Are People Not Updating Their Handicaps or...

[Happy Dragon]

do they have no idea how handicaps are calculated?

I just read a post where a 9.7 handicapper shot a 74, beating his previous best of 75. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even if he's playing from the chic or man-boob tees.

I'm guessing he probably doesn't know better as he goes by wolverine man, rodriguez humpper, or something like that.

[Shindig]

Lots of us neglect to update our handicap information. Mine has stayed in the 16 range for about a year now, so if it's a 16.1 or 16.9, my general area is the same.

When mine gets under 16, it'll be updated


As for others, I dunno. Some might not even have exact handicaps. The general standard is to not put a decimal place if you're estimating, and to put a decimal point if you know. For example, "16" means "I think I'm about a 16 handicap" and "16.0" means "I'm a 16.0 handicap." On the other hand, I don't know if this general standard is only in my head or not.

[Hogan Incarnate]

I've neglected updating my Handicap for a while, as well. Last time I checked it was a 6 but I'm sure its gone down, considering that I've been shooting consistantly even for this summer.

[Big_M]

do they have no idea how handicaps are calculated?

why doesn't it make sense... I beat my all time low of 75 and shot a 72 earlier this year... my handicap was around 7 or 8 before I posted the 72 and now it is back to a 7.4 (haven't updated it in a few weeks). Oh, and I was playing the middle tees the day I shot the 72... 6400 yds or so and something like 71/127, but that's not exact. I find it perfectly feasible for someone to shoot 74 and have a 9 handicap, especially if they have been improving quickly and something might have clicked that day.

[Happy Dragon]

I always thought the same thing about the decimal points.

If a 9.7 broke 80 on me, I'd be scratching my head a bit, but if he shoots 74 or 75, I'd be mad enough to kick a puppy. I'd bet that a legit 9.7 has no chance in hell at shooting under par for 9, I'd sentence myself to watching an entire season of Keeping up with the Kardashians or Real Housewives of any Crap City if it happened. You choose.

Peace!

[daviddunn]

Maybe this guy has had a couple of outstanding rounds, but his average is in the high 80s? The higher scores would pretty much cancel out the one or two mid 70's rounds.

[Msokol13]

Can someone point me in the direction of a good...accurate and FREE website to input my rounds for an accurate handicap?

I've never known my handicap but this summer I've been shooting in the mid to low 80's. According to a friend when I mentioned I thought I was a 13 handicap he laughed and said that I'm a sandbagger because I play much better then a 13...but I really dont know too much about it. Nor has anyone ever really explained it to me.

[wolverine_man]

First of all, no, I don't update my handicap too often. Second of all, I was playing from the tips - a/k/a the championship tees so F off.

[Happy Dragon]

Maybe this guy has had a couple of outstanding rounds, but his average is in the high 80s? The higher scores would pretty much cancel out the one or two mid 70's rounds.

Not true. If you blow up a few rounds, you aren't going adversely affect your handicap. A handicap is not indicative of average score, but a measure of a player's potential. Golfers typically don't shoot their handicap but 25% or less of their rounds.

[Big_M]

If a 9.7 broke 80 on me, I'd be scratching my head a bit, but if he shoots 74 or 75....

As stated... I am a 7.4 and I have broke 80 in 4 of the last 20 rounds... lowest being 77... I could have a great round tomorrow and shoot low-mid 70's from the middle tees, maybe even tips if 7,000 or less.

[Happy Dragon]

First of all, no, I don't update my handicap too often. Second of all, I was playing from the tips - a/k/a the championship tees so F off.

Playing from the tips further demonstrates the wackiness of your score. Don't be upset. I love you.

[Big_M]

Can someone point me in the direction of a good...accurate and FREE website to input my rounds for an accurate handicap?

http://www.greenskeeper.org/main.cfm http://golf.sports.yahoo.com/tracker http://www.golflink.com/mygame/my_handicap.aspx http://www.nethandicap.com/content/index.html make sure you use equitable stroke control (ESC) is you want it to be accurate.

[mapa94]

I think it is very possible. My low round is a 75 (last month) and I'm a 9 handicap...yes it was from the whites or regular tees. It is also possible for me to shoot a 95 which is what I shot this morning from the championship tees at a much more difficult course.

[wolverine_man]

handicap is now updated, adding in my last 4 rounds. I really don't have time to update my handicap on a constant basis and I could really care less. And I usually always play from the tips on any course not greater than 7000 yards, because, quite frankly, I get tired of hitting driver 9 iron or wedge.

By the way, the course today was a par 71 and only about 6500 yards. It was not the hardest course in the world but not the easiest either. Lots of doglegs and lots of elevation changes including plenty of uphill greens. Nearly all of the par 3s played at 180-200 yards.

[walk18]

I don't see anything unusual about a 9 shooting in the 70's from time to time. Certainly it wouldn't be a regular occurrence..

[Happy Dragon]

As stated... I am a 7.4 and I have broke 80 in 4 of the last 20 rounds... lowest being 77... I could have a great round tomorrow and shoot low-mid 70's from the middle tees, maybe even tips if 7,000 or less.

This seems reasonable.

[Happy Dragon]

handicap is now updated, adding in my last 4 rounds. I really don't have time to update my handicap on a constant basis and I could really care less.

169 posts since July indicates that you do have time. Also, you "could" care less or you "couldn't care less? I agree with you that you "could" care less because as I stated, you've posted 169 times since July. But, who's counting anyway. Merry Labor Day! I still love you.

[Fourputt]

I always thought the same thing about the decimal points.

Lets see.... I'm a 12.4 currently and in the last week and a half I've shot:

Club Championship: 87-88-85 Casual rounds: 76-86-79 The 76 included going 3 under par through 11 holes.. I beat my boss who is also the head pro. My lifetime low score is 73. I carried a 16 handicap when I shot that, and it was the first time I ever broke 80. In the 20 years since then I have yet to duplicate it.... close (many rounds at 74-78) but never that low again. My handicap index has never been lower than 9.6 because I just don't play consistently enough to have more than 2 or 3 of those low rounds on my list at one time. So I don't see it as being all that unlikely that a 9.6 would break 80... even break 80 a couple times in a row. And if he does it more regularly than that, then his cap will come down to reflect it. That's just how it works. And I do update my handicap each time my association publishes a revision.