Jump to content
IGNORED

Can I play at lower handicap?

RIduffer

By RIduffer,
in Rules of Golf

 Share
Note: This thread is 3206 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

RIduffer Dedicated Member

RIduffer

The last few years, my handicap has blown up to a 9 or 10 early in the season, and then I've started shooting scores more to my potential (74-78) during Member tournaments and league playoffs. Works out great, but I don't want to be the club sandbagger. Can I just have them play me at a lower handicap based on what seems fair? My league and tournament partner has no problem with this.
  • Upvote 1

Callaway Big Bertha 460
Callaway X 3-wood 15*
Adams Idea Tech hybrid 19*
Titleist DCI 981 irons
Ping iwedge 56*, 52*Carbite Putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RickK Dedicated Member

RickK

I would imagine your club has a handicap committee.  You should discuss the situation with them.  If you have been shooting below your handicap, you should already be on their radar.

  • Upvote 1

Bag: Titleist
Driver: TM RBZ 9.5
Fairway metals: TM RBZ 3 wood
Hybrids: TM RBZ 3, 4 and 5
Irons: TM Burner 1.0 6 thru LW stiff steel shafts
Putter: Ping B60
Ball: TM Tour Preferred X or ProV1x
Check out littlejohngolfleague.com  A Greater Houston TX traveling golf league.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rulesman Great Member

Rulesman

The last few years, my handicap has blown up to a 9 or 10 early in the season, and then I've started shooting scores more to my potential (74-78) during Member tournaments and league playoffs.

Works out great, but I don't want to be the club sandbagger. Can I just have them play me at a lower handicap based on what seems fair? My league and tournament partner has no problem with this.

There is no penalty for declaring a lower handicap than you are entitled to. Just write a low figure on your card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

imsys0042 Great Member

imsys0042

Handicaps come down pretty quickly since they are revised twice per month.   Does your place take your handicap from an earlier time?   Like when the sign-up for tournaments is closed?

Or are you basically just starting to shoot those scores after the latest handicap revision and that happens to be when these tournaments start?   And are tourney rounds being posted as such?   I think tournament rounds stay longer, so last year's should keep your's down a bit.

But yeah, discuss with the handicap committee if you are worried.   But I wouldn't declare something lower.   What happens if you have a late start for a year?   Or can't play as much?   Post your true scores and let the handicap system work out is my opinion.   You clearly shot the scores earlier in the year to raise it.

—Adam

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1

  • Moderator
DaveP043 Incredible Member

DaveP043

  • Moderator
I think tournament rounds stay longer, so last year's should keep your's down a bit.

But yeah, discuss with the handicap committee if you are worried.   But I wouldn't declare something lower.   What happens if you have a late start for a year?   Or can't play as much?   Post your true scores and let the handicap system work out is my opinion.   You clearly shot the scores earlier in the year to raise it.

A quick clarification, tournament rounds stay in the system for a year, but they're not necessarily used to compute your index.  The system compares your two best tournament scores (the "differential", at least) to your index, and if they're too far below your current index, the system adjusts the index downward.  If the tournament scores aren't too far out of line, they'll have no bearing on your current handicap, other than those within the last 20 scores.

I agree with the suggestion, if you're concerned, talk it over with your local handicap committee.  In my memory, I've never been asked to declare a handicap, the competition has simply taken it from the computer records, which are available for anyone to see.  I know in our area (Virginia) we post scores year round.  Playing through the colder months causes many of us to have a higher handicap in early spring, and we see handicaps go down through the summer.  The two-week revision period keeps handicaps pretty current, in my mind.

Dave

:callaway: Rogue SubZero Driver

:titleist: 915F 15 Fairway, 816 H1 19 Hybrid, AP2 4 iron to PW, Vokey 52, 56, and 60 wedges, ProV1 balls 
:ping: G5i putter, B60 version
 :ping:Hoofer Bag, complete with Newport Cup logo
:footjoy:, :true_linkswear:, and Ashworth shoes

the only thing wrong with this car is the nut behind the wheel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

imsys0042 Great Member

imsys0042

A quick clarification, tournament rounds stay in the system for a year, but they're not necessarily used to compute your index.  The system compares your two best tournament scores (the "differential", at least) to your index, and if they're too far below your current index, the system adjusts the index downward.  If the tournament scores aren't too far out of line, they'll have no bearing on your current handicap, other than those within the last 20 scores.

