life of handicap index?

[soloredd]

Does the handicap index ever expire for someone? I am contemplating on not posting my scores for an undetermined length of time while I fix my mental and physical game. Will my GHIN number remain the same? Is it considered not kosher to do this? I feel like I add pressure on myself constantly worrying about score and handicap goals.

[Paz]

You are only cheating the system if you will lower your handicap index with a score but do not post it. If you normally shoot 90-95 post those scores for example. If you shoot in the high 90s or 100s you don't have to post those scores. Unless this becomes your norm then you should start posting them. I generally only post scores of 85 or lower since that's as high as I shoot when I'm playing pretty decently but not scoring well. I don't post when I shoot in the high 80's or low 90s and know it's not because of my putting but lack of good ball striking.

the USGA states you can post any ACCEPTABLE round (which is determined by your own standards). Obviously, a round that lowers your index is considered acceptable so you are a sandbagger if you do not post it.

[ajschn06]

What is the point of having a handicap if your not going to post all of your scores? Your handicap won't be accurate...

[soloredd]

  ajschn06 said:

What is the point of having a handicap if your not going to post all of your scores? Your handicap won't be accurate...

Good question. I guess what I'm saying is I want to take some time off from golf, mentally my game is complete crap. But I'd like to go out a time here or there with some friends and play. Should I post those scores? What would determine a "practice round" from a "you have to post it" round?

[alf174]

  Paz said:

You are only cheating the system if you will lower your handicap index with a score but do not post it. If you normally shoot 90-95 post those scores for example. If you shoot in the high 90s or 100s you don't have to post those scores. Unless this becomes your norm then you should start posting them. I generally only post scores of 85 or lower since that's as high as I shoot when I'm playing pretty decently but not scoring well. I don't post when I shoot in the high 80's or low 90s and know it's not because of my putting but lack of good ball striking.

If you are going to maintain a legitimate handicap you can't selectively post scores, no matter what your rational is not to post it.

[Paz]

I'm sorry but that's not how it works. You are infact cheating yourself if you play in tournaments and you do decide to post very high rounds or "fluke" rounds. Why? Because you will then be giving yourself more strokes then you deserve when you DO play a good round. It's the same as not posting index lowering rounds, because not posting those rounds will cause you to be given more strokes then you really should as well.

By not posting blow up rounds and by making sure you do post your record breaking rounds you will ensure that your handicap stays as low as possible which means you will be given LESS strokes.

There's nothing worse than a 20 handicap that somehow breaks 80, plus is given 20 strokes on top of it. Is it more likely that he actually broke 80 as a 20 handicap or that he is far lower than 20 handicap? I think the latter.

[sean_miller]

Is this a real thread?

I know it exists, because I'm reading it, but seriously, WTF?

Take 1 sandbagger, add in a pinch of vanity handicapper and puree.

[VMAN]

  Paz said:

I'm sorry but that's not how it works. You are infact cheating yourself if you play in tournaments and you do decide to post very high rounds or "fluke" rounds. Why? Because you will then be giving yourself more strokes then you deserve when you DO play a good round. It's the same as not posting index lowering rounds, because not posting those rounds will cause you to be given more strokes then you really should as well.

That's confusing. By your theory you shouldn't post the ultra low rounds either. I know that not what you're writing, but that's the logic your espousing. I say post em all and let the chips fall where they may.

BTW that's why there is equitable stroke control, to make sure that your blow up round won't be 100 when you're a 7.

[Paz]

  VMAN said:

That's confusing. By your theory you shouldn't post the ultra low rounds either. I know that not what you're writing, but that's the logic your espousing. I say post em all and let the chips fall where they may.

So, if I shot in the high 90's to high 100s back in March, does that mean I'm a 30 handicap?? I now shoot in the low to mid 80s consistently. Now that's somewhat irrelevant as I hadn't established a handicap back then. However, what I am trying to say here is that personal best rounds aren't due to an abundance of good fortune. You don't break your personal best by 8 strokes by chipping in 8 times. Maybe you get a few lucky shots, but most of it is due to being in the zone and playing to your current maximum potential. That's how I treat a handicap. As your max potential score when playing very solid golf. Why throw in rounds where things went bad from the get go and negative momentum destroys the round? Then you are basically saying because you played atrocious for one round that your maximum scoring potential isn't as high. Just because you shoot 100 once as a 10 handicap doesn't mean all of a sudden you can't break 80 on occasion.

I guess I see how people would want to add in all their scores however to me that just doesn't make sense when you KNOW you are capable of playing better and generally do. It does make sense to do so if you want to treat it as an exact scoring average relative to course rating/slope. However, I treat it like my scoring potential while playing prepared solid golf. Not a casual round with buddies with no warm up or a really, really off and/or unlucky day. I've never been a fan of equitable stroke control. Low handicappers can shoot high numbers on certain holes and visa versa with high handicappers so I really believe you get what you get on a hole by hole basis. But often when I play casual 4s we usually play no more than 8 on a hole (despite that not being my preference but oh well). But I've had 9's and a 10 once before and I count them. I'm done with this thread though. I am actually putting myself at a disadvantage net score wise so I don't see what the fuss is about. I don't enjoy giving myself strokes, so the fewer the better.

