What Was Your Handicap After 1 Year of Playing?

[alleztom]

I was about a 19

[Alx]

I was 24 when I started

1 year later I played my first round of under 80(79). My hc was/is 10.

[nycgopher]

Not sure on handicap but was generally shooting in the mid to upper 80s pretty consistently after a year. I started playing during my senior year of college though and spent a ton of time practicing/seeking help (online and had lessons from a mediocre instructor). Second year I worked at a course for a year and got down to a 1 handicap. Then I moved to NYC and didn't pick up a club for a year and since restarting am generally in the 80s unless I have an exceptionally poor round. Hard to practice/play in NYC!

[Largobuc]

Started 1 year ago next week. Started at 32 now 23.9. 51 y/o.

[Big Ben]

I have been playing for 8 months and I am 41 years old. I play and practice about 5 days a week. I have took 4 lessons and will continue to do so for as long as it takes. I practice till dark nearly every evening. I have never broke 100 without cheating the rules. I loose several balls every round, mainly by shanking my irons straight out of bounds. Don’t feel bad because your not alone. I’ve learned that I enjoy the game much more if I only play Alone. If I play with others then I’m always the worst player by far and it makes me feel like an idiot. So just play by yourself and you can then enjoy golf. 

[phan52]

My first official handicap was 28. Less than a year later I was 17. Worked hard on my short game and figured out course management. I was very lucky with the guy I was getting lessons from. Great communicator. I got it. 

[woodzie264]

1 million

[KMP]

I started as a 28 under the R&A system when that was the max and only adjusted in tournaments. Took many an X and never changed until year 2 or 3 after lessons.

[NM Golf]

Been a LONG time since my first year, but I was around a 10 or so after the first year. I worked pretty hard on my game during that time. I know I broke 80 during a tournament my first year playing tournaments which was the second year playing golf.

[Aiden]

I’m 17, and have played for about 8 months, my handicap is about a 22 now.

[Troy Ocker]

Started playing when I was 30. Played around 10 to 12 rounds that year and ended up with 25 hcp. Played 10-12 rounds the next couple of years as well and was stable at around 19 hcp. Then came 12-13 years with playing only 1 to 3 rounds a year (small kids) and I struggled to break 100. 

Now I'm 45 and last year I stepped it up and played around 80 rounds - ended up with 11,5 hcp, hopefully reaching single digits this season. Now I break 80 on shorter courses (<5500 yards) every now and then and break 90 quite regularly on longer courses (>6300 yards). 

I think it pretty much comes down to how much time you put into it.  

 

[Esox]

I was wasn't good at all as a kid, in my teens I was an 18 till I turned 18, and decided I did really liked the game and wanted to do more than golf high with my buds.. By the time I was 24 I was anywhere from +2 to -2, and remained so until I was 41 and broke my left wrist for the 5th time. Quit for 20 years.  Took the game back up last year, was a 24 at the end of the season. Counting just this years rounds I am at 14. I think expecting to be in the high single digits next year is not out of the question.

[Esox]

I should add that I never would have been back in the game if it weren't for the huge advances in balls and woods in the past 20 years. At 61 I can effortlessly and fairly accurately ball distances that would have been well above average for the typical golfer 20 yrs ago. Balls are much more consistent that the wound balls of old.  I wont give up old school lofted, nice workable forgings on the mid/ short irons, but the advent of 3 and 4 wedge systems, very high MOI hybrids, high lofted fairway woods and super game improvement irons have made the game a whole lot easier for players of all levels. Drivers are so much easier to hit straight and long, it still leaves me in amazement. But they do lack work-ability As time goes on I am getting my new club selections in place. Tried a couple fittings for complete new setups, but quite frankly, the fitters were pretty clueless. One insisted I needed a set of Mavriks because I was hitting the 7 iron 180 yards, and couldn't understand why I didn't WANT a set with a 180 yard 7 iron. Loft jacked irons are stupid to me.

[Gerry93]

Im 27 yo and started playing 1 year Ago, 
I dont have an official HCP, because covid stopped tournaments,
but my App where i note my scores is telling me that I'm at 25,7 HCP

[dagolfer18]

I’ve been playing golf for about seven years, but I’ve only been keeping an official handicap for about two. But based on how I was playing a year in, I’d say my handicap was probably between 35 and 40 under the new system.

[pganapathy]

Considering I started golfing at the age of 11 when my brother and I received professional coaching, it was probably in the high teens to early 20's, though I really have no clue since it was a good 35 years ago.  But I would have to say given I was playing tennis and golf then, I was probably at my best in terms of swing and athleticism, but obviously not as long given strength and modern equipment these days

[Shindig]

I will say it was summer 2006 when I first was really playing.  I had some interest, had been to the range, and even took a campus recreation course on golf (hitting whiffle balls from elevated mats on an athletic field with old clubs) before then, but if I went to a course or range, I'd whiff one out of three still.  I bought a 5-wood, irons (4-S), and had a hand-me-down putter (my mom's old putter ... she hadn't played in 20+ years at this point, and my dad still has never played).  But that summer was when I first decided I was going to play.  I was in the high 20s at the start of the following summer (unofficial - I tracked scores on a spreadsheet to compute handicap), and broke 100 for the first time July or August 2007.  

[sjduffers]

It took me almost 3 years of playing 9 casually Friday afternoons after work to make my first par. Yes, I sucked, really bad, and was on the green in regulation very rarely, maybe once or twice at most per 9 holes, but I could never get down in 2 putts for all this time, whether from 50ft or from 10ft (... and I never got closer until that one day)! I'd say my handicap was my putter, tongue-in-cheek. 🙂

Later, I became more serious about the game, improved everything (ball striking and short game) and turned my putting weakness into my strength, FWIW.