League Issues with a +3

[MRM]

Let me start out by describing our league. We have a 40  player, 2 player team league. All ages and handicaps.seniors can play from the gold tees. Everyone else from the whites. Pretty casual, general USGA rules, but we all know we're there for fun and just to enjoy the game. 

We require everyone to pay a set league fee that applies to skins, proximity prizes and payouts for 1st and 2nd place at the end of the year. 

The issue some members have is we have one player that is a +3 handicap and generally takes a good majority of the prize money every week. Once was a tour player and has no problem telling everyone that he's only on our league for the money. As the league president I feel it's my duty to try to address this but I don't know what is within my rights to try to make it fair. I don't want to loose members and I don't want to seem like I'm singling this guy out. 

Please, any ideas...

Thanks,

MRM

[iacas]

If it’s handicapped how is that happening? You need to provide details on what you pay out.

[MRM]

26 minutes ago, MRM said:

Let me start out by describing our league. We have a 40  player, 2 player team league. All ages and handicaps.seniors can play from the gold tees. Everyone else from the whites. Pretty casual, general USGA rules, but we all know we're there for fun and just to enjoy the game. 

We require everyone to pay a set league fee that applies to skins, proximity prizes and payouts for 1st and 2nd place at the end of the year. 

The issue some members have is we have one player that is a +3 handicap and generally takes a good majority of the prize money every week. Once was a tour player and has no problem telling everyone that he's only on our league for the money. As the league president I feel it's my duty to try to address this but I don't know what is within my rights to try to make it fair. I don't want to loose members and I don't want to seem like I'm singling this guy out. 

Please, any ideas...

Thanks,

MRM

Skins are straight up.. not handicaped. 3 proxies, and skins. Roughly 200 dollars a week up for grabs.

[snapfade]

If you're league events aren't flighted or handicapped then yes that guy will take it all every time if he's playing against mid-high handicappers from the same tees. Unless I missed something seems like you need to make your league flighted. Do you guys only play skins games? 

[iacas]

… or apply handicaps.

[NM Golf]

Is there anyone else close to his handicap in the group? As a +1.5 I am going to tell you we LOVE straight up games. If you want to make it more equitable I would play net skins. It's pretty tough to have a 40 person league and play everything gross, there have to be some 15-20 handicaps who are just donating every week.

[Carl3]

29 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

Is there anyone else close to his handicap in the group? As a +1.5 I am going to tell you we LOVE straight up games. If you want to make it more equitable I would play net skins. It's pretty tough to have a 40 person league and play everything gross, there have to be some 15-20 handicaps who are just donating every week.

I played in a league last year that was net skins and it was ridiculous. Seemed like you needed eagle to win a hole almost every time. Some 36 handicap gets a par, LOL.

[David in FL]

Better players hate playing net skins.  In this case, it’s likely the only fair(ish) option for you.
 

 It sounds as if your +3 hcp player may just take his game elsewhere...

[MRM]

21 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Better players hate playing net skins.  In this case, it’s likely the only fair(ish) option for you.
 

 It sounds as if your +3 hcp player may just take his game elsewhere...

Thanks for the ideas everyone. We've pushed around the net hdcp. Idea, especially since everyone has to pay in to be able to play league.  It's not without it's merits. But it could discourage the lower handicaps. When you say flighted.. I forget who that was, I'm assuming it's tees based on handicap. That was also an idea. Other ideas; puting more weight on the proximities, adding a low net for each league night. E.g. lowest net score takes home a bigger pot than the other 4. We also pushed around the idea of putting him on the tips, but then again the 3s to 10s are still at the whites. Somehow I have to try to make it appealing to the masses. 

[Papa Steve 55]

We have two skins pools, net and gross. You can only get in one. 

 

[NM Golf]

1 hour ago, Carl3 said:

I played in a league last year that was net skins and it was ridiculous. Seemed like you needed eagle to win a hole almost every time. Some 36 handicap gets a par, LOL.

There's no perfect solution. I hate net skins in large groups because I have little chance to win. Most groups I play in we do both net and gross. I can't remember the last time I won a net skin, because in most of the groups I play in you have to birdie a hole with a pop. The net guys do love when I play though because we play off my handicap and they get 2 more pops.

15 minutes ago, MRM said:

But it could discourage the lower handicaps. 

Do both, everyone is happy.

[David in FL]

2 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

There's no perfect solution. I hate net skins in large groups because I have little chance to win. Most groups I play in we do both net and gross. I can't remember the last time I won a net skin, because in most of the groups I play in you have to birdie a hole with a pop. The net guys do love when I play though because we play off my handicap and they get 2 more pops.

Do both, everyone is happy.

Yep.  You can even give everyone the option of which they want to play in...

[MRM]

2 hours ago, MRM said:

Let me start out by describing our league. We have a 40  player, 2 player team league. All ages and handicaps.seniors can play from the gold tees. Everyone else from the whites. Pretty casual, general USGA rules, but we all know we're there for fun and just to enjoy the game. 

We require everyone to pay a set league fee that applies to skins, proximity prizes and payouts for 1st and 2nd place at the end of the year. 

The issue some members have is we have one player that is a +3 handicap and generally takes a good majority of the prize money every week. Once was a tour player and has no problem telling everyone that he's only on our league for the money. As the league president I feel it's my duty to try to address this but I don't know what is within my rights to try to make it fair. I don't want to loose members and I don't want to seem like I'm singling this guy out. 

Please, any ideas...

Thanks,

MRM

I'll put it up to the league members because I usually do everything with a vote because it's their league. But I do like the idea of having both straight up and net skin pots. It makes good sense and it's satisfies both the low and the high handicaps. Thanks guys for all your input.

MRM

[DaveP043]

Another potential for the skins, use 50% of handicaps.  That tends to make things approximately fair to all levels.  Closest to the pin always favors better players, so if they have a little disadvantage in the skins, that offsets the advantage they have in proxies.

I don't know the guys in your league, but I've found that some (not all) better players EXPECT to come out ahead every week, especially when competing against players of lesser ability.  If you find a solution that evens things up, you could lose the lowest handicap players if they have that kind of attitude.  If that's the way it works out, please remember that its THEIR fault, their entitled attitude.  I hope they can accept "breaking even" as fair, and choose to help work out a fair system.

[leftybutnotPM]

4 hours ago, MRM said:

Skins are straight up.. not handicaped. 3 proxies, and skins. Roughly 200 dollars a week up for grabs.

So why would anybody bother to enter this competition if it is not handicapped?

 

[DrvFrShow]

Split the pot. Skins and best net each week. 

[Beastie]

Please can someone explain how the skins game works for forty odd players. Here in the UK skins is played in four balls. At least that’s the only way I’ve played skins..

[DeadMan]

Canadian skins are something to look at, too. The idea is that you don't have a net birdie beat out a gross birdie. That will still favor the low handicaps, but the higher handicaps will have more of a chance than just straight-up skins.