Handicapping Master Thread

[MrSandman]

When somebody says, "I play to about a 20 or so..."

Ask them if that means they average about 20 over par.

If so, tell them they are probably a 14 or 15 handicap. If you average 20 over par, that means your top half of rounds are closer to 16 over par (and bottom half 24 over par), and when you take slope and rating into account, they would be down to a 14 or 15.

We had one friend who always insisted he was a 20 handicap. Then one day he shot an 81. Then he shot an 85. He still shot the 95s and such, but that doesn't matter. If your good rounds are 81 and 85, you aren't a 20 handicap. So if a person wants to play matches, get a freaking handicap so that we can play correctly instead of somebody guessing they should get 12 strokes, when they should really only get 7 or 8.

I have a couple friends who are lower than I am, solid single digits, and other friends who were claiming the were "around a 20". After a little while we said enough was enough, at least go get the internet hdcp and get something going. They all ended up being 15's when they calculated their handicaps.


Another example of this: Was talking to a friend, talking about member/guest style formats. He says, "That would be fun. I'm probably like a 20, and I can shoot an 85, I'd be pretty good at that." I asked him, "what do you mean you are 'probably' a 20?" He responded that he didn't have a handicap, but that is what he would play at. No idea that means he is "probably a zero" in that format, and would be the worst partner ever.

[MrSandman]

joshtpa, to be clear, I do think that keeping a handicap on one of the free programs is preferred to none at all.

but why wouldn't you get a GHIN card? Posting on the GHIN website is not any more complicated than posting on one of the other sites. I think it costs more to change a set of spikes than a GHIN card costs, and you never know when it might come up. So why bother keeping your handicap unless it is available in a situation when you could use it (ie, unexpected member guest).


And Dent, handicaps are not supposed to be secret. They are supposed to be transparent. If you shoot a 64 one day, and we play in a lot of matches for money against each other, I'm going to check that out and make sure you posted the 64. I'm not saying you keep it secret as to sandbag, but the intent of a handicap is not to have a secret skill verifier.

[jwnolefan]

I joined the local course's Men's Club this year so that I could have an official handicap, finally. Now I have played in a couple of tournaments for the first time since high school. ugh 20 years?!?!?... I had signed up at TheGolfChannel.com last year, but I think this type of handicap is kind of BS. I actually was the "handicap chairman" for the Seattle/Tacoma golf channel's club... I had to talk to someone from the USGA and confirm that we would set up tee times for tournaments so that the members (over 200) would have the opportunity to play together. This lie got the club certified to be a type 3 club. Since then, I have heard not a word from anyone at the Golf Channel.com who were supposed to maintain the club and have never heard from or met anyone in the "club". I would put no stock in these type clubs (type 3) for the most part either. Since these "official USGA handicaps" aren't GHIN or IGN issued, I don't think many clubs would take these as official handicaps either... maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so...

[iacas]

I consider any website that calculates your handicap accurately when you enter 10 or more scores is official, It spits out the same number as the GHIN would. There is no difference.

Sure there is: peer review.

With the GHIN system, I can look up your scores. Not so if you're using some goofy "stats" tracker somewhere where you could easily enter the wrong course rating or slope, and where people can't perform "peer review" easily on your posted scores. No handicap as calculated by Scorecard or any of the sites people have mentioned will count for squat in most semi-serious tournaments. With your buddies, sure, who cares. But if you're playing anything that matters even a little bit, good luck showing people stuff from any of these sites.

[MellowYellow]

What do you guys use for figuring your handicap indexes?

I use the handicap tracker on yahoo because it was the first I noticed, it's free and at least it seems ok to me, what do you use and what features make you choose it?

How much does it cost?

Thanks
Mel

[Dent]

I use www.greenskeeper.org (its free and gives great hole by hole and invididual stats)

I also use scorecard which costs money but is worth it. Gives amazingly detailed stats.

http://www.cynicalpeak.com/scorecard (you can try a demo)

[cvlngineer]

I use a program called Caddy Master Pro. I think it costs around $20 or so. It keeps stats as well. Scorecard looks better, but I don't want to reenter all of my past rounds and courses.

[RX Phoenix]

As a NCGA member I just post my scores on the Northern California Golf Association website and the 1st of every month the handicap is calculated for you.

[g-funk13]

I use

I have to second dent, and say that Scorecard is really a great tool. Lately, I have been pulling up my stats from exceptional rounds (for me) and trying to get into that mindframe again before the upcoming round.

oh, and it reminds me to make less putts per GIR.

[RemyM]

I use the Men's Club at my course. We pay $85 per year, have events every weekend to play in for pro shop credits, and we get a GHIN handicap through the Metropolitan Golf Association.

[MunkeyGolfer]

I use score-it.net . It's free and has a mobile web version with a desktop version in the works.

[MellowYellow]

Hi Munkey,

I looked at your score card and it looks really nice, a Lot more information than they give at Yahoo...

But when I went to the course and clicked on the state of Washington, it had NO COURSES listed???

Then I click on the state of Nevada just out of curiosity and only 2 show up?

Am i doing something wrong or is this just in a VERY infintile state at the moment?

[Franco!]

Most courses have handicap trackers in the pro shop.
BTW, thanks for reminding me to update mine.

[klaymon]

I have an official USGA handicap via GHIN at my home club. I use www.oobgolf.com for stat tracking and it includes a running handicap.

[Mr Eagle]

www.mygolfrounds.com
A good site for societies,loads of facilities and auto emails all members when anything is added to the site,(rounds,diary events ect) £15 per year about $30 I think.Great value cost us under a $ each

[MrSandman]

www.ghin.com

go to your local course, give them $35 to establish a ghin number, and that is how you should track your handicap. That is the only official handicap available. Paying money for any other handicap tracking system is a waste of money, even if it is cheaper than an official ghin card.

[MellowYellow]

Give your home course $35 to establish a number? I dont get it, Like ive said in lots of posts this is ALL foreign to me sandman, can you explain please?

[Harry Longshanks]

Give your home course $35 to establish a number? I dont get it, Like ive said in lots of posts this is ALL foreign to me sandman, can you explain please?

MellowMan-

(Apologies if this is too basic. I'm trying to start simple because you said it is all foreign to you. My intent is NOT to talk down to you.) The first thing to recognize is that there are official handicap indexes, and unofficial indexes. If you just want something to track your progress and give you an idea of how your are playing/improving, then any of the free online handicap tracking sites are acceptable. Although some have more features than others. You can also buy software that tracks your index and gives you stats if you keep track of GIR, fairways, putts, sand saves, etc. "Scorecard" seems like a popular one around here, but I am not personally familiar with it. On the other hand, if you want to compete in tournaments, then you need to get an official USGA sanctioned handicap index, which is administered by GHIN (Golf Handicap Information Network). That involves joining a club, like the men's (or women's) club at your local course. Or alternatively, you can join a "Club Without Real Estate" which is a golf club that does not have its own course (e.g. Golfsmith offers an official GHIN handicap index for about $30/year).