Who Wins This 30-year Bet (3 and 16 Handicap)?

[NZ Golfer]

I play in a family event a few times a year with many 20-30HC players recently I was beaten off the stick by my 23HC cousin hubby he got an 83 I had a shocker 87 ...to have beaten him I would have had to have scored a 66 off the stick !!! my lowest at our local course is 73  ...was his best game for the year ...so many lucky shots 

 

IMHO I'd say your mate won't need more than a couple of years to beat you ..

 

[David L Yskes]

Well, i had chosen the 16 handicap..    And after reading the first page, i would have thought the 16, would have had the best chance..  

But after reading other pages, and then realizing he's not even a true 16 handicap...    And we don't know what his drive or mental game is to improve...  i feel like it's a suckers bet.    

See i fell like this is how i am with my brother when we play..   He varies from a 12 to 20 handicap ( i've been 30+ handicap to low 20s )  i've seen him play MSU's Forest Akers West and shoot a 81..  he's also had years when he didn't play a lot and his handicap went up..   

But anytime we would play, especially since 2008 or so, the closest i came was within 10 strokes and that was on a pretty easy course.     But if i took some lessons on a regular basis ( mainly to work on my driver )   i'm sure i'd eventually beat him at least once 

[StKildaSenators]

If he is a 16 after only 2 years I think that shows he puts in a lot of effort. Assuming he keeps that up (and the bet may be good motivation to), I think there is a good chance he gets close enough to a 3 handicap that a good round from him can beat a bad round from a 3.

[klineka]

42 minutes ago, StKildaSenators said:

If he is a 16 after only 2 years I think that shows he puts in a lot of effort. 

He's not a 16 though, he's a vanity 16. That most likely means he's at least a 20 if not higher. 

Having to putt out every 3-4 footer and actually taking stroke and distance rather than just a drop for a single penalty stroke on OB can turn a vanity 16 into a true 23 or 24 real quick. It's also possible that the vanity 16 is only a slight vanity and he's actually an 18 or something, but my bet is that the vanity 16 is actually a 20+.

[snapfade]

Now that I have taken getting better seriously, golf is hard. I meet with an instructor about every three weeks now, and I'm on the course in some capacity every day practicing or playing or both. I usually get in a minimum of 9 a day. I'm only slowly seeing positive results on a regular basis. I'm leaning towards this guy not ever beating the 3. Unless he dedicates his life to getting better I dont know. Maybe. One thing working against me is I've been playing forever without formal instruction until a few sessions last year with an instructor and now. It takes a good while to get something ingrained in you for it to work every time.  I'm rambling, so yeah, scratch my earlier vote and I'll go with the 3 with an *

[iacas]

3 hours ago, klineka said:

He's not a 16 though, he's a vanity 16. That most likely means he's at least a 20 if not higher. 

Having to putt out every 3-4 footer and actually taking stroke and distance rather than just a drop for a single penalty stroke on OB can turn a vanity 16 into a true 23 or 24 real quick. It's also possible that the vanity 16 is only a slight vanity and he's actually an 18 or something, but my bet is that the vanity 16 is actually a 20+.

Look at Kevin trying to rationalize his small minority vote. 😄 

[klineka]

12 hours ago, iacas said:

Look at Kevin trying to rationalize his small minority vote. 😄 

I might be wrong but it makes sense in my head... Not sure anyone wants to agree with what goes on in there though