[alf174]

  Paz said:

So, if I shot in the high 90's to high 100s back in March, does that mean I'm a 30 handicap?? I now shoot in the low to mid 80s consistently. Now that's somewhat irrelevant as I hadn't established a handicap back then. However, what I am trying to say here is that personal best rounds aren't due to an abundance of good fortune. You don't break your personal best by 8 strokes by chipping in 8 times. Maybe you get a few lucky shots, but most of it is due to being in the zone and playing to your current maximum potential. That's how I treat a handicap. As your max potential score when playing very solid golf. Why throw in rounds where things went bad from the get go and negative momentum destroys the round? Then you are basically saying because you played atrocious for one round that your maximum scoring potential isn't as high. Just because you shoot 100 once as a 10 handicap doesn't mean all of a sudden you can't break 80 on occasion.

Check out the math for the USGA handicap - 1/2 of your last 20 scores (the lowest). It weeds out the high scores. If you're truly a 7.0 then you have nothing to worry about by posting all your scores.

Otherwise, you're modifying the rules of golf as you go to suit your own situation and you have a vanity handicap; you can say you play Paz-golf and that you maintain a Paz-handicap. Hell, if I selectively sorted my scores for posting I could chop ten strokes off too. But then I wouldn't be playing golf by the rules, I'd have to call it alf-golf or something.

[Fourputt]

  alf174 said:

Check out the math for the USGA handicap - 1/2 of your last 20 scores (the lowest). It weeds out the high scores. If you're truly a 7.0 then you have nothing to worry about by posting all your scores.

Yeah...Paz has a strange way of going about it. Since the USGA system is designed to weed out exceptionally high scores, why would you not post them to keep your

potential as current as possible? Obviously, if you actually do score poorly at times, then it IS part of that potential. The only possible reason for not posting them is vanity. I had a friend years ago who played with this mindset. If he didn't shoot his handicap in a casual round he didn't post it. The only high scores of his last 20 were competition scores, they were never used in the calculation, and obviously, when he played to his norm, he was rarely competitive in a tournament. He mostly went around the course with a permanent aura of anger and gloom, because he so rarely shot what he thought he should shoot. He rarely placed well in a tournament because he couldn't play to a handicap which was clearly lower than his potential. Like Paz, he never grasped what potential meant in the context of handicap. Potential isn't the lowest you can possibly shoot. Potential is what you are likely to shoot when you are playing well (the average of your best 10 differentials). It is what you are expected to shoot about 20%-25% of the time. If you play to that potential more often than 25%, your handicap will go lower. If you play above that potential more than 75% of the time, your handicap will slowly go up. Players who sport vanity handicaps are rarely much fun to play with because they so rarely play as well as they think they should. As a result, they aren't generally very happy on the course, and not usually very good playing companions.

[drglew]

+1 to Fourputt's post.

In the OP's defense though, if your "practice" rounds are not played in accordance with the rules of golf, they shouldn't be posted. I.e. if you've decided to play two balls, take multiple mulligans while working out a swing flaw etc. Heck, Ray Romano shot a 75 using a two-ball "self-scramble" in the final episode of the Haney project--but no, he can't post that.

[Chief Broom]

  Paz said:

I'm done with this thread though. I am actually putting myself at a disadvantage net score wise so I don't see what the fuss is about. I don't enjoy giving myself strokes, so the fewer the better.

Dude you can't win. Right now you're being branded a vanity capper. Play one of these guys in a net tournament and go low and you'll be branded a sandbagger, or they'll just complain about weighted tournaments where mid-capper's can end up being credited with a round in the 50's.

[sean_miller]

  Chief Broom said:

Dude you can't win.

Consider threads like this a public service announcement to guys like Paz. Guys are openly admitting selectively entering their scores on both ends of the scoring spectrum. If you don't enter your blowup rounds, you're gonna lose in net tournaments, because a lot of guys are throwing away their lowest rounds.

[Fourputt]

  Chief Broom said:

Dude you can't win. Right now you're being branded a vanity capper. Play one of these guys in a net tournament and go low and you'll be branded a sandbagger, or they'll just complain about weighted tournaments where mid-capper's can end up being credited with a round in the 50's.

We aren't branding anyone. He put the label on himself with his own statements. I don't give a hoot what he does, since he won't be competitive in any sort of handicapped or flighted event. He's not hurting anyone but himself. He certainly doesn't seem to need you to defend his peculiar sense of honor.

By the way, if what he is doing isn't a keeping vanity handicap, then what would you call it???? He certainly isn't using the system correctly if he's only entering scores that he feels are low enough to be acceptable to him. That is the classic definition of a vanity handicap.

[goin_low]

  Paz said:

I'm sorry but that's not how it works. You are infact cheating yourself if you play in tournaments and you do decide to post very high rounds or "fluke" rounds. Why? Because you will then be giving yourself more strokes then you deserve when you DO play a good round. It's the same as not posting index lowering rounds, because not posting those rounds will cause you to be given more strokes then you really should as well.

If you don't post your high rounds your handicap cannot go up. That's not how it's supposed to work. If your playing bad, your handicap should go up, if your playing well, it will go down. Post all your scores.