Posting Solo Scores to Handicap (In 2021)

[Dwall4017]

20 hours ago, iacas said:

How is that a "better" option? Because it suits you?

The point of a handicap is to create a measure of how you play when playing against or at least with others and following the Rules of Golf. Since you never play solo in a competition, that alone changes things enough to make it less like a tournament round to accept them.

I’m trying to follow your last sentence, but having trouble........

 

as far as it being a better option, I don’t know if it suits me better or not. I shot 89 today by myself which is about average for winter golf here(muddy and mid 40’s ) 

the last two rounds I played with someone that could be logged for handicap were a 91 and an 84. These were also conditions similar to today. I guess my question is what is wrong with posting solo scores, other than against the rules.....if were wanting the best sample size for scoring purposes to determine a handicap wouldn’t it make sense to score every round where the rules of golf are followed and not just rounds where you play with others? It may be 2 months before I get to play with someone else again, where as I’m taking lessons, improving and playing along the way. So if in 2 months I want to play a handicapped match, couldn’t  my current handicap based off last years rounds and the 2 this year skew it to look as thought I’m sandbagging? 

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, Dwall4017 said:

I’m trying to follow your last sentence, but having trouble........

Competitions aren't played alone, so why should scores played alone affect the handicap you get in competitions?

[Darkfrog]

I was looking around on the internet for USGA handicapping rules to understand what the definition of playing alone is. The USGA site was loading slow but I did find this content on Geoff Shackleford's page:

Quote

What constitutes not playing alone?

As long as someone accompanies the player during the round (e.g., fellow competitor, opponent, caddie, marker for a tournament, friend riding along in a cart) the player is not playing alone.
How many holes can a player play alone to post the score?

The player must be accompanied for at least seven holes for a nine-hole score or 13 holes for 18-hole score.

This is consistent with Section 5-1 and the minimum number of holes played under the Rules of Golf.

For the holes played alone (not accompanied), the player would treat these as not played under the Rules of Golf and post according to “par plus” any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive.

Is this accurate?

[DaveP043]

15 minutes ago, Darkfrog said:

I was looking around on the internet for USGA handicapping rules to understand what the definition of playing alone is. The USGA site was loading slow but I did find this content on Geoff Shackleford's page:

Is this accurate?

That's a little dated, 2018 or earlier, but I think its essentially correct.

[Darkfrog]

21 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

That's a little dated, 2018 or earlier, but I think its essentially correct.

The post was from 2015, so a little dated, but thanks for confirming it is correct.

[djake]

23 hours ago, iacas said:

How is that a "better" option? Because it suits you?

The point of a handicap is to create a measure of how you play when playing against or at least with others and following the Rules of Golf. Since you never play solo in a competition, that alone changes things enough to make it less like a tournament round to accept them.

This makes sense to me now.  Playing with someone else at least for me does affect my game.

I generally play better golf on a solo round then with someone.  

Since we joined a club my solo rounds are on course practice.  I keep stats and a score but it's not accurate. So I do not post it.

We do have to inform the Pro Shop of practice rounds.  They watch tee times and score posting like a hawk.

They will send a warning letter to the entire membership if to many people are not posting and will then follow-up to the competition committee. 

When I played publics I played a lot of solo rounds, it was the only way I could get enough rounds to have a handicap.

After reading this post I will not post a solo again 

[CarlSpackler]

I haven’t had an official handicap or posted anything for quite a few years. When USGA changed the rules, I opted out. I no longer renew my membership. They can go belly up for all I care. 

[TourSpoon]

I didn't know that rule per se, but I do know that solo rounds tend to include some practice in my case so I don't post them. The only questionable round I posted was meeting up with my group for the nine (their 18) and finishing up on my own. I am pretty sure there were at least a few solo holes to finish. 

[NJpatbee]

I posted solo rounds before the rule change but have abided by the rule since it went into effect.  At my prior course I played about half my rounds solo and was concerned that my handicap would be less accurate, and to some degree it was.  I tend to score better by playing within myself when playing with others and my handicap dropped by about a point.  I play few solo rounds since I have moved (lost the entire 2020 season due to health issues) but used them for what they were, practice rounds.  I am a higher handicap golfer and to lose 2 sleeves of balls on the occasional solo round was not uncommon in 2019 since I "always went for it".

