How long did it take you to get to your current Handicap?

[Jay-Bird]

took roughly 3 years to get down to 2 handicap.

Same here.

[David K]

Yes, but given your limited experience on the golf course you wouldn't have any idea what your handicap would be. Four poor swings in a round plus a couple of 3 putts can add 10 shots to your score and make someone who thinks he plays off 12 unable to break 90. You say that you have played (on average) less than once a month for three years. Someone who plays twice a week plays 30 rounds in 4 and a half months. You may well be benefitting from your teaching pro friend, but handicaps are determined by scoring over 18 hole of golf, where everything counts, not ballstriking ability on the range.

I've kept my last 15 score cards and the average of the 18 hole scores came out to 12 over par. From what I understand that would be my handicap wouldn't it? Besides that when I signed up to the web site it basically said... if you don't know your handicap than take your best guess. It might go up or it might go down from where it is now, only time will tell. If I hit a 90+ next time I play I'll probably bump the handicap up.

After reading another thread just now I guess there is more to calculating your handicap that just finding the average. I never asked anyone how a handicap is calculated before and figured the simple and common sense way would just use a simple average. I'll look into it more and adjust it accordingly . After using this site: http://golf.about.com/od/handicaps/l...dicapincal.htm My handicap is 14.

[Gerald]

After a 16 yrs layoff I restarted last year and had to do exam in March 2010 to start getting a handicap again, my goal for this year was to reach in between 5.0 and scratch, but I went to the process of changing clubs maybe a bit too much ..... now I am with the kind of clubs I like best and managed to get only 1 stroke off last 6 weeks .... anyway quite pleased with my game now, but hope to shave a few strokes off in the last two months in which we still might have qualifying conditions.

Major weaknesses are a few (near) mishitts and double bogeys, scrambling a bit too low (about 30% now), not too mention some drives outside the 1st cut.

Coming winter I will work on my short game and on the long 2nd shots (150 - 200) to get these closer to the hole ..... and my scrambling must be going towards +50% to really shave off these last shots.

[Zeph]

2008: 36 to 20
2009: 20 to 17
2010: 17 to 13

Got less than 10 registered rounds this year (don't register all), but I've been on the range way more than on the course.

[sabanist]

Gee, it took me all my freakin' life to get to my current handicap. Seriously, though, I was just a hacker for many years, played only a couple times a month, shooting mostly in the 80's, never consistent from one week to the next. Then discovered Dave Pelz. Changed my outlook on the short game. Dropped my handicap a couple of strokes every year as I got better at up and downs and putting. The last three years or so has seen much better ball striking as I've had time to practice and play much more, and with a group of better players. Learned how to save pars after bad shots, scruff it around when not having my "A" game, etc. so that I finally consider myself a semi-decent player. Always trying to learn more, though.

When you say you discovered Dave pelz, what did you do? REad one of his books or attend a golf school or something?

[darkhunter139]

Form the white tee haha, got swing speed of 85-95 mph ( Im only 5' 7" and 130 lbs) with my driver and the guy at the dicks said my swing speed is very usuall with my handicap. He told me as I lower my score, my swing speed will go up. Hopefully he's right, I only hit about 220- 240 with my driver lol. Also should I take a lesson? Is it too late or too early? Or just don't take it because Bubba never took one? What you guys think?

Yeah take a lesson, I just took one from Golf Galaxy and it was very helpful. They record your swing and it is really helpful being able to watch back what you are doing wrong. They send the video to your phone and email address too which is pretty cool.

[Harmonious]

When you say you discovered Dave pelz, what did you do? REad one of his books or attend a golf school or something?

Back when the Golf Channel was really about golf, there was a weekly series of 1/2 hour shows by Pelz which covered everything about the short game. Sand play, chipping, pitching, putting, a different topic each week. I started watching those shows (taped a bunch of them) and began to see the light about how important the short game was. About the same time, he came out with the Short Game Bible. I must have read it a dozen times, still refer to it occasionally.

[jamo]

2006=35-25
2007=25-18
2008=18-12
2009=12-6
2010=5-1.5

Those are approximates. Before 2006 I still played golf, but I have no idea what I shot.

[Gerald]

Back when the Golf Channel was really about golf, there was a weekly series of 1/2 hour shows by Pelz which covered everything about the short game. Sand play, chipping, pitching, putting, a different topic each week. I started watching those shows (taped a bunch of them) and began to see the light about how important the short game was. About the same time, he came out with the Short Game Bible. I must have read it a dozen times, still refer to it occasionally.

The fun thing is that I have 4 of these bibles : Tom Watson (Getting Up and Down from 40 yds), Dave Pelz (Short Game Bible), Phil Mickelson (Secrets of the Short Game) and Stan Utley (The Art of the Short Game). All have a slightly different way to handle the short game ....... Tom Watson was about my first short game hero bought that book at the time a PW was 50* and a SW was 56*. Dave Pelz is now a bit funny to reed (certaintly is you like the Utley "method") and I went Dave's Sandplay way for a few months, but no matter how much I practiced his sand solution, I never got really confident with it.

