9 Hole Rounds and Handicaps

[Uncle Peter]

I posted a similar topic like this one. Take a look at the last posts:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...-9-hole-Course

[alf174]

Yeah, like I said.

I didn't catch that, you're right, he would just use what was given. If he was playing 9 of 18, he might ask his question given only the knowledge of the 18 hole rating/slope.

[Mattplusness]

I think I'll just wait until I play it again. The course is Riverview Highlands.. In Riverview. This is only the second time I was there, first time on the blue course. I went to the red last time I was there, and I'll probably play the gold one next.

[alf174]

I think I'll just wait until I play it again. The course is Riverview Highlands.. In Riverview. This is only the second time I was there, first time on the blue course. I went to the red last time I was there, and I'll probably play the gold one next.

Riverview is a 27 hole course but I have the 9 hole ratings:

Holes, Gender, Tees, Rating, Slope 18MGold/Red Blue Tee71.5123 18MGold/Blue Blue Tee71.4120 18MRed/Blue Blue Tee 70.7125 18MGold/Red White Tee69.8121 18MGold/Blue White Tee69.4115 18MRed/Blue White Tee69.2122 18MGold/Red Gold Tee68.1115 18MGold/Blue Gold Tee67.8113 18MRed/Blue Gold Tee67.5115 9MGold Course Blue Tee36.1118 9MRed Course Blue Tee35.4128 9MBlue Course Blue Tee35.3121 9MGold Course White Tee35.0114 9MRed Course White Tee34.8127 9MBlue Course White Tee34.4116 9MGold Course Gold Tee34.2113 9MRed Course Gold Tee33.9117 9MBlue Course Gold Tee33.6113

[mcintoshmc]

When you combine 9 hole rounds into an 18 hole round, the rule is that rating = rating_1 + rating_2 and slope = (slope_1 + slope_2)/2 (i.e., you add the ratings and average the slopes). If you're handy with algebra you can work out the 9-hole ratings for each 9 from the info you have. I'm bored so I'll help you out here

Anyway you can help me out as well. I play at the Claremont Golf Course in Claremont, Ca. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks.

[zeg]

It's almost your lucky day. They're in the USGA Course Rating Database. http://63.240.106.223/NCRDB/courseTe...?CourseID=9006 , but only for women. They don't seem to have any rating data on their own website, so you'd have to just ask them.

[alf174]

Anyway you can help me out as well. I play at the Claremont Golf Course in Claremont, Ca. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks.

For men, my service provided

18, Blue Tee, 57.4/86 18, White Tee, 55.2/79 9, Blue Tee, 28.7/86 9, White Tee, 27.6/79

[JLANM]

I rarely have enough time free to play a full 18. I suspect I will only be able to play the 9 hole course near my house as a primary course.

Is it acceptable to set a 9 hole handicap?

[Dormie1360]

Short answer is yes.  How will you be posting your scores?  Will the course that you're playing provide a handicap service so you can post there and does this course have the option for posting 9 hole scores?  (A 9 Hole rating?)

[JLANM]

I am not sure, questions I will ask when I arrive today. :) I am really new to "formal" golfing..

[JLANM]

OK I posed the questions posed to me and got a blank stare...I don't think the kid had any idea what I was asking. Maybe i can get some help from here..

I took 56 shots start to finish. I did not take "max shots per hole" or anything. I shot a true 56 ( horrible right :/ gotta start somewhere). The score card is setup like an 18 hole score card but it just has the same 9 twice. I played from the back tees, which has a "slope" of 113.  Really I am not sure all that this means but I want to learn! The card also says "rating" of 65.8.

[Dormie1360]

If I understand correctly, it's a 9 hole course that you are playing.  The card has you playing the same holes twice for an 18 hole score.  If this is true, then the 9 hole rating would be 32.9/113.  A score of 56 would give you a differential of 23.1

I could go thru the math if you'd like.

