How Do You Score Blowups?

[NJpatbee]

I usually play the hole out and if it is a match I take whatever score I had.  For handicap purposes I adjust using ESC and if I am not playing a match I still play out (unless the course is crowded) but card the ESC. 

[billchao]

I usually pick up at ESC for pace of play reasons or if I don't feel like losing a third ball on a single hole. There's no point in playing out the hole to me in those situations and it grinds my gears to wait for a group ahead of me while one guy finishes out a hole for 11 or something.

Otherwise I'll keep playing, because there's no reason not to.

8 hours ago, bones75 said:

I just always found ESC odd in certain situations.

Ive seen this a ton: two guys playing a casual round. 'Dude A' is better and his ESC caps at double, while 'Dude B' caps at triple.

ESC doesn't have a cap at triple bogey. There's a cap at double bogey for a single digit course handicap, but the other tiers are all set numbers. So in theory, both guys could score 8 on a par 3, but A posts a 5 and B posts a 7.

8 hours ago, bones75 said:

They play a casual round, but they're two dudes... so there is always at least an ego comptetition. They both triple a hole, Dude A writes down double and dude B writes down triple. That doesnt seem right to me... especially when they talk about who "beat" who that day (again, still meaningless casual rounds).

If there's an ego competition, it's not a "meaningless" casual round 😜

[ghalfaire]

Well, like most others, I try to not hold up play and usually do whatever the rules say.  So normally that is a net par that gets entered.   But I admit if the ESC on the hole is 8 and am laying 6 a 150 yards out or more AND holding up the group behind me, I'll pick up and enter the ESC score (the highest for me is an 8).  Yes I know that is not rules. 

[DaveP043]

56 minutes ago, ghalfaire said:

Well, like most others, I try to not hold up play and usually do whatever the rules say.  So normally that is a net par that gets entered.   But I admit if the ESC on the hole is 8 and am laying 6 a 150 yards out or more AND holding up the group behind me, I'll pick up and enter the ESC score (the highest for me is an 8).  Yes I know that is not rules. 

Actually, that's perfectly appropriate within the context of the handicap rules.  If you do not complete a hole, you should record the score you most likely would have made, subject to the upper limit of your ESC score.  You would only record "par plus handicap strokes" (or net par) for holes you do not play.

Edited August 9, 2019 by DaveP043

[ghalfaire]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Actually, that's perfectly appropriate within the context of the handicap rules.  If you do not complete a hole, you should record the score you most likely would have made, subject to the upper limit of your ESC score.  You would only record "par plus handicap strokes" (or net par) for holes you do not play.

Thanks, I didn't know that. 

[DaveP043]

Just now, ghalfaire said:

Thanks, I didn't know that. 

No problem.  If you want to read it for yourself, you can check out Sections 4-1 and 4-2 in the USGA Handicap Manual.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/handicap-manual.html#!rule-14377

[Nail]

This is the reason stableford is a much better system imo for weekend golfers. If you are not going to score a point on the hole you pick up the ball and move on. Most points wins so there is no confusion at all, stableford is used in almost all competitions here apart from a few, the bigger ones are strokeplay. 

[leftybutnotPM]

4 minutes ago, Nail said:

This is the reason stableford is a much better system imo for weekend golfers. If you are not going to score a point on the hole you pick up the ball and move on. Most points wins so there is no confusion at all, stableford is used in almost all competitions here apart from a few, the bigger ones are strokeplay. 

100% correct. Same in Australia. We only play stroke once a month in "Monthly Medal" competitions.

[Nail]

Just now, leftybutnotPM said:

100% correct. Same in Australia. We only play stroke once a month in "Monthly Medal" competitions.

It’s just a much better, faster system IMO. It addresses pace of play, and also if you have a bad start in strokeplay like a couple of 8’s then you just lose all interest and want to go home but in stableford you still have a good chance of turning it around

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, Nail said:

This is the reason stableford is a much better system imo for weekend golfers. If you are not going to score a point on the hole you pick up the ball and move on. Most points wins so there is no confusion at all, stableford is used in almost all competitions here apart from a few, the bigger ones are strokeplay. 

If you pick up at ESC it's basically the same thing.

People occasionally taking 8 strokes instead of 6 is not a highly ranked cause of slow play. Slow players are the cause of slow play.

[leftybutnotPM]

7 minutes ago, iacas said:

If you pick up at ESC it's basically the same thing.

 

It is to a point.

In stableford you aim for 36 and a typical score is anywhere between 32 and 38 on a fair to good day.

That means that if you score 35 points, it is exactly that: 35 points.

You don't say you had 85 when in actual fact you had 91 because you had three blowout holes that were capped at 3 over par (if you get a shot on those holes).

In a stroke round though, FOR HANDICAP PURPOSES the round is calculated as if it were a stableford round, which means that in theory, an 18 marker could have 36 points and nett 80. because a 15 counted as a 6 (or whatever). This is why a lot of guys hate stroke but like the new handicapping system.

This is in Australia.

Edited August 9, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[iacas]

15 minutes ago, leftybutnotPM said:

It is to a point.

I meant only for pace of play.

[leftybutnotPM]

Just now, iacas said:

I meant only for pace of play.

For sure. And, as you've noted, a 9 handicapper getting a 9 on one hole does not slow down the group.

[Ryan-Holed-Out-Johnson]

I score it by how many strokes it takes to hole out. Stay blessed. Keep it honest.

[Nail]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

If you pick up at ESC it's basically the same thing.

People occasionally taking 8 strokes instead of 6 is not a highly ranked cause of slow play. Slow players are the cause of slow play.

True but if it’s a competition you can’t just pick up at ESC or can you?? You can in stableford 

[Osnola]

I take my medicine and move on...what I score is what I write down..

[DrvFrShow]

I just write it down now. I don't keep an official handicap since I don't play official competitions anymore. So no need. Just keep the score in 18 Birdies. If I have a blowup it will not slow down the pace of play. I have learned one thing: sometimes it's just not worth trying to hack the ball out of certain situations. Taking stroke and distance is sometimes the smarter play.

 

[iacas]

4 hours ago, Nail said:

True but if it’s a competition you can’t just pick up at ESC or can you?? You can in stableford 

Depends on the kind of competition. There are a number of times you might pick up legally before you even get to ESC.