Are high handicappers losers?

[Cussin hacker]

I hit two perfectly straight drives 300 yards this year so let the naysayers flame away!!!

[Cussin hacker]

Because I simply didn't "get it." That was very frustrating. After 15 years of playing the game, within the past two years, I finally "get it." Now, I get frustrated if I play poorly because I have no excuse. I understand the fundamental swing and there is no reason I should not be able to hit it on every shot. Mind you, I don't expect a great game (yet), I just expect to play within my game.

I can understand that and I get frustrated myself, but even Tiger has bad days! The golf you watch on TV are all the guys playing good. The players who finish near the last have all had some really bad rounds from what their normal game is. Everyone plays bad once in awhile.

[NormH3]

I hit two perfectly straight drives 300 yards this year so let the naysayers flame away!!!

it doesn't count if it's on a 165yd Par 3

[Cussin hacker]

it doesn't count if it's on a 165yd Par 3

Yeah...Well.... I still hit it 300!!

[EightBlue]

No, we shouldn't. As I said, it takes skill to hit for distance.

agreed. one more important point. High handicappers likely spend all of their practice time with the driver so that should be the best part of their game. mid-low handicappers spend most of our time hitting shots 100 yards or less.

[plugged]

I can understand that and I get frustrated myself, but even Tiger has bad days! The golf you watch on TV are all the guys playing good. The players who finish near the last have all had some really bad rounds from what their normal game is. Everyone plays bad once in awhile.

Agreed, but "bad play" is relative. If I don't hit the green from 150 out, I'm not upset, that just means I need more practice. If I skull the ball OOB from 150 out, I'm pretty upset. There's no excuse for that and it can only be due to lack of focus.

[FHopper]

OP here.
Point to clear up, the title is a question, not a fear or self recrimination.
Trust me I do not worry about being a loser. The best answer yet was "YES", funny guy. The general tone of the conversation has been appropriate, no one should ever take offense at anyone's post, we are here because we want to hear other perspectives. I like hearing heartfelt commitments to how someone feels. If you really think a person needs to go low then that is cool, if you are like me and play each shot for its own possibilities then "coo"; and everything in between.

[cody west]

And if you see a "scratch" golfer [or better] doing that, he's likely not as good as he thinks. Majority of the good golfers I've played with are able to consistently play good because they do not lose their cool. Most people that claim to be God's gift to golf and but really are not, lose their cool quite often I've noticed.

i get very mad when i hit a bad shot, not so much with the driver and il never top the ball but if i miss a green from like 165 or so il get so pissed. it mainly happens when i like hit a bad approach with a wedge and leave myself a long putt when im trying to attack a pin, i get the most mad when i have birdie oppertunities and i mess them up, which usually still results in a par. its constructive anger. i wont go in or anything il just be really mad until i use the anger to better my game in the next shot. iv seen many single didgets get very mad. theres a kid at my local course whose a +3, hes legit he shot 68 in tryouts for college but he breaks clubs atleast once a week. also i played a tournament with a kid whose a +4 who got his driver head stuck in the ground after missing a fairway by about 10 yards.

good players lose their cool jsut as much as the average golfer, the difference is that we have constructive anger and we lose our cool over something like missing a green or leaving the ball in a bad spot like bad course management. Edit: when i say mad i maybe stand over where i hit and just think about the bad thing i jsut did or jsut walk to my ball without saying anything like good ball to the other player. if im having a truely bad day like a day where i can barely find the clubface i will jsut leave the course and go to the range for 3-4 hours then when im done at the range i go to the chipping green.

[jharrell]

If you hit it 275 and straight, but "can't putt or chip", use your putter from 100 yards out and with driving like this you'll comfortably break 85 every time you play.

Can't say I agree with this. My driver speed has been measured at 120+ (Not swinging out of my shoes), and I am only now consistently breaking 85 after 5 months of playing. I'm not sure you should assume a golfer is overestimating their driving ability when you could very well be underestimating the ability for a high handicap golfer to take 4-5 shots from 100 yards in to reach the pin.

[cody west]

Can't say I agree with this. My driver speed has been measured at 120+ (Not swinging out of my shoes), and I am only now consistently breaking 85 after 5 months of playing. I'm not sure you should assume a golfer is overestimating their driving ability when you could very well be underestimating the ability for a high handicap golfer to take 4-5 shots from 100 yards in to reach the pin.

ya but after 5 months your breaking 85 most ppl dont break 85 in their life time. when you develope a more fine tuned consistant swing over the years you will eventually break par. mainly because with that much ss you can afford to lose some speed in exchange for a shorter more controlled swing that will put you on the greens more often. at the beginning of last year my ss was 121 but now my ss is down to about 110 with the d stick and i havent lost any distance but i hit about 10-16 gir's a round

[Chris Stack]

Maybe I DO overestimate my drives, I dunno. Maybe it's more 230-250 than 250-280. Whatever. But my local course has a couple of 285-300 holes, and I consistently end up maybe 10 yds short of the fringe (edit: on these holes), and I drive the occasional (as in a handful of times a summer) green. My last round a few weeks ago on the local 9-hole, I shot a 48 and had 22 puts. I mean, you do the math. Good tee shot, okay iron or wedge shot, toss it back and forth across the green maybe with a lob, and a 2-3 putt. Bam, you're at a double bogey or worse. Never really thought I'd have to defend my crappy golf scores.

