What handicap to feel comfortable playing ANY course?

[Perfect Slicer]

I am by no means a good player, but I can get around. When I go to a new course, I awlays look at the par 3's and play the tee's that I feel I can hit up on or near the green. That usually sets me up on tee's that don't have unmanageable carries on the par 4's and 5's. I don't care if that means I'm the only one in the group playing 2 tees up.

[BuckeyeNut]

I find it interesting that people look at individual holes. This makes no sense to me.

Hole yardages are meaningless without consideration for difficulty...IMO.   I choose tees based on the CR........the Slope a distant second consideration.

[Manetti]

I am 72 and have been learning golf for a year, now. I play fro the "Senior" tees and fairly regularly break 100. What I want to do is stay up with the pace of play. As long as I can do that, I am not intimidated and enjoy playing the game.

[Lihu]

I am 72 and have been learning golf for a year, now. I play fro the "Senior" tees and fairly regularly break 100. What I want to do is stay up with the pace of play. As long as I can do that, I am not intimidated and enjoy playing the game.

Way to go. My dad learned to rollerblade at 62, and piano at 65 and archery at 67. Golf at 77, maybe? I picked up golf a little more than 3 years ago. :-)

[Manetti]

Hmmm...

I learned tennis at 30, skiing at 40, windsurfing at 50 with trap and skeet about the same time.  Now golf.

Of all of the sports, gold is the most challenging - there is only you and the stupid little ball that is not moving.  What a simple, easy game!!  (Sarc)

[Lihu]

Hmmm... I learned tennis at 30, skiing at 40, windsurfing at 50 with trap and skeet about the same time.  Now golf. Of all of the sports, gold is the most challenging - there is only you and the stupid little ball that is not moving.  What a simple, easy game!!  (Sarc)

Cool. Some posts on other threads have us all believing you can't get good at golf if you start after 18, but if you're flexibly in body and mind you can get good enough! If you are not flexible to begin with, you can start stretching. It's good for our health, anyway. I played 2 on 2 beach volleyball side by side with my daughter, and because of all the training I did for golf I played pretty well. That is, I didn't pass out from exhaustion, and had a lot of fun. :-)

[RFKFREAK]

I find it interesting that people look at individual holes. This makes no sense to me.

Hole yardages are meaningless without consideration for difficulty...IMO.   I choose tees based on the CR........the Slope a distant second consideration.

What formula do you use to decide which tees to play from?

[Manetti]

What formula do you use to decide which tees to play from?

Well, I am 72 and was told the senior tees were appropriate for me.  It seems to me that the shorter tees are for high handicap players… at least until the have a possibility of getting on in regulation from the regular men's (women's) tees.

Playing from the Senior Tees I can get an occasional par and a lot of bogeys and double bogeys.  If I hit from the regular tees it would not happen.  An extra 20 to 50 yards would leave me so far away that on most holes it could be an extra stroke based on lack of distance.

When I started out a year ago, I was lucky to get the ball out 150 off the tee and with half going into the woods (or water, or fairway bunker)… you get the idea.  Now, I can get a roll past 200 yards and very few off the short rough at worst.  Rarely an "OH SH*T" pops out.

Since I am fortunate to have a natural talent on the greens (rarely 3-putt), mainly due to my coach, my 90 year old father-in-law, and have worked really (!) hard on the short game, I can get on the green from 120 and in pretty well.

But back to distance.  I have trouble with the long 3 and 5 fairway woods.  If I can get the drive in range of my long irons, I have a chance to do well.  That said, if I can get my drives out past 225 or 230, that will help my game until I figure out how to hit the fairway woods consistently.

By the way, my afore mentioned father-in-law regularly shoots in the forties for nine holes, sometimes low 40s.  He complains that he does not get the distance that he did when he was shooting in the low 70s.  I told him that modern balls just did not get the distance that his heritage balls used to get.  Sadly, he runs out of energy after 9 holes.

Last comment - I finally broke 100 on a decent course (Links 'o Tryon in S.C.) with a 95.  Blindingly good luck all the way through.

… and that is more than you ever wanted to know!!

[Lihu]

What formula do you use to decide which tees to play from?

Look up the USGA course handicap calculator, but it won't help you unless you are a seasoned player with known limitations. You could at least compare your home course with any new one to estimate how many more strokes you would need to play it. http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/calculator/course_handicap_calculator.asp At 20+ handicap, how you do will strongly depend upon your weaknesses. When I was playing without a decent swing, just months ago, I had found that course ratings below 68 were relatively manageable. At 65 and below I would have expected to make a couple pars. Above 70.5/122 was a nightmare for score. At this point, I can probably manage the more difficult courses, but it won't help me develop into a better golfer to play too hard a course.

[Manetti]

Interesting - the white tees (senior) at Links o' Tryon are rated 68/124.  So my result tie to your thoughts on the matter.  Thank you.

[flopster]

I find it interesting that people look at individual holes. This makes no sense to me.

Hole yardages are meaningless without consideration for difficulty...IMO.   I choose tees based on the CR........the Slope a distant second consideration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slope_rating

So if I understand this correctly slope rating does not affect scratch players near as much as higher indexes? I notice almost 2 stroke difference when I play home course, when I was 5.3 my course index was 7 at 137 slope.

[iacas]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slope_rating

So if I understand this correctly slope rating does not affect scratch players near as much as higher indexes? I notice almost 2 stroke difference when I play home course, when I was 5.3 my course index was 7 at 137 slope.

Small correction of terminology: your course handicap was 7, your index is always 5.3 (or whatever it is at the time) regardless of the course.