What is a single digit handicap?

[mapa94]

I tried searching but to no avail. I am currently trending to a 9.9.
At what point are you a single digit? 9.9, 9.5, 9.4 or less than 9.1?

I'm assuming that you would round off which means that a single digit is a 9.4 or less but am not sure.

Thanks for the help.

[Zeph]

From 9.9 and below. Why would you round off?

[Mr. M]

I think we should round down to the nearest _9.9. If you are a 15, you round down to 9.9. If you are a 28, you round down to 19.9.

Hey, that makes me a single digit handicapper. Sweet......

In all seriousness, though, single digit cappers, I think, start at 9.99999999. So you are almost there.

[wrx_junki]

I wouldn't consider myself a singles player until I am a solid 8 or below just because handicap seems to fluctuate.

[J-Rob]

A single digit handicap is a handicap that has one digit. Anywhere between 1 and 9. At least thats how I see it.

[Big_M]

1) WHO CARES!

2) probably anything above 0 and below 10... at least in my book.

3) WHO CARES!

[Dub]

Was this a trick question???

[J-Rob]

1) WHO CARES!

Yeah that is pretty much what I wanted to say.

[mapa94]

Thanks for the responses....I care because I set a goal of becoming a single digit handicap this year.

It wasn't supposed to be a trick question. It seems the consensus is that less than 10 is the definition.

[Shorty]

It's an interesting question.
And its true meaning depends upon the part of the world you play in.
From what I gather,in the United States, it represents your potential. This is why I see people who have "handicaps" of 1.6, for example, who post their last 78 scores and have very rarely broken 75 and frequently shoot in the 80s.
In Australia, for instance, this player would be a solid 8 or 9 handicapper.
In Australia, a player off 2 would expect to play even par a lot of the time and break par several times a year.
I have seen posts on this site from players who say they play off 11 but their scores indicate that they rarely break 90.

All of these handicaps are probably legitimate, but let me just say that a 2 marker is who is pleased to break 80 would not be playing off 2 downunder. More likely 10 or 12.
My point really, that it's important to know how this handicap is administered. If it's a DIY one, I am always skeptical - and you can pretty much judge the voracity of the handicap by the things that people say or ask. For example "How do I fix my slice?" Handicap 13, been playing for 6 months.

For those who are interested, this is a link to an Australian player's handicap record. All of his scores are posted in competition. He is an excellent player. You can be pretty sure that any scores in the 80s are played on extremely difficult courses in difficult conditions. His scores in the 60s are on good courses, but probably in good conditions. He has maintained a low handicap of between 1 and 3 for a couple of years. And....let me tell you, the difference between him and a legitimate 6 marker is HUGE.

http://www.golflink.com.au/HandicapH..._no=2180901557

[TheLauncher]

Shorty,

Veracity=truthfulness, voracity =extreme hunger.

Sorry, just the English student in me.




When I first began playing and before I came here, I thought handicap was simply the number of stroke over par on an average round. But you can see where in a handicapped match if a player gets the full percentage of strokes he could easily net a subpar round by playing only slightly above average.

[lumpuckeroo]

I tried searching but to no avail. I am currently trending to a 9.9.

IMO, 9.9 is single digit, stick out your chest and be proud.....

[zeg]

This is why I see people who have "handicaps" of 1.6, for example, who post their last 78 scores and have very rarely broken 75 and frequently shoot in the 80s.

The USGA system also accounts for course difficulty, so a player could actually play to his handicap while being above par. On a course with a 72 rating with a 135 slope would mean a 1.6 handicap index golfer would do well to shoot a 74. Mostly in the 80s would be a bit odd, but it would be quite normal to rarely break 75 on difficult courses.

[Ignorant]

I tried searching but to no avail. I am currently trending to a 9.9.

In my country this is very straightforward. A single digit handicap is a handicap with only one digit, i.e. any integer less than 10. To get that integer one rounds the two or three digit handicap to closest integer.

Thus any handicap 9.4 or below is a single digit handicap. But, as someone already put it so well, who cares?

[Smarf]

I eat single digits for breakfast...three of 'em!

Not that it matters but I feel it would be 9 or less.

[tjy355]

You may want to consider that your handicap index is only part of the equation. Your index is used to calculate a course handicap that may be higher or lower than the index.

[Jay-Bird]

If you break 80 on the regular.

[wannabescratch]

Anything lower than 10 in my eyes.