About two months ago I heard of Stan Utley (here on the forum), bought his two books and I am currently working his way, I like the approach of the short game being a mental and feel thing way more than the "scientific" approach of Dave Pelz. The Phil Mickelson book is more like "look how good I am" and contains only a little instruction, it is more about his great shots. I have seen Phil at some tournaments and of course he has played some really great shots, but I have also seen him on days that the feel wasn't there, making the same stupid mistakes we all do. Fun thing is that while I like to use a 8 iron for a lot of chips and a PW or LW for most of the higher soft landing shots, they all prefer something like a 58* - 60* for most of their shots, low and high. Phil uses a 9i or a delofted LW for chips (but if you deloft a LW it is about the loft of a 9i ) and Stan uses a 58* and varies with the kind of release plus a slight turn and 70% weight on the left foot (a bit like S&T;), while Dave is more like a balanced stance and a straight back straight through chip........ And they about all say all other ways suck !!! So basicly it doesn't matter much which way you use, do what you feel is best ...... I personally think the scientific way of Dave Pelz, leads to the fastest result, b/c it takes way more time and practice to master feel...... but in the end I feel it is best to develop feel and force yourself to get the ball within 3 ft...... as only from 3 ft. you will putt about 85% while from 6 ft. it is only about 50%. I tried to chip with my 58* for a while, but it is so hard to remember that I have to use a different stroke for chips than I have to do for pitches (with that same iron), that for the moment I am using the 8i and 9i for most chips (but the results vary from within a few inches to about 10 ft) ..... I really have to get better. It just takes a LOT of practice to develop a scrambling game ...... at least way more than hitting a straight 180 yds 5i.

[TourSpoon]

The first time around it probably took 3-5 years of total playing to get to a 5/6 and that really was 2 years of being serious about golf. I played to a 5/6 for a while and took a 10 year layoff and tried to come back 2 years ago at an 8.5 for the summer and then took off another 2 years. This time it has taken me 12 weeks to get to 6.9. I started a thread for anyone interested.
http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...ck-into-the-6s !

[soloredd]

Well, I've been playing seriously for only about 2 years, last year was the first year I started a handicap. It's still improving with each revision, fortunately

[Ash1974]

I started messing in Oct 2007 with my 1st membership starting in Mar 2008, in this first year I got down to a 16.4 (easy course breaking 100/90 in six months) from Mar 2009 I joined my current club (for my membership I get 2 championship courses) and my handicap has climbed and dropped (mainly climbed this year) to 17.7 due to how tough the courses are.

This 17.7 is based on the score tracker on todaysgolfer.co.uk which I have added 99% of my score cards to since starting golfing.

My official club handicap (CONGU) is 14.2 and is based on the score cards I put in when joining (13.4) and from the comps I have entered at my club since (these have put it up to 14.2) however I know that the score tracker is more accurate and is right for where I am playing at the moment (if I play of 14 I barely get 25 points) so to me my handicap is 17.7

[trickymicky69]

one year so far

[Dr. Griefo]

I used to play 3x a year but have been playing regularly for 4 years now (aprox 20-25 rounds of 18 and 20 rounds of 9). My first official handicapp was a 24 and it went down to a 17 after the second year. Years 3 & 4, it's varied from a best of around a 15.2 or so to a worst of 18.1. As of last weekend I am a 16.4. I tend to go on streaks of mid to high 80's games and streaks of low to mid 90's games. Best round was a 91 in year one, 87 in year two, 85 in year 3 and 82 this year. I shot a 100 (yes 100) once this year the day after I shot an 83. I never take mulligans or gimmie putts. I've felt like I've played a lot better in the last couple of years in all aspects of the game but my handicapp isn't really reflecting it. My goal is to make it to 10 handicapp someday but that probably means going to the range and putting and chipping greens. I have enough trouble getting to the course 2x a week.

[CyclistOK]

1.5 months... I played in High School and didn't play at all through college, then picked it up again this last summer before med school started and got right back into it. I guess it helped that these new fangled clubs are SO much straighter and lighter than the old clubs I hit during high school, but I think it's like riding a bike, " you never forget "

[chrisronline]

My posted handicap isn't official since I haven't played in tournaments. I've picked up the game again this past June (played some from 8th-11th grade but not on a team) and started taking lessons about a month ago. I'm hoping to stop moving this January and join a league and start earning an official handicap and playing in tournaments.

[$2 Nassau]

It took about 6 yrs to get down to a 9 hdcp. Then about 5 months to go back up to an 11.

[chspeed]

I've kept my last 15 score cards and the average of the 18 hole scores came out to 12 over par. From what I understand that would be my handicap wouldn't it? Besides that when I signed up to the web site it basically said... if you don't know your handicap than take your best guess. It might go up or it might go down from where it is now, only time will tell. If I hit a 90+ next time I play I'll probably bump the handicap up.

No offense, but that doesn't sound right. If you are averaging 12 over par, you would be more like a 6 or 8 handicap. The handicap is not a measure of your average, but a measure of your potential. Someone that averages 12 over par usually (because of score distribution) ends up with a single digit handicap.

It's extremely unusual to have such a low handicap with so little golf exposure. My guess is that you're not sure how to count penalties, etc.