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Handicap Index


i-Guy
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  1. 1. How is your Handicap Index calculated?

    • Official USGA Calculation
      76
    • Your own calculation based on understanding of the USGA index system
      8
    • Average score over Par for each course played?
      17
    • Some other way?
      18


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How is your handicap calculated?

TEE - XCG6, 13º, Matrix Ozik HD6.1, stiff
Wilson Staff - Ci11, 3-SW, TX Fligthed, stiff

Odyssey - Metal X #7, 35in

Wilson Staff - FG Tour ball 

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I use some online software - GameTrack offered through the PGA Tour Partner's club, of which I am no longer a member, but my GameTrack acct. still works.

Bag: Grom
Driver: HiBore 10.5° Fuji Stiff
3W: V-Steel 15° Graphite Designs YS-6 Stiff
3h-4h: Bobby Jones Stiff
5i-PW: CG4 Steel StiffWedges: 588 DSG RTG 52°, 900 RTG 56° Low bounce, Reg. 588 RTG 60°Putter: Dead CenterBalls: Pro V1 Speed Cart V1Home Courses: Riverdale Dunes / Knolls,...

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I actually have two handicaps.

Official USGA/GAM: 17.5

League: 6 (9 holes) We play on an unrated course so we use a simple formula. 80% of the difference between your average and par. It levels the field for the most part, with a slight edge to the lower handicaps. I don't know where the 80% came from, but we have been using it for years.
Driver: 9.5° 905R Stiff Aldila NV 65
3 Wood: 15.° Pro Trajectory 906F4 Stiff Aldila VS Proto Blue
Hybrid: 19.0° 503 H Stiff Dynamic Gold S400
Hybrid: 21.0° Edge C.F.T. Ti Stiff Aldila NVS
Irons: 775cb 4-GW w/S300 Sand Wedge: Vokey 58° Puttter: Laguna Mid-Slant Pro PlatinumBall: ProV1Bag: Li...
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Used a free calculator I found on the internet. I might actually get an official one, when I get enough 18 hole rounds in (I have too many 9 hole rounds to count, but not enough 18 holers to make an official handicap).
"Shouldn't you be going faster? I mean, you're doing 40 in a 65..."

Driver: Burner TP 9.5*
3 Wood: 906F2 15*
2I: Eye 23I-PW: 3100 I/HWedges: Vokey Spin-Milled 56*06, MP-R 52*07/60*05Putter: Victoria IIBall: Pro V1xCheck out my new blog: Thousand Yard DriveHome Course: Kenton County...
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I also use the official GHIN USGA system to obtain my handicap for tournaments and such. You only need scores from 5 rounds of 18 to start an official handicap, then you can enter your subsequent rounds after that into the GHIN system to alter your handicap even more.

In The Bag:

Driver: R7 SuperQuad 460 9.5
3 Wood: G5 w/ Graffaloy Pro Launch Stiff
3-PW: MP60's Wedges: Black Pearl 52, 56, 60Putter: White Hot #4Ball: Pro V1

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Other - for me.

I haven't played an 18-hole round, literally, in years. So I can't post anything through the USGA (even though they only require a 13-hole round - all of mine are niners). Golf Digest has a nifty lilttle formula they do online that establishes course ratings based strictly on yardage and then they figure a handicap based on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best rounds of your last ten. They'll let you post scores from either 9-hole rounds or 18-hole rounds. My 9-hole hcp through them is a 7. I double it to approximate an 18-hole hcp in my profile, hence my 14 (GD) hcp.

Golf Digest's hcp formula. Dean Knuth (former USGA hcp Chairman) helped establish it, so I'd surmise it has some validity.

In my bag: adams.gif Speedline Fast 10 10.5, Speedline 3W, Ping Zing2 5-SW  vokey.gif 60 deg odyssey.gif 2-ball    330-RXS

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My dad is a 4 handicap, so I trust him, and he figured mine out and it came out to be a 21.5...

Driver Ping G10 10.5*
Hybrids Ping G5 (3) 19* Bridgestone J36 (4) 22*
Irons Mizuno MP-57 5-PW
Wedges Srixon WG-504 52.08 Bridgestone WC Copper 56.13
Putter 33" Scotty Cameron Studio Select #2

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See my other thread... myscorecard.com, it's really a great tool.

Home Course:
Town of Colonie (69.7-70.1, 119-125)

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Is doubling a 9 hole handicap really accurate though? I mean, it could go both ways and you could be more or less as accurate and consistent on the back nine (if there was one) I suppose. But to assume you would shoot exactly the same on nine more holes seems a bit sketchy to me. Maybe Im totally wrong, but I play nine hole courses as "practice" considering they dont count towards my official handicap. Anybody else have a take on this?

In The Bag:

Driver: R7 SuperQuad 460 9.5
3 Wood: G5 w/ Graffaloy Pro Launch Stiff
3-PW: MP60's Wedges: Black Pearl 52, 56, 60Putter: White Hot #4Ball: Pro V1

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Is doubling a 9 hole handicap really accurate though? I mean, it could go both ways and you could be more or less as accurate and consistent on the back nine (if there was one) I suppose. But to assume you would shoot exactly the same on nine more holes seems a bit sketchy to me. Maybe Im totally wrong, but I play nine hole courses as "practice" considering they dont count towards my official handicap. Anybody else have a take on this?

