Guy Who Doesn't Know his Handicap Shoots 84:)

[trackster]

Ok well i went to that free handicap sight thing and i have had 18 rounds this year and it shot back that my handicap was a 22.1 soo i was a little off but my last 4 rounds have consited of 47 for 9, 42 for 9, 100 for 18, and 84 for 18 so that must have helped.

[envoy98]

The quick answer to slope and rating is that rating is the score a scratch golfer should shoot on that course and slope is the score a bogey golfer should shoot.

I'm confused. I get the 73.4 rating being a scratch "par for the course" but with a slope of 133, that would be 60 strokes worse. I'm pretty much a bogey golfer and I couldn't have shot 133 on that course the first year I played. (well maybe the first year) :)

Am I missing something?

[envoy98]

Ok well i went to that free handicap sight thing and i have had 18 rounds this year and it shot back that my handicap was a 22.1 soo i was a little off but my last 4 rounds have consited of 47 for 9, 42 for 9, 100 for 18, and 84 for 18 so that must have helped.

Take out the last 4 rounds and see what it rates. Or, take out just the rounds of 84 and 42.

[Slim 11]

I'm confused. I get the 73.4 rating being a scratch "par for the course" but with a slope of 133, that would be 60 strokes worse. I'm pretty much a bogey golfer and I couldn't have shot 133 on that course the first year I played. (well maybe the first year) :)

An average slope is 113. I think when they say "bogey golfer" it means someone who's best score (think handicap here) would be bogey golf. I think it is a poor definition as well, but that;s the way it is explained. A "bogey" golfer by this definition is probably someone who averages 113 on a standard course. If you think about it, that's not so hard to do if you count every stroke, penalty, etc.

[trackster]

I find that strange. A bogey golfer always sounds really good ( like i tell my self if i can just bogey every hole i will get a good score). I only had to take one penalty stoke on my 84 today so that helped.)

So since my course at home is 70.3/122 the difference between a scratch and bogey golfer is 50 strokes?????

[saltman]

LOL-this may be the best come back to someone questioning their integrity I have seen on here!!

It was a funny comeback. props!

I was not at all trying to be mean. I think the OP is probably better than he originally gave himself credit for....but part of me thinks a little bit that maybe someone that doesn't understand handicaps maybe missed a stroke here or there also, but maybe not I wasn't there. Not suggesting that is an integrity issue, just a knowledge issue. This is a complicated game! I have been playing golf for a long time and I readily admit that I still run into situations where I just make an assumption on the likely penalty and move on. I wasn't trying piss in the guys cheerios at all. I shot 84 2 weeks ago and was pleased, but thinking back it was really probably 85-87 as I lost a ball and played it as lateral to save time and was given a couple putts. I kid you not the ball was lost in the middle of the fairway.

[saltman]

An average slope is 113. I think when they say "bogey golfer" it means someone who's best score (think handicap here) would be bogey golf. I think it is a poor definition as well, but that;s the way it is explained. A "bogey" golfer by this definition is probably someone who averages 113 on a standard course. If you think about it, that's not so hard to do if you count every stroke, penalty, etc.

Whoa!! I am way better than I thought! 113? That can't be right can it?

[Fat Slice]

Well his initial handicap assessment was wrong, but, that said, it was a great round! No reason to assume *he* cheated himself into a stroke here and there...maybe he doesn't play like that? I know I don't! The other day in match play I shot an 81 off my 22.1 handicap (at the time), taking my buddy out 5 and 4 when the poor bastid shot under par! Those rounds can and do happen -- just not that often. In golf we police ourself, so if he said he shot an 84 we should believe him without evidence to the contrary, right?

[saltman]

Well his initial handicap assessment was wrong, but, that said, it was a great round! No reason to assume *he* cheated himself into a stroke here and there...maybe he doesn't play like that? I know I don't! The other day in match play I shot an 81 off my 22.1 handicap (at the time), taking my buddy out 5 and 4 when the poor bastid shot under par! Those rounds can and do happen -- just not that often. In golf we police ourself, so if he said he shot an 84 we should believe him without evidence to the contrary, right?

Chill....I just said I have been guilty of the same thing. I agree he shot 84 and should be very pleased. I was just pointing out how unlikely it is that a 30 handicapper would EVER shoot a legit 84. This guy isn't a 30 handicapper and its certainly not an insult to suggest he probably doesn't know all the proper rules. Who amongst us does? Anyway moving on...

