but has plenty of room to improve by finding something they can go to that's repeatable. 

19-24 Has fun but has some major flaws in fundamentals.  Still hits good shots but lacks consistency with misses.  Doesn't avoid penalty strokes as well as they could.  Course management can use a little improvement.  Not bad golfer but has a lot of room for improvement.

16-18 Avg decent golfer - respectable

13-15 Good Golfer.  Understands golf and hits some good shots.

10-12 Consistently decent, limits big mistakes but still makes them- understands concepts and can has good knowledge of game and strategy.  Decent recovery skills.  Starts to understand their game.

6-9 Consistently reliable, Does still have some mistakes and will make stupid mistakes from time to time.  Good recovery skills, but still takes a big number once in a while.  Really starting to learn their game, but still has a ways to go.  Starting to learn how to use knowledge about their game to maximize scoring.

3-5 Consistently good.  Doesn't make stupid mistakes but still has a few misses that get them in trouble but good recovery skills limit big numbers.  Great grasp of what they can and can't do and knows when to hit what types of shots and generally is able to pull it off. 

<2 Really good player.  Good knowledge of game and concepts, good all around game with no major holes.  Avoids big numbers and minimizes misses.  Knows how and where they miss and why and is able to consistently put them selves in position to score by knowing their game in and out.

Good descriptions but IMO all could be moved down a notch considering even pros don't avoid "big numbers". Every sub 10 golfer I play with is more consistently bad than good it's just their bad isn't that bad. They are always near greens in reg and scramble decent (30-40%) so the impact to score is minimal. But it's often not pretty because they have the ability to almost always advance the ball towards the target. 

 

Dave :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I was going to answer scratch or better, but I'm not sure they actually use their "handicap"?

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Good descriptions but IMO all could be moved down a notch considering even pros don't avoid "big numbers". Every sub 10 golfer I play with is more consistently bad than good it's just their bad isn't that bad. They are always near greens in reg and scramble decent (30-40%) so the impact to score is minimal. But it's often not pretty because they have the ability to almost always advance the ball towards the target. 

I can agree with that for the most part, especially the orange part.  I do disagree with "even pros don't avoid "big numbers" - because generally speaking they do - (yea they get them occasionally).  I think the hard part is that when I personally think "what is good golf?", I tend to think someone shooting scratch.  I think a single digit is respectable but a 2 handicap is good, so my personal scale is a little different. Relative to golfers as a single large group (pick any Saturday at a municipal course - what's really average & what is good compared to average?),  I think that 13-15 is pretty good and better than average.

it's all relative.

JP

In the bag:  R1 Diver, Rocketballz 3 tour spoon (13*), Adams A12 pro 18* hybrid, 4-P Callaway Razr x black (dg s400 shafts), 50* & 58* Ping Tour S, and TM Ghost Manta Putter cut down to 32". and my Tour V2 Rangefinder (with extra batteries of course)!  Ball - Srixon Z Star XV

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

1- a good handicap is an accurate one- but a good golfer is one that enjoys the game and has fun.

Here's my tiers - just my opinion.  This is just speaking in general terms.  It doesn't mean that because you're a certain handicap you fit into that category - these are just my stereotypical thoughts.

25+  Needs to work on something repeatable - swing varies dramatically from shot to shot.  Contact needs to be improved.  May have a lot of fun but has plenty of room to improve by finding something they can go to that's repeatable. 

19-24 Has fun but has some major flaws in fundamentals.  Still hits good shots but lacks consistency with misses.  Doesn't avoid penalty strokes as well as they could.  Course management can use a little improvement.  Not bad golfer but has a lot of room for improvement.

16-18 Avg decent golfer - respectable

13-15 Good Golfer.  Understands golf and hits some good shots.

10-12 Consistently decent, limits big mistakes but still makes them- understands concepts and can has good knowledge of game and strategy.  Decent recovery skills.  Starts to understand their game.

6-9 Consistently reliable, Does still have some mistakes and will make stupid mistakes from time to time.  Good recovery skills, but still takes a big number once in a while.  Really starting to learn their game, but still has a ways to go.  Starting to learn how to use knowledge about their game to maximize scoring.

