Handicap Confusion...

[mikelegacy]

I don't understand the negativity… I guess some people cant stand losing? Are you just generally an ******* or casually a pretentious douche bag?

Listen, pretentious is my word, and you totally just word jacked me. :-D

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by mikelegacy

Listen, pretentious is my word, and you totally just word jacked me.

Hahaha, my bad buddy. It was such a great word, I had to use it! I'll go pull my thesaurus out and find my own great word to describe all the other condescending retards on here. Haha

[mikelegacy]

Hahaha, my bad buddy. It was such a great word, I had to use it! I'll go pull my thesaurus out and find my own great word to describe all the other condescending retards on here. Haha

It's all good. I suppose I can share haha :-P

[iacas]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

I'll go pull my thesaurus out and find my own great word to describe all the other condescending retards on here.

That's enough, thank you.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

I agree and disagree.  I think many take it way too far and are pretentious about it for sure.  And in a forum like this, I'd bet there are about half as many single digit handicapers as what are posted.

That said, I see relevance in taking advice from better players, as more credible.  Certainly not always, but I give advice in areas where people have been sucessful, more credence than those who have not had success (or as much).  If I want investment advice, I get it from someone who has had success as an investor - not a causual e-trade investor.  Same with other sports and areas of life as well.  I hold the more succesful in a higher regard, generally speaking.

Just because I can't perform at a certain level, doesn't mean that I might not know the answer to certain questions asked, or have a valid comment to add to a given topic.  I've played for nearly 40 years, 30 years continuously.  I've played Men's Club and other competitions for 22 years, served on the club board of directors, volunteered as a CGA Rules official, and I've learned a lot about the game of golf during that time.  Just because all of that experience didn't give me a 3 or 4 handicap doesn't negate the fact that I do know something about the game.  For example, I rarely give swing advice, because my swing isn't the greatest.  I do contribute to some short game discussions because I have a fairly decent game around the greens.  I'm sure that the same is true of a lot of our members, so just because they post an honest handicap, it doesn't validate or invalidate their comments.  I've seen some pretty outrageous statements made by guys who post a pretty low handicap, and I've seen some sage advice from 20-something cappers.

To SVT:  I've been where you are.  22 years ago, my first year in the Men's Club, I was sliding along with a legitimate 16 handicap - had won nothing in any tournament all year.  I was practicing my short game regularly, but not doing much about my full swing.  Then come August and the club championship (72 holes over two weekends), and something suddenly clicked.  After two rounds I was already leading my flight when in the third round I shot what is still my lifetime best score of 73, and in the final round I shot 78 and made my first ace.  I won my flight by some 20 strokes, and easily won handicap champion.  The next tournament (last of the season) was our club against the mens' club of our sister course about 5 miles away.  I shot rounds of 77 and 84 for that comp.  By the next spring I was playing to a consistent 10 handicap, and I stayed in the 10 to 12 range for the next 15+ years.  It's only in the last 3 or 4 years that I've lost the consistency and my cap has trended up to the 13.8 where I now stand.  The only difference between us is that I was never "adjusted".  My scores went down overnight, but since I played and returned scores every weekend, and my casual scores were at the same level as my tournament scores, my index naturally dropped quickly.  There was never any need for adjustment.

None of the guys in the club ever questioned the legitimacy of my handicap because they had seen me play both before and after the epiphany.  The only place that my play or honesty has ever been questioned is on internet golf forums by people who don't know me and have never seen me play.  I just don't take them seriously because such comments are nothing more than knee-jerk reactions to something they know nothing about.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Just because I can't perform at a certain level, doesn't mean that I might not know the answer to certain questions asked, or have a valid comment to add to a given topic.  I've played for nearly 40 years, 30 years continuously.  I've played Men's Club and other competitions for 22 years, served on the club board of directors, volunteered as a CGA Rules official, and I've learned a lot about the game of golf during that time.  Just because all of that experience didn't give me a 3 or 4 handicap doesn't negate the fact that I do know something about the game.  For example, I rarely give swing advice, because my swing isn't the greatest.  I do contribute to some short game discussions because I have a fairly decent game around the greens.  I'm sure that the same is true of a lot of our members, so just because they post an honest handicap, it doesn't validate or invalidate their comments.  I've seen some pretty outrageous statements made by guys who post a pretty low handicap, and I've seen some sage advice from 20-something cappers.

