Lowering Handicap

[JW216]

Hey fellow golfers,

Hope everyone is having or had a good holiday season. I had a question that I was hoping maybe someone could help me out with. I am currently a 13.5 handicap (I enter my scores at oobgolf.com) and noticed that when I play from certain tee boxes (usually middle tees or one behind that, but usually around 6100-6300 yds) my handicap will remain the same, get lower, or increase. I have been trying to figure out why this happens because I am usually consistently shooting in the high 80s and low 90s (usually 87-92). What do I need to do to consistently lower my handicap? Play from the same tee boxes every round? Thanks for any help. I have only been playing for about a year and a half and I don't really understand this whole handicap thing and how to lower it.

[x129]

To get a lower handicap, shoot better rounds. In theory handicap accounts for the different tee box length and course difficulty as an 80 on one course could be a 76 on another and a 85 on the third. In reality some people are affected by length and course difficulty more than others. If you really care about having a low handicap (i.e a vanity one is ok by you) you could figure out what course matches you game and shave a couple strokes off.

Originally Posted by JW216

Hey fellow golfers,

Hope everyone is having or had a good holiday season. I had a question that I was hoping maybe someone could help me out with. I am currently a 13.5 handicap (I enter my scores at oobgolf.com) and noticed that when I play from certain tee boxes (usually middle tees or one behind that, but usually around 6100-6300 yds) my handicap will remain the same, get lower, or increase. I have been trying to figure out why this happens because I am usually consistently shooting in the high 80s and low 90s (usually 87-92). What do I need to do to consistently lower my handicap? Play from the same tee boxes every round? Thanks for any help. I have only been playing for about a year and a half and I don't really understand this whole handicap thing and how to lower it.

[zipazoid]

Play Windermere or Bay Hill from the tips!

[JW216]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Play Windermere or Bay Hill from the tips!

haha i wish! I have been wanting to go play at windermere but just haven't had the time because of the holidays, family, etc. What are your thoughts on that course zipazoid? I've never played there.

[BuckeyeNut]

the course rating and slope is the difference....

If you are shooting the same scores, the difference is where you play.  IE.....shooting an 85 on a course with a 72cr is very different from shooting the same score on a course with a 69CR with respect to your handicap.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by JW216

Hey fellow golfers,

Hope everyone is having or had a good holiday season. I had a question that I was hoping maybe someone could help me out with. I am currently a 13.5 handicap (I enter my scores at oobgolf.com) and noticed that when I play from certain tee boxes (usually middle tees or one behind that, but usually around 6100-6300 yds) my handicap will remain the same, get lower, or increase. I have been trying to figure out why this happens because I am usually consistently shooting in the high 80s and low 90s (usually 87-92). What do I need to do to consistently lower my handicap? Play from the same tee boxes every round? Thanks for any help. I have only been playing for about a year and a half and I don't really understand this whole handicap thing and how to lower it.

My handicap is always doing this...staying the same, getting lower, or increasing. It's based on your best ten of last twenty scores so it fluctuates.

[Tomboys]

According to Wikipedia:

A player's handicap is intended to show a player's potential, not his average score, as is the common belief . The frequency by which a player will play to their handicap is a function of that golfer's handicap, as low handicappers are statistically more consistent than higher handicappers. The USGA refers to this as the "average best" method. So in a large, handicapped competition, the golfer who shoots the best with respect to his abilities and the normal variations of the score should win.

While there are many variations in detail, handicap systems are generally based on calculating an individual player's playing ability from his recent history of rounds. Therefore, a handicap is not fixed but is regularly adjusted to increases or decreases in a player's scoring.

The key operative word is potential. For instance, I loaded in 10 scores (using a default CR = 70; slope = 125; score = 87) into one of those free online handicap calculators.  The index came back as 14.7.  When I changed just the 10th entry (using CR = 75; slope = 140; score = 87), the index dropped to 12.9.  When I changed just the score of the 10th entry to 79 (using the previous CR = 70 and slope = 125), the index dropped to 12.4.

So, AFAIK, the only way to decrease your index is to score better on your regular course and/or score the same or better on much harder courses/tee boxes.