whats a good handicap?

[Lihu]

I think I'd prefer a system where you put a card in everytime you play. The problem in the UK is that there are a lot of false handicaps because people are not submitting cards more than they have to(and sometimes not even then). I played with a guy the other week who was off 18 and shot 5 over! To be fair it was a 36 hole comp and he shot 98 in the afternoon. probably thought he'd better reign it in after all the grief he got at lunchtime :)

Are you saying he purposely played worse to "reign" in his overall score to comply with his handicap in the afternoon?

[RickK]

To me, anyone whose handicap is 9 or less is a good player.  I am about an 11 or 12 these days and I don't really consider myself to be that good.  I may be better than a lot of people but when I play with guys who are true single digit players and can play to their handicaps, I realize just how not so good I really am.

[Robster 7]

Are you saying he purposely played worse to "reign" in his overall score to comply with his handicap in the afternoon?

No, that was tongue in cheek, he didn't do it on purpose, he actually couldn't have been any worse in the afternoon but he regularly plays to well under 18 and because he doesn't enter many qualifying comps he doesn't come down because he rarely puts a card in. There are people in golf who protect their handicaps to win things they enter and there are those, like me and most of you, who want to get as low as possible because it will be nice to play off scratch one day and all that hard work will have been worthwhile.

[Robster 7]

To me, I steadily worked my way down to a 15 & totally stagnated there.    For me to get below where I'm at would take a very serious commitment to the game & a lot of practice.   My only hope is to try and play smarter & get my approach shots closer, so I don't have to deal with a lot of greenside work or long putts. So I would consider anything in the single digits to be a very accomplished golfer - someone who putts very well, doesn't make mistakes off the tee and gets their approach shots at least on the green someplace more often than not.     Huge difference between a 15/16 and a 8/9

The better you get, the more you need to practice (I don't tell my girlfriend this)

[scv76]

Thread title is "What's a good handicap"

Probably a broken leg............Sorry just couldn't resist !!

A good handicap is probably one that the golfer can get pretty close too most time they play.

We all have different abilities.

[tomvk77]

Well if i look at my career so far:

after my  first full year off golf i played from 24

off 17 after my second

third year 11

4th year 10

5th year still 10

6th year 9

7th year back to 10

8th year dropped it to 7

9th year 7

10th year 8

this is still the handicap i'm on now, i'm not playing all that much because off busy work and family life.

I still have the feeling i can get to a 5. I think i have the game for it but consistency is the major problem,

can't seem to get a good 18 holes in. i always get that 2 holes where i loose strokes to easy with double bogeys.

In matchplay i can handle myself against a 5 h'capper.

But in my opinion a good handicapper is on close to scratch. 2 / +2 range.

I think it all depends on the person you ask it, if he plays around 20 a 10 cap is a good one.

if you ask a 10 he will say 5/6 is good.

[virtuaframax]

I don't think there is a good handicap or a bad one... it's the ability to play at it or better that matters.

But i think anything single digit is a good achievement

[David in FL]

A good handicap is probably one that the golfer can get pretty close too most time they play.

We all have different abilities.

I don't think there is a good handicap or a bad one... it's the ability to play at it or better that matters.

But i think anything single digit is a good achievement

It's worth noting that the handicap index is designed to represent a player's potential , not his average. As such, a player with a valid handicap index will not play to that index very often.......probably less than 20% of the time, or one round in 5 at the most.

[Ernest Jones]

It's worth noting that the handicap index is designed to represent a player's potential, not his average.  As such, a player with a valid handicap index will not play to that index very often.......probably less than 20% of the time, or one round in 5 at the most.

Ain't that the sad truth.

[PaneraiMan]

If I ever get to 7-8 I would be super happy

[BuckeyeNut]

I'm definitely no good.....

I figure good starts at +2............

[Hammer 4]

If I ever get to 7-8 I would be super happy

And a month after you attained a 7 or 8 HC, you'd want to be a 2 or 3 HC...

[David in FL]

I'm definitely no good..... I figure good starts at +2............

Yep. "Good" is about 4 strokes better than wherever I happen to be......

[MiniJeffrey]

Interesting but difficult question. What is a good handicap; for me it depends on multiple things to classify a player as being good. Looking at the average hcp of all players in the world, anyone lower than 25 will probably be adecent golfer as more than half of the entire golfing population shoots higher scores. But a 25 handicapper, myself included, does tend to play some bad golf from day to day. A good golfer to me is someone who has a great technique and has decent all-around play, even on bad days: drives, iron shots, approaches, short game, putting, bunker shots. Bringing all of this together should result in a player that is able to hit most fairways in regulation, hit most greens in regulations and is able to recover from a bad shot thanks to his short game.

So I would say anything under 18 would be a pretty good golfer to me. Under 10 is a very good golfer for me. And from that number on the differences are so subtle it's very hard to tell apart a great golfer from an almost great golfer for me. Mostly it will just be some putting or short game that is just a bit better, resulting in a hcp 4 instead of an 8 for example.

[teeitup22]

Ain't that the sad truth.

It's worth noting that the handicap index is designed to represent a player's potential, not his average.  As such, a player with a valid handicap index will not play to that index very often.......probably less than 20% of the time, or one round in 5 at the most.

Ha. Never thought of it like that.

[Yukari]

If I ever get to 7-8 I would be super happy

Briefly.  Then you would be mad because you are not improving any further.

The reason that I like golf is precisely that.  Just when you think you got it figured out, you don't.  Or when you reach one summit, there is another.

I thought I would be happy when I got to HI under 10, but then I wanted to improve more.

Before, I was happy to be shooting in the 80's consistently, but now if I shoot in the mid to high 80's, I am having a bad day.

Golf is a moving target, we never quite catch it.  It seems the goal is always within grasp but not quite reachable.

To me, good is always 3 or more better than where I am currently.

[mcanadiens]

My bruv referred to it the other day as chasing the dragon.

[dkolo]

Briefly.  Then you would be mad because you are not improving any further. The reason that I like golf is precisely that.  Just when you think you got it figured out, you don't.  Or when you reach one summit, there is another. I thought I would be happy when I got to HI under 10, but then I wanted to improve more. Before, I was happy to be shooting in the 80's consistently, but now if I shoot in the mid to high 80's, I am having a bad day. Golf is a moving target, we never quite catch it.  It seems the goal is always within grasp but not quite reachable. To me, good is always 3 or more better than where I am currently.

Once you get to shooting 18 every round, then it gets boring. Until then, plenty of room for improvement.