That's very good to know, and I don't think a lot of people realize that.   That's actually very smart because it helps to curb sand-bagging,

—Adam

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1

RIduffer Dedicated Member

RIduffer

  • Author
Thanks for the feedback. I am expecting my handicap to drop down in a couple days at the next revision for MGA. I did shoot a 77 in our club championship qualifier last Sat (entered as Tournament score) so it sounds like that may be significant in adjusting my hcp. My club does use most current hcp for tournaments so hopefully this will work itself out. The member-member is last weekend of July. If my hcp doesn't drop to a 7 or lower, I will talk to the committee.

Callaway Big Bertha 460
Callaway X 3-wood 15*
Adams Idea Tech hybrid 19*
Titleist DCI 981 irons
Ping iwedge 56*, 52*Carbite Putter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rkim291968 Super Member

rkim291968

Nice to see a post like this after seeing a bit of sandbagging going on with my club members.   Good luck with future tournaments!

  • Upvote 2

RiCK

(Play it again, Sam)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1
1

Dormie1360 Great Member

Dormie1360

Some minutia if you're interested.

When your handicap is computed every two weeks it also looks at your two lowest tournament differentials in the proceeding 12 months.  Specifically, it looks at the higher of the two.  If that differential is more than 3.5 lower than your current computed handicap it preforms another calculation to see if your handicap index should be reduced.  If it is, you will see "R" after your index.  The reduction formula also takes into consideration how many tournament scores you have posted in the past 12 months.  The more you have, the less of a chance that your will get reduced.

It does help curb sandbagging but it also can hurt you if you start playing badly and your handicap index goes up a lot.  So even if your tournament scores weren't that out of line with your handicap when you made them, if your cap subsequently gets more than 3.5 differential higher than the second lowest, say 10 months later because you're playing like crap, you can still get reduced.  Normally you have to play a lot of rounds per year for something like this to happen. This has happened to me more than once.

Regards,

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1
1

  • Moderator
DaveP043 Incredible Member

DaveP043

  • Moderator

Some minutia if you're interested.

When your handicap is computed every two weeks it also looks at your two lowest tournament differentials in the proceeding 12 months.  Specifically, it looks at the higher of the two.  If that differential is more than 3.5 lower than your current computed handicap it preforms another calculation to see if your handicap index should be reduced.  If it is, you will see "R" after your index.  The reduction formula also takes into consideration how many tournament scores you have posted in the past 12 months.  The more you have, the less of a chance that your will get reduced.

It does help curb sandbagging but it also can hurt you if you start playing badly and your handicap index goes up a lot.  So even if your tournament scores weren't that out of line with your handicap when you made them, if your cap subsequently gets more than 3.5 differential higher than the second lowest, say 10 months later because you're playing like crap, you can still get reduced.  Normally you have to play a lot of rounds per year for something like this to happen. This has happened to me more than once.

A very minor correction, if the second lowest differential is 3.0 (not 3.5)or more lower than the index, the review continues.  The average of the two best tournament differentials has to be lower than your index by at least 4 (more if you play more tournament rounds overall) to trigger a reduction to the index.  This can all be found in Section 10-3 of the Handicap Manual (http://usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-10/)

I agree with the second paragraph, and we see it pretty commonly around here.  We post year-round, but conditions through the winter can be pretty difficult, leading to higher scores and increasing handicaps.  Its not uncommon for a handicap to rise high enough by March to trigger a reduction due to tournaments played during the best conditions of the previous summer.

Dave

:callaway: Rogue SubZero Driver

:titleist: 915F 15 Fairway, 816 H1 19 Hybrid, AP2 4 iron to PW, Vokey 52, 56, and 60 wedges, ProV1 balls 
:ping: G5i putter, B60 version
 :ping:Hoofer Bag, complete with Newport Cup logo
:footjoy:, :true_linkswear:, and Ashworth shoes

the only thing wrong with this car is the nut behind the wheel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

Note: This thread is 3206 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
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up

  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.