3-5 Consistently good.  Doesn't make stupid mistakes but still has a few misses that get them in trouble but good recovery skills limit big numbers.  Great grasp of what they can and can't do and knows when to hit what types of shots and generally is able to pull it off. 

<2 Really good player.  Good knowledge of game and concepts, good all around game with no major holes.  Avoids big numbers and minimizes misses.  Knows how and where they miss and why and is able to consistently put them selves in position to score by knowing their game in and out.

I was impressed with ths JP. Your kind have me pegged with your thoughts at my current handicap. Looking at your musings the big thing that stands out is the mental shift from bashing the ball in the general direction towards the hole to actual planning of the hole matching up with your own capabilities. I would agree the mid handicap area is where this happens. Not always linked to how good or technical your own swing is at that point but the understanding of golf the game.

  • Upvote 1

"Repetition is the chariot of genius"

Driver: BENROSS VX PROTO 10.5
Woods: BENROSS QUAD SPEED FAIRWAY 15"
Hybrids:BENROSS 3G 17" BENROSSV5 Escape 20"
Irons: :wilson: DEEP RED Fluid Feel  4-SW
Putter: BENROSS PURE RED
Balls: :wilsonstaff:  Ti DNA

Link to comment
Share on other sites


12 to 16 HC. Someone who hits a sufficient number of good shots not to be distracted by the bad shots.

Julia

:callaway:  :cobra:    :seemore:  :bushnell:  :clicgear:  :adidas:  :footjoy:

Spoiler

Driver: Callaway Big Bertha w/ Fubuki Z50 R 44.5"
FW: Cobra BiO CELL 14.5 degree; 
Hybrids: Cobra BiO CELL 22.5 degree Project X R-flex
Irons: Cobra BiO CELL 5 - GW Project X R-Flex
Wedges: Cobra BiO CELL SW, Fly-Z LW, 64* Callaway PM Grind.
Putter: 48" Odyssey Dart

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

To me, a good handicap is always going to be a few strokes lower than whatever mine is at the time.  So right now, I'd say 3 or so. ?

My thoughts exactly. Once you become happy where you're at it's time to find a new hobby.

:callaway: Big Bertha Alpha 815 DBD  :bridgestone: TD-03 Putter   
:tmade: 300 Tour 3W                 :true_linkswear: Motion Shoes
:titleist: 585H Hybrid                       
:tmade: TP MC irons                 
:ping: Glide 54             
:ping: Glide 58
:cleveland: 588 RTX 62

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

What about all those players that don't have time to warm up but still follow the rules in that they don't take "breakfast balls"?

If you take "breakfast balls" your HI won't be comparible to those that follow the rules.

Someone who takes mulligans and breakfast balls only hurts himself down the road. Over time he's going to find that he's got a handicap he can't play to. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Someone who takes mulligans and breakfast balls only hurts himself down the road. Over time he's going to find that he's got a handicap he can't play to. 

Agree, and you learn a lot more golf playing as it lies. Mulligans are only one penalty stroke as Dave mentioned, but even taking 5-10 percent off your handicap will only hurt you as a 10-20 handicap.

 

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • 9 months later...

I think anyone who can HONESTLY shoot below 100 is doing something right. Im a 13 year old junior and i usually shoot in the mid to low 90's, and on a good day i might just barely scrape into the 80's. And these scores are with not counting the odd 1 that goes in the woods or redoing an absolute duff of shot. In tournament play i seem to shoot the same as i do normally without all these mulligans ect. but i think thats just competition bringing out the best in me, CURRENTLY i don't think i could honestly get a 90's score consistently keeping proper score. So in my mind if you can break 100 keeping proper score your doing pretty good. FYI i shoot from the white. And just to add on another point, my older brother, who is in his mid 20's, and who i golf with 2-3 times a week, can hit it upwards of 300 yards, drive the green on some short par 4's, has a decent putting/chipping game and so forth. But every one in a while he'll fire 3 in a row into the woods or duff a couple shot and end up with a quadruple bogey (he shoots low to mid 80's) so the line from a okay golfer to a good one is very fine.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Note: This thread is 2801 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...