[zrlaegel]

Maybe I DO overestimate my drives, I dunno. Maybe it's more 230-250 than 250-280. Whatever. But my local course has a couple of 285-300 holes, and I consistently end up maybe 10 yds short of the fringe (edit: on these holes), and I drive the occasional (as in a handful of times a summer) green. My last round a few weeks ago on the local 9-hole, I shot a 48 and had 22 puts. I mean, you do the math. Good tee shot, okay iron or wedge shot, toss it back and forth across the green maybe with a lob, and a 2-3 putt. Bam, you're at a double bogey or worse. Never really thought I'd have to defend my crappy golf scores.

maybe trying a putter with a little more weight might help. the rossa your using can be hard to control. try checking out the monza spider. that little extra weight may help you control your putts and help with your follow thru allowing you to sink the ball in less putts

[Parker0065]

In several threads I have read comments from low handicappers that make me question my value as a golfer. Comments that a high handicapper may be lying if he says they can hit a ball a long way. Comments that high handicappers should play short tees because they must be slowing the pace of play from regular tees. Or that a high handicapper should be working on their game to develop a lower index.

I love this game of golf and anyone who shares that passion is no loser in my book, no matter what you shoot! As far as pace of play the higher handicapers might be singled out a little more than lower handicapers but I don't equate pace of play to handicap. I've seen lower handicaps that are just as slow as the high handicaper losing three balls into the woods on a hole. Pace of play is more about awareness and being ready when it's your turn. As far as distance claims go, this is always a hot topic,,,lol! I think it is true that most average golfers hit it a little shorter than they think, but I have witnessed on rare occasion a higher handicaper hitting it a good distance. Earlier this year My Father in law and I let a single join us on the first tee. He was mid 20's and in good shape. I hit a ok drive 275yds down the middle. The guy gets up and nails it about 290yds down the left side. Were walking to our drives and I tell my Father in law this could be refreshing getting to play with someone who can hit it past me. Well, the rest of the day the guy was 30-40 yards behind me averaging about 240yds off the tee. Eveidently he caught a career tee shot on #1. The guy was about a 18 Handicap so if he goes on line and says "I hit it 290yds" then it doesn't match his handicap and people think he's full of it. Another one was while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. We got paired with a couple young 20-somethings and one kid could just rip it. He was legitimately 20 yards ahead of me off the tee, averaging close to 300yds on the ones that didn't go out of bounds,,,lol! The problem was he hit at least 10 balls O.B. off the tee and shot about 110. Now maybe the guy was actually a good player that was having a really, really, really bad driving day, but it goes to show there are higher handicaps that can hit it far but are so wild that they are counting stroke and distance penalties on 1/2 of the holes. But I wouldn't call any of these guy's losers, they enjoyed playing the game and that's what matters.

[max power]

We are losers only in the sense that we lose golf matches.

I think that's the point, though. 1 out of 20 doesn't mean anything. If I try and kill a drive and yank it 310 yds ob, as far as I'm concerned it went nowhere.

[lumpuckeroo]

I love this game of golf and anyone who shares that passion is no loser in my book, no matter what you shoot!

Couldn't agree more, as long as someone enjoys the game, they are not a loser. I think it is just the nature of sports that more accomplished players tend to look down their nose at less accomplished players. I would much rather play with a person that shots in the 100's and is enjoyable then a 2 handicap that is an A-hole.

[PEZGolf]

In several threads I have read comments from low handicappers that make me question my value as a golfer. Comments that a high handicapper may be lying if he says they can hit a ball a long way. Comments that high handicappers should play short tees because they must be slowing the pace of play from regular tees. Or that a high handicapper should be working on their game to develop a lower index.

If you play to the best of your ability, spend hours on the practice range trying to improve, take lessons when necessary, and realize that you can only get out of golf what you put into it, then you are OK. If you do not spend the time, then you are a recreational golfer, and will never improve. In that case, do me a favor, and NEVER play in front of me.

[ET-Taylor]

Well i no my self that although i take 80 odd shots round my local course when i am playing off general play tees when i play my self i have seen my self round in 2 hrs nearly so the idea high handicappers are always slow players is ridiculous

[ND Fan]

I have been a scratch golfer for more than 20 years. The only thing I judge about other golfers is their ability to respect the course and their fellow golfers and the game. Respect for all three only requires some courtesy and understanding basic etiquette. I play routinely with guys that can shoot lights out and guys that can't break 90. I enjoy it all. Life is too short. If you can play a round in about 4 1/2 hours have a good time. If it takes you 5 1/2 hours well then yes, you might be a loser, get the Hell outta my way! ( just kidding)

Golf is a gentlemans game despite what some may make of it and a gentleman undertands some are better and some are not. He also understands that while learning the game some may not know everything about the game and that it's not ok to take 5 minutes to line a up 30 footer and you shouldn't get your drinks from the cart girl wile standing in front of a green you just finished. Play well has a different meaning for everyone. From my perspective playing well simply means you played without shouting throwing clubs or otherwise pissing someone off. But I have seen players play well and not break 100.

Enjoy the game, anyone who chooses to attempt to intimidate you or berate you simply because it requires you more strokes than they to complete a round is an idot and hardly worthy of their self described greatness.

I probably used to be a golf snob when i was much younger but as I grow older and hopefully a bit wiser I find I enjoy playing with all skill levels as long as they keep a reasonable pace and a smile on their face.