Score Relative to Handicap on a New Course

Given that you have the Golf GPS and Layout of the course and the greens are totally different from what you are currently playing .

Will it be

+5

+10

+15 to your handicap ?

I would have to say when I am in SC later this week I expect to shoot at least a +5 above my already inflated handicap.

Depends on the course and how you are playing.

Could be under your handicap.

It's the same as any other round and you are crazy to have any expectations.  Especially ones of playing above your handicap.

+15? You must be joking.  Perhaps if it's an exceptionally hard course with lots of opportunities for penalties.  But a score that high on a "normal"  course might imply something about the legitimacy of a person's handicap.

Really depends-difficulty of the course, style or type of course, and how I'm swinging that day.  2 of my lowest rounds were shot on courses I was playing my first (and only to date) time-The Crossings in Carlsbad and Leatherstocking in Cooperstown.  They aren't easy layouts either (especially Leatherstocking), I was just on my game that day.  I shot 74 (+2) on both tracks when my handicap was around a 10 or 11.  GPS at The Crossings but I just walked off the distances at Leatherstocking.  OTOH, I shot 89 (+17) the first time I played The Links at Ivy Ridge, and 49 (+13!) over 9 holes earlier this year at a relatively straightforward layout in Lockport, NY.  A big factor when playing a course for the first time is how I'm swinging the driver.  Any inconsistencies combined with not knowing the layout, winds, distances, etc., can lead to a handful of lost tee shots, which drives up the score quickly.

i would probably expect myself to shoot at my handicap, for some reason i seem to play better or just as good at new courses than i do at my home course

Considering that you are only supposed to hit a legitimate handicap about 1 in 10 times, I would say 3-6 strokes over

Quote:

I could probably shoot +5 if...

* I have a chance to go around the putting clock, and the putting clock is the same turf type as the on-course greens.

* The course doesn't have a lot of hidden dangers. I played two courses recently - one across a marshland and a second with no-go native grassland areas. It was hard to tell where the marsh areas and grasslands started and ended, which led to two or three lost balls.

If it's a marshland-grassland theme, it could easily be + 10. Now, if I played with a knowledgeable caddie, then I might escape with +5.

Depends. Unfamiliar greens are one thing...mix that with tricky conditions, and I'd probably go over my index. Under calm conditions though, I don't think it matters much. I don't putt that great anyway :-)

I usually do pretty good the first time at most any course b/c when I don't know a course I play to the 150 yd marker and I play within myself.

The last time I went out on a course for the first time I shot way below my HCI. I think it was because I was not familiar with the layout and played conservatively.It payed off on that course.

I expect to shoot within 5 shots of my handicap.

1 in 10 times? The handicap index is calculated based on the 10 best of the last 20 scores, with a small factor to bring it a bit lower. 1 out of 2 to 4 I would say.

I would say +5...on the average as any rounds depends on how I am playing but as my game gets more consistent I would be un-happy if I could not be within 5 of my handicap on any course (as long as I play the right tee box)...for instance I recently played Copperhead at Innisbrook and I always said if I played there I would play from the tips (where the Pro's play from in the Transistion Championship) but I chickened out and played one box in front of that (between 6,800 and 6,900 yds)...well at the time my index was 8.2 and I shot an 82 which from that tee gave me an index of 6.9.  I was very pleased but really felt like I should have broken 80 as I left a few shots out there...

Almost all my courses I play have rather high slopes and I don't have a 'home course' persay. I have a series of about 5-6 courses I play 5 or so times a year then a bunch of randoms. So I'm kind of built for a new course.

If the slope is nice and low and it's a flat course, I'm confident to shoot in the mid 80's. First time I played Crystal Springs (128 slope) I shot 94 and felt good about it.

It just really depends what kind of course.  The last time I played out of town was in hilton head and I found it to be easier golf so I played really well compared to my typical scores here.  Around these parts, you get so much uneven lies, wind, trees, turf has to deal with the seasons.  Just easier golf down south.

I'd expect if I am playing well and the course is well designed so you know where to hit it and get a good feel for the greens to shoot what I'd expect to shoot on a course I know well.  If there are all kinds of stupid blind shots, goofy holes, unseen trouble then 5 shots or more over a good round for me.  Golf for me is such a game of momentum.  If I get "unlucky" and hit a drive where I think I should and it is in a hazard, then that might snowball into a blow up round.  That is really frustrating to me.

Usually 1-3 strokes harder for me.  Only because of different greens and some hidden dangers or tricky layouts (blind tee shots, blind approaches).  Other than that it doesn't really bother me.

What you are missing is that your handicap is potential, not average score

I was a little off - the odds of hitting your handicap are 5-1, of shooting one stroke under are 7-1 to 10-1 depending on your handicap

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/understanding_handicap/articles/deanstable.html

I'm not  missing anything, that's why I said it was based on the 10 best of your last 20 scores, with some factors. 2:1 was a bit of an overeestimate, but 4:1 was not that far off.

Quote:

I am a handicap of around 1-5 depending on the day but when I go to a new course I seem to always go about 10 over my handicap just because I am not aware of alot of things that make alot of difference.