Handicap Differentials

[Dent]

As I was reading a thread about Underparnv going scratch, and then going back to a 0.5 rather quickly, I wondered this:

If you shoot a little higher than your handicap at scratch, does it go back up alot more easily than shooting a higher score at my handicap?

For example: I posted a 99 into my tracker to see If it would go up, and suprisingly It didn't. Which is obviouslly way above my handicap. Now if a scratch golfer posted maybe a 78 or 79 (which isn't that much above his handicap) I don't think. Would it go up rather easily? Or alot easier than a 7 does shooting a 99?

I'm still a little confused on how a handicap can go down and up (obviouslly scores) and what it specifically depends on? There has to be some numbers behind the curtain or a formula that makes it do this? What is it?

Thanks,
Dent

[sacm3bill]

One thing you have to remember is only your best 10 of your last 20 are used. So if you post something higher than the highest of the 10 currently being used, your score will not change... unless the score that drops off (because it was 20 rounds ago) is lower than the score you just posted. In that case the best unused round within the last 20 (i.e., up till now not one of the 10 best being used) now becomes one of the 10 best being used, and your handicap will go up because of it.

But in the case of you posting your 99, probably the score that dropped off (the one 20 rounds ago) was not one of your 10 best, which would be why your 'cap didn't change.

[underparnv]

One thing you have to remember is only your best 10 of your last 20 are used. So if you post something higher than the highest of the 10 currently being used, your score will not change... unless the score that drops off (because it was 20 rounds ago) is lower than the score you just posted. In that case the best unused round within the last 20 (i.e., up till now

Exactly what he said

I had a couple of good rounds early in the year last year (I think a -0.5 diff) that dropped off and were replaced by my "miserable" 75 (4.0 diff), 78 (4.9 diff) and a fashionable 81 (Kapalua Bay Course -- 7.4 diff). However, I had a bunch of low scores toward the end of the year and those are what are currently holding my handicap down. If I don't play well in my next three-five rounds, my index is going to sky rocket. 76-79 this past weekend isn't going to help things either...

[Dent]

That seems so unfair when I look at it now. Does it give you any room for error? I posted a 79 on a 69/118 Course and my handicap went up!!

One bad round will make it go up? I still don't follow.

[underparnv]

That seems so unfair when I look at it now. Does it give you any room for error? I posted a 79 on a 69/118 Course and my handicap went up!!

I will try to break it down

There as my last 20 rounds as of the last revision: Score | Diff 81 | 7.4 78 | 4.9 75 | 4.0 69 | -1.5 82 | 10.5 74 | 2.8 85 | 12.8 77 | 4.9 84 | 10.0 70 | -0.6 68 | -2.4 67 | -3.3 69 | -1.5 75 | 4.0 74 | 2.6 78 | 6.5 76 | 4.6 72 | 1.2 76 | 5.0 85 | 12.6 I've bolded the ten scores that are currently being used to calculate my 0.5 handicap. As you can see, the 72 with a 1.2 differential is toward the bottom of my most recent scores. Therefore, once a new score comes in at the top of this list, these bottom scores will drop off. Since I shot a 76 on Saturday, that score will go at the top and the 85 will drop off the list. Since that isn't one of my lowest 10 differentials, my handicap won't be affected. If I fail to shoot a score that is lower than the 1.2 differential that is three from the bottom above, my index will go up. Does that make sense? I'm pretty bad at explaining this kind of thing

[Dent]

An example always makes me understand more, I'm kind of catching on now.

If im Correct, that still seems pretty rough and no margin for error. You're next round needs to be below a 1.2 Correct? Isn't that tough to do to prevent your handicap from going up?

[underparnv]

An example always makes me understand more, I'm kind of catching on now.

I wouldn't say so...not up anyway. The system was designed to take into account your potential. Therefore, it would rather keep your index a bit on the lower side. I believe there is a chart out there on the USGA site that says you really shouldn't shoot right on your handicap...it should be a couple strokes above it. The reason: You are calculating your handicap based on your 10 best scores.

I think iacas would be better to explain this than I

[Dent]

okay so if you shoot a couple strokes above your handicap, which would be a 2.5, and you need to shoot under 1.2, either way your handicap is going to go up.

[meenman]

okay so if you shoot a couple strokes above your handicap, which would be a 2.5, and you need to shoot under 1.2, either way your handicap is going to go up.

Remember even if it goes up, it is not going up that drastically 2.5/10 = .25 so he may go up to a .6 or .7 which I would assume he isnt going to lose any sleep over

[iacas]

You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. The 10 best of the last 20 differentials are counted. That's it.

So, if you bump off a differential that counts with a differential that's higher, your handicap will either remain the same (if there was a tie for the tenth spot) OR go up.

If you bump a differential off from 20th to 21st in order with a differential that's LOWER than it, your handicap will go down.

Either way, it's simple: your 10 best differentials out of the last 20 are what counts. That's it.

If you post 10 differentials of 6.8 and then 10 differentials of 0.3, you could shoot ten rounds where the differential was 30 and you'd still be a 0.3 index.

[sacm3bill]

Also Dent, while I understand the tendency to think in terms of "I need to shoot x to go down", or "I need to shoot y to not go up", bottom line is the only goal of the system is to accurately capture your potential based on the last 20 scores... and most agree that it does that quite well.

[Dent]

Ya I guess you guys are right, I just got freaked out after i posted a 79 and my handicap went up, To me it felt unfair, but It's gotta go up sometime right?

[iacas]

Ya I guess you guys are right, I just got freaked out after i posted a 79 and my handicap went up, To me it felt unfair, but It's gotta go up sometime right?

Odds are, you must realize, it likely wasn't the 79 alone that did it. Your handicap is revised probably once every week or two. Look at my last several revisions:

05/28/08 - 2.7 05/14/08 - 2.4 04/30/08 - 2.6 04/16/08 - 2.7 04/01/08 - 2.7 03/05/08 - 2.7 02/06/08 - 2.7 01/09/08 - 2.7 11/07/07 - 3.0 10/10/07 - 2.9 09/19/07 - 2.9 09/05/07 - 2.6 If you'd have claimed your free Scorecard license, you could see how your handicap is affected after every round.