I combine 9-hole rounds with other 9-hole rounds for my handicap. They might sit around for a while waiting to get thrown in, but they do make their way in eventually. I think this is pretty standard.

Home Course:
Town of Colonie (69.7-70.1, 119-125)

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I use intelligolf to keep score during my round on my palm, then it spews out all sorts of stats.

In My Bag:
Driver: TaylorMade Burner 9.5* Stock Stiff
5 Wood: TaylorMade V-Steel Aldila NV Stiff
7 Wood: TaylorMade V-Steel Stock Steel
4-PW: TaylorMade R7XD Stock Stiff Steel48* Wedge: Callaway Forged52* Wedge: Founders Club60* Wedge: Founders ClubPutter: Odyssey DFX 6600Balls: Titleist ProV1 & DT SoLo

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I use fairwayfiles.com. Haven't heard any other reactions to it but it used the standard USGA scoring system. A freak round of 73 last summer gives me a slightly skewed index though.

What's in my Edge stand bag
G10 10.5*
Z-Steel 3 wood 14.5* 403-AD 18* & 21* Hybrids Burner 09 4-pw DGS300 Z TP 52* & RAC TP Black 56* White Steel 2 Ball SRT 35" Tour B330s

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Is doubling a 9 hole handicap really accurate though? I mean, it could go both ways and you could be more or less as accurate and consistent on the back nine (if there was one) I suppose. But to assume you would shoot exactly the same on nine more holes seems a bit sketchy to me.

I don't think it'd make much difference in my case. My rounds tend to 'cluster' around 42-45. If I doubled up my rounds and entered them as 18 hole rounds, my hcp would not change much. I agree though - it's probably not ideal as if my 9-hole hcp goes up or down one, that affects my approximation by two - a bit unrealistic.

But I play golf 9 holes at a time. As much as I love the game, I don't have 4 1/2 (or more) hours to waste on a slow-playing golf course. So for me, a 9-hole hcp really is a good indication of how I play. I suppose I could compile my 9-hole rounds as 18-holers, it'd be interesting. I only did the doubling thing so I had something to throw into my profile. I'm not all that concerned about establishing a true 18-hole hcp simply because I rarely, if ever, play 18. Interesting concept though. I think we Americans are *much* more hungup on 18-holes being the 'real' benchmark for a round of golf than the rest of the world. As I understand it, many golf courses in England, Scotland, etc. were all over the board with their layouts pre-1900. Some were 13 holes, some 15, others 6. I don't recall how the 18-hole layout became THE standard, but our golfing predecessors wouldn't think twice about going out for a quick 3 or 4 holes before dinner. I'd kind of like it if the game had a little more of that quaintness in it today.

In my bag: adams.gif Speedline Fast 10 10.5, Speedline 3W, Ping Zing2 5-SW  vokey.gif 60 deg odyssey.gif 2-ball    330-RXS

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Used a free calculator I found on the internet. I might actually get an official one, when I get enough 18 hole rounds in (I have too many 9 hole rounds to count, but not enough 18 holers to make an official handicap).

GAM (Golf Assoc. of Michigan) allows me to post 9 hole rounds. I only play 18 less than 10 times per year most years. If I had to wait to play 5 18 holers I would only have my handicap adjusted once per year. GAM is affiliated with the USGA and gives me an official handicap.

Driver: 9.5° 905R Stiff Aldila NV 65
3 Wood: 15.° Pro Trajectory 906F4 Stiff Aldila VS Proto Blue
Hybrid: 19.0° 503 H Stiff Dynamic Gold S400
Hybrid: 21.0° Edge C.F.T. Ti Stiff Aldila NVS
Irons: 775cb 4-GW w/S300 Sand Wedge: Vokey 58° Puttter: Laguna Mid-Slant Pro PlatinumBall: ProV1Bag: Li...
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A freak round of 73 last summer gives me a slightly skewed index though.

Sounds like what happened to me--I had 80, 82, 82, 84 at one course this year, but it was an easy one, and then at another course, I can struggle to break 100. So, I end up with a low handicap, and blow way past it on good courses.

"Shouldn't you be going faster? I mean, you're doing 40 in a 65..."

Driver: Burner TP 9.5*
3 Wood: 906F2 15*
2I: Eye 23I-PW: 3100 I/HWedges: Vokey Spin-Milled 56*06, MP-R 52*07/60*05Putter: Victoria IIBall: Pro V1xCheck out my new blog: Thousand Yard DriveHome Course: Kenton County...
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Well handicap is based of the best you can perform, not an overall average.

Driver: 9.5* SQ Sumo Stiff
3W: 15* SQ Stiff
Irons: 3-PW R7 Stiff Flex
GW: X Tour Vintage 52 11 bounce
SW: X Tour Vintage 56 13 bounceLW: X Tour Vintage 60 8 BouncePutter: Monza CorzaBall: HX Tour 56

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Note: This thread is 5911 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!

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