Bye Bye strokes, your thoughts on plus handicaps

[NM Golf]

That's likely always been the case. The low handicappers almost never win in net competitions.

I agree and next year I am sure I will enter fewer net events. And in the team events I need to find a solid 9 or 10 handicap partner in order to have a chance.

Personally, I'm in a weird spot myself. My handicap is low enough that I get put in the gross division(s), but not low enough that I have any chance to win. Yet in net, I get my clock cleaned even if I shoot below my handicap a stroke or two

That is a strange spot to be in I was there myself last year. Not enough pops to win net yet the scratch guys kicked my butt in gross. You are stuck, either drop 4 strokes (really friggin hard) or artificially increase your handicap (cheating). Its too bad but 3 and 4 handicappers are all in that same boat. It sucks.

Have you ever noticed the higher handicap the flight is in a tournament, the lower the winning score. This year in one of our tournaments I won the first flight with 142 gross. The second flight (6-10 handicaps) had a net winning score of 139. The third flight(11-17 handicaps) had a winning score of 136. And the last flight (18+ handicaps) had a winning score of 135. If the handicaps were correct shouldn't all the winning scores be about the same?

The purpose of the handicap system is to allow players of differing skill levels to compete on a "level" playing field, whether those players are better-than-scratch or not. Cutting off the system at zero would be arbitrary and would defeat the purpose of that system. Finally, as a scratch or near-scratch golfer, you've already been giving strokes to most of the golfers out there. As you continue to improve, you may find yourself giving maybe one or two more. Sounds fair to me.

Spoken like a 21 handicap.

[sonicblue]

Have you ever noticed the higher handicap the flight is in a tournament, the lower the winning score. This year in one of our tournaments I won the first flight with 142 gross. The second flight (6-10 handicaps) had a net winning score of 139. The third flight(11-17 handicaps) had a winning score of 136. And the last flight (18+ handicaps) had a winning score of 135. If the handicaps were correct shouldn't all the winning scores be about the same?

Because of the "average best" method calculation for handicaps, and the 0.96 factor, I just read that people should expect to play to their handicap only about 25% of the time. For example, I'm currently a 7.5, but have only had ONE individual round where my differential was 7.5 or lower. Of course, it is possible for any given tournament, for someone in that flight to have the round of the year, but if you're consistently seeing that net score move opposite the handicap of the flights, I'd say the sandbagging is strong in that group....!

[iacas]

Have you ever noticed the higher handicap the flight is in a tournament, the lower the winning score. This year in one of our tournaments I won the first flight with 142 gross. The second flight (6-10 handicaps) had a net winning score of 139. The third flight(11-17 handicaps) had a winning score of 136. And the last flight (18+ handicaps) had a winning score of 135. If the handicaps were correct shouldn't all the winning scores be about the same?

Same reason as the thing I said before. Imagine you play 20% better than your handicap. For a 3, that's 0.6 or barely half a stroke. For a 25 handicap, that's five strokes better. So it kind of makes sense that that's true, yeah.

[Terrier]

Congrats! No matter where you hail from, a handicap like that is something to shout about.

I also agree with the side conversation that iacas states. Those 15-handicaps are always capable of scoring to the next level.

[Arsenal Forever]

Amazing, job well done on becoming scratch!

[Jeepthrills]

Nice job. That is a major accomplishment. When you figure that less than 1% of golfers are scratch or better, it's a huge deal. I would figure that number to be even lower if it is only counting golfers with actual handicaps. The majority of people who play do not have an official handicap, so you are in some rare air.

As far as the tournament discussion I can actually speak to both side a little bit. Granted I'm only a 16.9, but I have had several rounds where I heat up and can go much lower. It's my consistency that kills me. On the flip side, this year I was giving guys shots every round in my league. I know, it's a little sad that at 16.9 I'm 3 shots per 9 better than the next best guy. It was extremely frustrating to be giving guys a ton of strokes and knowing that I would have to play my best to have a chance. Like Erik said if I shoot 3 shots under my average I had a hell of a round. If a 36 shoots 3 shots under his average it means he probably got luck on 1 hole.