New to the forum. How does handicap work?

[trackster]

Do you really think I would ever play net golf with someone?  If a high handicapper beats me straight up then more power to him, but if he beats me because he is getting more strokes from the course then that does nothing in my opinion.

I think some people can't compete with others and rely on this system a little too much.  Like I've said before it's more of a restrictor than anything.  I was playing at a 30 I shot an 84 and no one believed it.  There is a previous story in this thread a guy had about being a 20 and shooting 75.  Without the handicap there is no judging.  You just think the person had a darrn good round.  But with a handicap in place you start to question some ones actions and what not.

What I am getting at is If you play and you are rewarded for shooting close to your handicap in a net golf tournament, there is nothing to strive for.  You have the same chance of winning if you are a 25 or if you are a scratch.  Other sports you have to strive to be the best.

[funkyfred72]

Originally Posted by trackster

Other sports you have to strive to be the best.

This part I agree with.  Playing basketball in high school we played some teams that we absolutlely killed.  They were terrible and everyone knew it.  We didn't give them points before the game started to give them a chance at winning or to make a game of it.  It's probably bad to compare golf to other sports, so I'm sorry.

The hadicap system will never go away.  Bottom line is, besides letting players of all abilities compete, it generates extra revenue for golf courses.

[RoyPinhey]

this thread has gone from a simple question to a load of handbags at dawn. Being a low handicap i only really play for my gross scores anyway but when i do have a matchplay, stableford . . .etc match against i high capper i respect that they arn't 'as good as me'.

This year i got knocked out of the memorial matchplay at my club by an 18 handicapper. My gross score on the card was lower but he managed to play 8 under his handicap (for me to do this i would have had to play -2 gross). At the end of the match i smiled, shook his hand and went for a beer and a laugh in the bar with him because thats just what golfers do. We are not all pro's, and until then gross scores count for very little whether you like it or not . .

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by trackster

Do you really think I would ever play net golf with someone?  If a high handicapper beats me straight up then more power to him, but if he beats me because he is getting more strokes from the course then that does nothing in my opinion.

I think some people can't compete with others and rely on this system a little too much.  Like I've said before it's more of a restrictor than anything.  I was playing at a 30 I shot an 84 and no one believed it.  There is a previous story in this thread a guy had about being a 20 and shooting 75.  Without the handicap there is no judging.  You just think the person had a darrn good round.  But with a handicap in place you start to question some ones actions and what not.

What I am getting at is If you play and you are rewarded for shooting close to your handicap in a net golf tournament, there is nothing to strive for.  You have the same chance of winning if you are a 25 or if you are a scratch.  Other sports you have to strive to be the best.

Of course your whole diatribe raises the question:   Why do you even HAVE a handicap?

[trackster]

So that when I post people will take me seriously unlike the people who post that have good advice but are scrutinized for having a high handicap.  I just ended my season (I just started football practice) with a legit +3 (38) for 9 holes.  It feels a a lot better knowing I shot +3 then knowing I netted an under par round.

[Clambake]

After reading through this whole thread, I don't think you have to worry about that.

Originally Posted by trackster

So that when I post people will take me seriously .........

[TAWM]

I'm more confused now than when I posted the question. I think the best advice I've read is to pay the course $30 to figure it for me. Then I will figure the rest out from there.

On a side note, I am playing in my first night time tourney (glow ball) and I'm pretty stoked.

[trackster]

Originally Posted by Clambake

After reading through this whole thread, I don't think you have to worry about that.

Good one, Har Har.

Anyways my advice to you, assuming you are new to golf as well as new to the forum is not to worry about your handicap.  It is just a number.  It does not score for you, it does not make shots for you.  You still have to go out and try to play the best round of golf you can.  Don't worry about not taking a shot because the consequences might raise your handicap or what not.  Just play golf.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by trackster

So that when I post people will take me seriously

But then you say silly things that make people NOT take you seriously.

Like this.
You seriously maintain a handicap so people on a chat board will take you seriously??

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by TAWM

I'm more confused now than when I posted the question. I think the best advice I've read is to pay the course $30 to figure it for me. Then I will figure the rest out from there.

On a side note, I am playing in my first night time tourney (glow ball) and I'm pretty stoked.

Another thing is that maintaining a handicap gives you a way to measure your improvement.

[trackster]

I don't maintain one.  I put one in my signature I get from a free online handicap calculator.  Really you can tell if you are improving or not by the way you play.  You don't need a number to tell you this. When I use to shoot in the 100s I would post something on here and people would be like "Just look at your handicap."  It's a crap show.  I'm not saying I was a good golfer then, but I knew a fair bit about the game.  Heck I'm not saying I'm a good golfer now, but anyone is entitled to give advice.  If its good advice it shouldn't matter who it is coming from.

[carpediem4300]

I have no idea how to work my handicap out, golfshake.com has it at 10.2 but i know this is wrong,....i used another earlier and it reckons 17.2, guess i need to learn how to do it myself to be sure lol

[rustyredcab]

Handicap calculation:

take score and subtract course rating, multiply by 113, divide by the slope. Answer is differential. Take average the ten best differentials from your last 20 rounds. Multiply that average by .96. Answer is your index. For it to be correct, you must record every score with the correct slope and course rating.

To find your handicap when playing, take your index, multiply it by the slope, divide by 113. Answer (rounded to the nearest whole number) is your handicap for that course on that day.

Also note that there are maximums allowed for any hole when posting your score for handicap purposes. Based on your handicap for the course you are playing (not your index). See this page for the breakdown. So, while you may shoot 102, you may need to adjust it to 99 if you had higher than allowable score on some holes.

http://www.cdga.org/detail.asp?id=11&pid;=4

Of course -- easiest way is to pay $30 and record all your scores. You'll maintain an USGA index. Charts at most courses will help you convert to handicap for that course. No math needed.

Why bother? Here's an example from this morning. In my Saturday game this morning, all four of us have established handicaps. Playing off the low player's ball, one guy gets 4 strokes, another 17, and another 19. Because we change partners ever week, this weeks match was the two low handicaps against the two higher handicaps -- giving a ton of strokes. The two low cappers played very well and even below expectations. Both expect handicaps to drop on Monday when the revisions come out but because the handicap revisions are on a schedule, it is correct and fair to play the cap you have as of the last official revision. The other two guys played well too. In the end, the low guys won one point and won $1 each. It was fun, competitive, and fair even as the scores ranged from 78 to 99.

I'd be happy to play with someone like traskster. But we can't have a game if he doesn't have a real handicap. Even for $1.

[trackster]

Why couldn't we have a game.  Straight up, no one giving or getting strokes.  I would have a hard time taking some ones money because I beat them by them giving me strokes.

[The Gill]

In one sentence: You take the average of the best 50% of your last 20 rounds and use it to normalize your score against other golfers of different skill levels.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by trackster

Why couldn't we have a game.  Straight up, no one giving or getting strokes.  I would have a hard time taking some ones money because I beat them by them giving me strokes.

I'm guessing you'd have an even harder time taking my money straight up. Give it up. Many many golfers enjoy having an equitable system to allow players of all ages and skill levels to compete. We all get that you want to play even. You will crush beginners and perhaps old men. You may stumble into a match that is competitive. You'll give others little joy as they smoke you.

When I was in college, there was an open gym with many half-court basketball games being played 4 on 4. Any group could wait and challenge the group that won the last game. What a casual observer could pick out, is that the level of competition varied widely. It was also very rare for a clearly superior team to challenge a weak team just to win the court. People wanted to play at their level. The beauty of handicap golf, is that I can compete on any "court." You may never get it. But you are unlikely to persuade the rest of us that the system is broken.