I never suggested that you have to have a low handicap to give any good golf advice and never made any correlation with low handicaps and knowledge of rules.  I was speaking very generally.  You have obviously earned credibility here on a number of topics.  You do it with class, knowledge, and void of the condescending crap that many others can't seem to post without.

[johnclayton1982]

Do you guys think sandbagging can still be sandbagging if you don't mean it, but you don't really bear down in your regular rounds?

I recently was fitted for a driver (April, 11).  In my quest to now break 80, I've lost alot of weight and have been doing flexibility drills regularly along with taking lessons and really working on my driver (as driver is my worst club by my score-tracking system).  My swing speed on trackman is now around 98-101 where it was 92-94 when i was fitted.  My pro suggested I get fit again, and I did, and the fitter moved me up two flexes in stiffness (its not a R-S-X scheme, they have shafts in between somehow).  Now, the stiffer driver needs some getting used to - its longer but not nearly as accurate.  The other day I played a round at a local course with the new driver and shot an 89, mainly because I was trying it out.  I then switched on the very same course the next day to my "old" driver, which I am very comfortable with but with loses 20 yards to the new one and shot a 78.

Now, lets say I'm working with and on this driver.  I turn in those rounds.  Then I play in a tournament with the old driver, and do much better.  Am I a "sandbagger" ?  This also happened to me because my pro correctly a swing flaw where I tend to hit the ball with a glancing outside-in blow producing a high fade that is much shorter than when I do it right with forward shaft lean.  However, since I've played the other way for so long I do much better despite the shorter distance when I don't try to hit the ball straight on with a forward shaft lean.  When I was playing rounds first learning this, I would shoot in the 90s where I could shoot in the 80s the other way.  Is this "sandbagging"  ?  How do you know people arn't working on things or getting used to new clubs?

However, I guarentee if i took my now 14 handicap and played in a tournament with my old driver and swing I'd probably shoot 80, 80 or thereabouts and be accused of sandbagging.  In other words, is it only sandbagging if you are conciously trying to do it?

[sean_miller]

If you were to do it 4 times in a month, then yes, you'd probably be a sandbagger.

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

Do you guys think sandbagging can still be sandbagging if you don't mean it, but you don't really bear down in your regular rounds?

I recently was fitted for a driver (April, 11).  In my quest to now break 80, I've lost alot of weight and have been doing flexibility drills regularly along with taking lessons and really working on my driver (as driver is my worst club by my score-tracking system).  My swing speed on trackman is now around 98-101 where it was 92-94 when i was fitted.  My pro suggested I get fit again, and I did, and the fitter moved me up two flexes in stiffness (its not a R-S-X scheme, they have shafts in between somehow).  Now, the stiffer driver needs some getting used to - its longer but not nearly as accurate.  The other day I played a round at a local course with the new driver and shot an 89, mainly because I was trying it out.  I then switched on the very same course the next day to my "old" driver, which I am very comfortable with but with loses 20 yards to the new one and shot a 78.

Now, lets say I'm working with and on this driver.  I turn in those rounds.  Then I play in a tournament with the old driver, and do much better.  Am I a "sandbagger" ?  This also happened to me because my pro correctly a swing flaw where I tend to hit the ball with a glancing outside-in blow producing a high fade that is much shorter than when I do it right with forward shaft lean.  However, since I've played the other way for so long I do much better despite the shorter distance when I don't try to hit the ball straight on with a forward shaft lean.  When I was playing rounds first learning this, I would shoot in the 90s where I could shoot in the 80s the other way.  Is this "sandbagging"  ?  How do you know people arn't working on things or getting used to new clubs?

However, I guarentee if i took my now 14 handicap and played in a tournament with my old driver and swing I'd probably shoot 80, 80 or thereabouts and be accused of sandbagging.  In other words, is it only sandbagging if you are conciously trying to do it?

[camper6]

However, I guarentee if i took my now 14 handicap and played in a tournament with my old driver and swing I'd probably shoot 80, 80 or thereabouts and be accused of sandbagging.  In other words, is it only sandbagging if you are conciously trying to do it?

Only you can answer that one.