Every two nine hole scores that you play would give you two differentials that would then be combined to make a combined 18 hole differential score.  Once you have 5 combined differentials , your first handicap can be computed.  Eventually, when you get 20 18 hole differential scores your handicap will be based on your 10 lowest differentials .

All this assumes you are always playing 9 holes.  If you play 18 holes, your differential l  does not have to be combined with anything because it already is an 18 hole score.

That's how it works....... but I'm sure I've already lost you and you don't want to have to do all this manually.  There are programs available as well as online services that will compute your handicap for you.  I don't use them, however I'm sure others can offer some advice.  Unless you use an "authorized" handicap service, there's a chance that your handicap would not be accepted if you were to play at a tournament.  Say at a friends "member/guest" tournament.  If you don't care about this, then you needn't worry about it.  Any program can give you an accurate handicap as long as you input acceptable scores and you're honest.

BTW, your handicap at the course you played based on your one score is 22.

[The Tin Man]

The 9 hole courses I play are short. Most greens are within 7 iron range.  Half of my clubs stay in the car.

How would I not end up with a low handicap that would make me a joke on a regulation course?

[mtsalmela80]

Do you par/birdie every hole??

Its funny how the 15 yard shots get me just as good as the 160 yard shots sometimes.

Originally Posted by The Tin Man

The 9 hole courses I play are short. Most greens are within 7 iron range.  Half of my clubs stay in the car.

How would I not end up with a low handicap that would make me a joke on a regulation course?

[The Tin Man]

Lets put it this way. Whatever I score here is going to be lot better then over there.  Does the formula adjust for this? Or is it apples and oranges?

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by The Tin Man

Lets put it this way. Whatever I score here is going to be lot better then over there.  Does the formula adjust for this? Or is it apples and oranges?

Yes, to some extent the formula (or more specifically, the slope and rating plugged into the formula) adjusts for the easiness/difficulty of the course. Theoretically, a handicap obtained on a shorter course will be accurate on any other course.  (Just as a handicap obtained from one set of tees should be accurate if you play from a longer set of tees on the same course, since different tees have different ratings/slopes.)

I use the terms "to some extent" and "theoretically" because sometimes a handicap obtained by playing only shorter courses can mask deficiencies with your long game. So ideally, your handicap rounds should include at least some regulation courses. However, based on your 9-hole course's rating of 32.9 I'm assuming there must be at least a few par 4s (the rating represents what a scratch golfer should score, so if it were only par 3s, the rating would be closer to 24 or 25). Which means you're probably using driver once or twice, so your long game is being exercised to some extent (there's that phrase again.)

Bottom line is, a handicap obtained only from a shorter course might be slightly lower, but it should be pretty close.

[DocWu1948]

Originally Posted by The Tin Man

The 9 hole courses I play are short. Most greens are within 7 iron range.  Half of my clubs stay in the car.

How would I not end up with a low handicap that would make me a joke on a regulation course?

The rating and slope attempt to take care of that. If the course has a low slope, the calculated differential (which is your handicap) come out higher. And the converse is true.

At some point, the math has to fall apart for the really short courses, but even the local 9 hole par 3 nearest me has a rating/slope and it can be played with a 9 iron, wedge, and putter. When my HDCP starts again, I will have to plug in some numbers for it and see what comes out.

[Dormie1360]

Originally Posted by The Tin Man

The 9 hole courses I play are short. Most greens are within 7 iron range.  Half of my clubs stay in the car.

How would I not end up with a low handicap that would make me a joke on a regulation course?

Do you know what the total yardage is or the rating?  As others have said the low rating will help some, but  I could see where a handicap index from primarily playing at a very short course may not travel well.  In other words, you may not get enough strokes at harder courses that you play.

The course has to be 1500 yards long (9 holes) at a minimum or 3000 yards for 18 to allow posting for a USGA handicap.  Anything shorter, and you would be limited to a "short course" handicap which are designated with a "SL".  This handicap would only be applicable at the short course where it was established.