Dude, great round! Well done! Have fun with this game! Apologies if I offended in anyway.

[iacas]

Whoa!! I am way better than I thought! 113? That can't be right can it?

Mathematically that's the average slope, yes.

If you looked at the average slope of existing golf courses, it'd probably be 122 or so. But slope is a mathematical concept. 113 is the number at which the bogey golfer shoots 18 over in his handicap rounds (very loosely defined there - don't want to get into the math).

[trackster]

Thanx everyone that joke i made was just that a joke. I was by myself for the back nine and me and my friend dont do gimmies (he was there on the front) so it was as legit as i can make it. I passed 2 people so i had time to look for balls and stuff, the one i did take a penalty stoke was driven under a tree branches. I just hope i can keep this up going from a 3 iron and 6 iron to a 4-pw has really helped alot.

[2bGood]

that is awesome! congrats!

I usually shoot in the 90's and one day on work trip I go out play Crowbush in PEI it has a slope of 148 and I shot a 7 over 79. I couldn't believe it. I was stunned most of the day as the ball just kept going where I wanted it to.

It weird how sometimes golf through you a bone like that.

[Zeph]

I usually shoot in the 90's and one day on work trip I go out play Crowbush in PEI it has a slope of 148 and I shot a 7 over 79. I couldn't believe it. I was stunned most of the day as the ball just kept going where I wanted it to.

This ones's maybe even better. Shoooting in the 90's puts you in the 20+ section, depending on slope etc. Shooting 79 on a course with a rating of 148 is nothing short of amazing. That's the same as Bethpage Black off Champions tees. But it's believable on the intrawebz where the men are women, women are men and little girls FBI agents.

[Marinemike]

The slope is NOT what a bogey golfer would shoot on that particular course. A bogey golfer would typically shoot +18 on a course with a 113 slope. There is much math involved, but it's called slope because it refers to the slope of a graphed line connecting the par golfer's score and the bogey golfer's score. A harder course has a greater slope because it gets more difficult faster for a bogey golfer than it does for a par golfer.

That misundertanding is why my sidebar thingy under my screen name is a joke. Apparently it's lost on most people though.

And yes, 4 years majoring in physics has left me with a much greater understanding of math and numbers than I would ever care to admit. I'm sure a lot of financial management guys here can sympathize.

[iacas]

The slope is NOT what a bogey golfer would shoot on that particular course.

I don't think anybody said that.

A bogey golfer would typically shoot +18 on a course with a 113 slope.

I did say that, though:

113 is the number at which the bogey golfer shoots 18 over in his handicap rounds...

[Marinemike]

The quick answer to slope and rating is that rating is the score a scratch golfer should shoot on that course and slope is the score a bogey golfer should shoot.

I'm refering to this and the ensuing conversation.

[2bGood]

This ones's maybe even better. Shoooting in the 90's puts you in the 20+ section, depending on slope etc. Shooting 79 on a course with a rating of 148 is nothing short of amazing. That's the same as Bethpage Black off Champions tees. But it's believable on the intrawebz where the men are women, women are men and little girls FBI agents.

Okay a few points on this.

1. Slope is 148 from the tips - I played from the whites and I don't know what the slope is from those and couln't find it on the net when i posted 2. This is links style course and I played it on a day with little wind and early enough in the year that the rough was not a factor. 3. though I had been shooting 90's most of the time that season, I have spent a season or two as a low 80's golfer and this was my second round on the good side of 80. oh yes and my 350 yards drives helped too

[Kingfisher]

I should be congratulating you on the good round, but I feel compelled to rant a little

You know what pisses me off? Aspiring golfers (not sure what else to call them) who don't know the first thing about the game.

All of these guys are up to speed on the latest technology, they know what's the hottest driver out there, they know the ProV1 is the ball, they know where all the best deals are, they know how far they hit the ball with their clubs (albeit exagerrated in most cases). They're well on their way to becoming proficiant and knowledgable golfers it would seem? Wrong!

They don't know their own handicap nor have a clue about the USGA handicapping system . How can you play against other golfers without a handicap? In fact, how can you get excited about any score you post if you don't know your handicap?

They don't know even basic rules (evident on a regular basis in this forum) I'll bet that most of the scores aspiring golfers are posting are nonsense, because rules have not been applied correctly.

For god's sake, if you're going to be a golfer, embrace the game in its entirety, including the nitty gritty - golf is not just about bombing drives.