  • Posts

    • Jrwatkins7
      Wordle Daily Puzzle

      By Jrwatkins7 ·

      Wordle 1,040 4/6 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • John of Art
      Playing With Irons

      By John of Art ·

      Hi everybody!  I am new to the golf game. I have taken some lessons and got fitted for clubs a couple of months ago. I usually score between 110-120 for 18 holes.  I bought a Stealth driver last year and have been hitting consistently with it 210-230 yds on the simulator. But when I take it out on the course, every drive is a severe slice!  I played 18 holes yesterday at the club where I belong. I removed the driver from my bag and used the 5 iron to drive with. I hit straight 16 out of 18 drives, 180 - 200 yds. I used the 5i - putter for the rest of my game.  I ended the day with a 92. Question: Does it make sense for me to continue playing with irons only until I get further along in my game before I reintroduce the Driver and woods again? Or should I continue to struggle with the Driver and woods and shoot in the 100’s again? To me it’s a no brainer, but for those more advanced I am interested to get feedback.
    • retoid
      A Novice Journey to Building a Bag. (Help Appreciated)

      By retoid ·

      Thank you, currently I only had the 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons in the bag. I was never finding myself in a situation to use the 4 and 5 so I dropped those a while ago. The 60W is what I've been practicing with the most in the back yard, but that's only with short chipping. I don't think I've ever practiced hitting my wedges at 80% - 100% apart from yesterday. Maybe I should be doing that more. Generally I would be using a 9 iron if I was out about 75 yards or so. I am not really sure I understand your mention of the 60W and 3H. Aren't these going to be giving me completely different results? Unfortunately I am not able to adjust the loft on the hybrids I have. I looked into the Shot Scope H4 you suggested and this seems really neat and handy, however I am struggling to understand how it works. Am I correct in assuming it doesn't track the ball distance until you hit the ball a second time? Say I drive from the tee and walk up to my ball, tag the next club and hit the ball. Is it at this point when I tag my next club while standing next to my ball that is knows the distance? Thank you, I am going to give the local shop a call and check their prices and see what they can offer.
    • Ty_Webb
      Is This Club Blatantly Sandbagging?

      By Ty_Webb ·

      Do you know what their handicaps are? The handicap system isn't perfect and given the higher variance from higher handicaps, I think low handicap players would be expected to win maybe 60% of their matches? I'm not exactly sure what that number is and it will vary with the handicap difference, but if they're generally very low handicaps, then they might be at 60% likely to win a game. Given it's 16 vs 16, that's a lot of games to win. If it's 60%, then that's around an 80% chance that they'll win a given match. At 80% chance of winning, 21 wins in a row is about 1 in 108 times. Pretty unlikely, but not unheard of. It's pretty sensitive to what that individual win percentage is too. If it's 65%, then 21 wins is about 1 in 9. If it's 55%, then 21 wins is 1 in about 5,700. Clearly it's not as simple as this because that win likelihood is going to change match to match as they play lower handicap teams or higher handicap teams, but I don't think it's a "yes they're cheating" thing at all.
    • retoid
      A Novice Journey to Building a Bag. (Help Appreciated)

      By retoid ·

      I'll be honest, the only reason the 2 iron was in my bag is because I tend to hit the ball into the tree's fairly often. And I was using it to help me keep the ball very low to get out of the tree's while avoiding getting much loft to hit branches. I guess I can drop the 3H as well. Would it be wise to give a higher loft fairway wood a try as well, something like a 26 degree? I believe there is only one golf shop where I live that has a golf simulator and trainer. I see they offer free fitting with a purchase from the fitter. I'll have to check how much they charge without a purchase, I've read a few stories about fitters on this forum that just wanted to sell the person the most expensive clubs and that kind of deters me a bit. They do offer lessons as well. I'll give them a call and ask them a bit more about these services. Thank you!
×
×
  • 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.

  I accept
The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...