[Lugowskins]

I have, and will continue entering solo rounds. I do not play in any handicap events I only keep one to track my progress as a player. A lot of my 18 hole rounds are solo rounds as when I am playing with friends 90%+ of the rounds are 9 hole rounds (they live busier lives than me) and are rarely stroke play. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Lugowskins said:

I have, and will continue entering solo rounds. I do not play in any handicap events I only keep one to track my progress as a player. A lot of my 18 hole rounds are solo rounds as when I am playing with friends 90%+ of the rounds are 9 hole rounds (they live busier lives than me) and are rarely stroke play. 

I suggest…

Track your progress in a spreadsheet. Your handicap doesn't really track your progress since it ignores 60% of your rounds.

You're in breach of the Rules.

[Lugowskins]

On 2/23/2021 at 3:37 PM, iacas said:

I suggest…

Track your progress in a spreadsheet. Your handicap doesn't really track your progress since it ignores 60% of your rounds.

You're in breach of the Rules.

I use thegrint it does a good amount of basic stat tracking, which I obsess over as well, and gives avg score per round with a trending line but I think since handicap throws out the outliers it gives you an accurate overall representation of skill. It factors in course difficulty (and as someone who bounces around a lot of courses with huge variances in course rating I find that important) and gives you a single encapsulating number which is convenient. I think counting out rounds where you score terribly outside of the mean, especially at my current skill level where I'm constantly working on things without coaching and can "lose it" on any given day, is a fine way to track overall progress. 

I don't care about the rules when it comes to handicap as I said before I have never, and have no plans to in the future to, used it in any sort of competitive setting. I know I enter the scores correctly and since it's only for personal motivation I do not see any issues with it. 

 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Lugowskins said:

I use thegrint it does a good amount of basic stat tracking, which I obsess over as well, and gives avg score per round with a trending line but I think since handicap throws out the outliers it gives you an accurate overall representation of skill.

Handicap does not throw out the "outliers," it throws out your 12 worst differentials. If you wanted a true representation, you'd either count all of the scores, or you'd count the scores starting out from the middle. (And by scores I mean the differentials.)

1 hour ago, Lugowskins said:

I think counting out rounds where you score terribly outside of the mean, especially at my current skill level where I'm constantly working on things without coaching and can "lose it" on any given day, is a fine way to track overall progress.

A handicap means you're counting most of the scores outside of your mean, but only on one side of the mean: the better side.

1 hour ago, Lugowskins said:

I don't care about the rules when it comes to handicap as I said before I have never, and have no plans to in the future to, used it in any sort of competitive setting. I know I enter the scores correctly and since it's only for personal motivation I do not see any issues with it. 

If you're okay with breaking the Rules and trying to justify it, it doesn't affect my life.

[dennyjones]

Since you're the only one that sees your scores what difference does it make if you include all of your scores.    If you play by yourself you can declare it in TheGrint and it won't be included in your handicap.   Nobody else will see your scores if you don't want them to and with all of your scores included, you'll get a real representation of your true ability.    

I understand your thought process of "I don't play tournaments" but since TheGrint is so good with stats, don't you want them to be accurate?  Throwing out your "outliers" only inflates your handicap to make you look better and since you're the only one that see those stats... 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

On 2/23/2021 at 11:26 AM, Lugowskins said:

I have, and will continue entering solo rounds. I do not play in any handicap events I only keep one to track my progress as a player.

I have a GHIN index for scores played by all the rules.  There's a nice app called InfoTalk Handicap that I use for rounds played solo, when I'm not re-loading and hitting practice shots.  Which is rare.

[JuliWooli]

On 1/31/2021 at 3:24 AM, Sandy Lie said:

Stop posting solo rounds! That’s the rule! 

But two things drive me crazy.

1. players who don’t post because they play poorly and don’t want their HDCP to go down (Vanity).

2. Players who only post Tournament scores.  I want to understand this but where in the rules does it say that a player who plays a casual round doesn’t have to post his/her score because it’s not a Tournament?  Can you argue that against the “Solo Round” that can’t be posted?  Help me understand that.

In mainland Europe we have an EDS round (Extra Day Score). We have to pay a small fee to the club for registering these scores and we must play with at least another player. Apart from this our handicap can only be changed in tournaments. I suppose this would be our solo rounds but they must be announced to the club in advance.

[tehuti]

I post solo rounds, but I also do not play in any competitions. For me I am maintaining a handicap for purposes of tracking my progress. So it’s just for me. 

[iacas]

33 minutes ago, tehuti said:

I post solo rounds, but I also do not play in any competitions. For me I am maintaining a handicap for purposes of tracking my progress. So it’s just for me. 

This is a poor way of “tracking your progress.” Besides being a breach of the rules.