Am I a CAT 1 golfer?

[rickg]

Great going mate!!! Seriously good golf that. CAT 1 is only a matter of time!!

Have you made a concious effort to practise or is it just down to being in great form and playing more rounds of golf than i've had hot dinners?? (thats a lot of dinners btw)

Thanks mate.....

I had a chipping lesson 2 weeks ago and it has transformed my game!! I cant ever remember having so many up and downs........I also only had 28 putts last night (13 out & 15 back) with just the one silly 3 putt from around 10 feet, so the putting is working well at present........

it also has a great effect on making you want to practice the chipping more as I'm now actually quite enjoying those shots instead of dreading them.

 

[slicer79]

Does anyone think there should be no restriction on where an ESR cut can take you?

Why rule out Cat 1 players. If they manage to beat CSS by 4 on two occasions are they not entitled to a little bonus cut as well

Anyone know the reasons behind why Cat 1 are excluded?

 

[CMAC]

Rick, shoot the lights out again in your next medal and you'll be down there on merit.

Well played.

agree with this. I'd never heard of esr until here, why 'argue' a point to get a reduction! just let your figures do the talking!

 

[rickg]

But there isn't room in Cat1 for both of us - guess I might have to make way for you.......

....or Fragger??..........lol

 

[rosecott]

Does anyone think there should be no restriction on where an ESR cut can take you?

Why rule out Cat 1 players. If they manage to beat CSS by 4 on two occasions are they not entitled to a little bonus cut as well

Anyone know the reasons behind why Cat 1 are excluded?

It may well be because ESR is still officially only a trial. Entry into Cat 1 by any means other than the current system of performance against CSS is still jealously guarded by County Unions on behalf of GolfEngland. I suspect that, if the trial is deemed a success and is then written into CONGU rules, ESR will apply to all categories in all National Unions, perhaps with County Unions rubberstamping Cat 1s.

 

[Bomber69]

agree with this. I'd never heard of esr until here, why 'argue' a point to get a reduction! just let your figures do the talking!

I agree it seems the ESR is a trial to reduce handicaps south of the Border, not sure why TBH and more to the point does it help players who are unable to play to their handicap to go up quicker ?

Seems a strange rule to me.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Good scoring Rick - sounds like it's just a matter of time until Cat 1!

 

[duncan mackie]

I agree it seems the ESR is a trial to reduce handicaps south of the Border, not sure why TBH and more to the point does it help players who are unable to play to their handicap to go up quicker ?

Seems a strange rule to me.

I think you are missing the point of the 'trial'.

The requirements behind an ESR already exists in the handicapping manual, including the SGU version of it. The trial relates to the application of a formulaic approach to it's application.

The formulae was derived by working back from fast improvers to see what they actualy did, and where they finally got to - it's about recognising a patern of scores that indicate that the existing formulae is not reducing a fast improver quickly enough; it has nothing to do with how low they go.

There is one train of thought that suggests that you can't really have a 'fast improver' within Cat 1 - and another that suggest's that the formulae should be robust enough to apply to all golfers. Personally I think that the latter is the correct approach but that the current formulae isn't appropriate across all categories as it stands (but could easily be tweaked to do so).

Increases for exceptional situations are already available in the system; increases for normal degredation are also there but require the application by the handicap committee of the guidlines in the manual.

It seems somewhat strange that here, and in the other thread, you seem to advocate process driven accelerated increases - but question their application to decreases?

Extremely few system generated recomendations are not processed by our handicap committee; in in total there tend to be more rather than less. From word of mouth (always dangerous) it would appear that the majority of handicap committees are extrememly reticent to apply wholesale increases to the membership because more seem to value a lower figure they can't play to than want an increase so that they can!

It is however a completely different discussion than the one raised by the OP.

Well done Rick - look forward to the thread 'I am a cat 1 golfer!'.

 

[Bomber69]

It seems somewhat strange that here, and in the other thread, you seem to advocate process driven accelerated increases - but question their application to decreases?

Duncan, I have no problem with the system issuing cuts when there is enough evidence but I am sure that there are a lot of folk out there who have a handicap that they can't play too and feel that to be more competitive they need it reviewed and possibly increased. At the moment you say that there is a system there but how many clubs review this and implement this over the season not a lot I bet, so why is it that the system is set to look out for rapid improvers and not set up in the same way to help the players who struggle week in week out to make buffer never mind their handicap.

 

[Region3]

YEP...bring it on!!!!! lol

Game on then.

Advantage you since I don't even know when my next qualifier is, and probably only have 3 or 4 left this season.
Still, I don't mind since I've won the last 2 bets ;-)

 

[Robobum]

Tidy work that Rick.

Given your Delboy rep, I'd flog the Taylor Mades for top dollar - guaranteed to reduce the buyers handicap!!!!

As for county led cuts in Cat 1 - Gloucs didn't even entertain it. I'd won 7 board comps at my club in the same season and the club looked for an extra cut through the county. They looked at my county OOM appearances and saw only 3 out of 12 scores below CSS for the year and knocked it back.

Regardless, with this form you'll be doing it under your own steam very soon!!!

 

[duncan mackie]

Duncan, I have no problem with the system issuing cuts when there is enough evidence but I am sure that there are a lot of folk out there who have a handicap that they can't play too and feel that to be more competitive they need it reviewed and possibly increased. At the moment you say that there is a system there but how many clubs review this and implement this over the season not a lot I bet, so why is it that the system is set to look out for rapid improvers and not set up in the same way to help the players who struggle week in week out to make buffer never mind their handicap.

The actions of a particular handicap committee can only be answered by them, to their members and their authority. As already posted I don't believe that they are as active in this area as they could be, and this has implications to the total membership through CSS calculations as well. Any member can accelerate his own increase in such situations, at no cost and no inconvenience, by the submission of 10 supplemental cards; and such cards would provide additional evidence at the annual review - but strangely few people take advantage of this, which I have had to conclude is because their pride in their handicap level overrides their wish to be correctly handicapped. If you really want to see this in action consider the majority of ladies sections!!!

So how many supplemental cards has your NDN submitted?

 

[duncan mackie]

As for county led cuts in Cat 1 - Gloucs didn't even entertain it. I'd won 7 board comps at my club in the same season and the club looked for an extra cut through the county. They looked at my county OOM appearances and saw only 3 out of 12 scores below CSS for the year and knocked it back.

Regardless, with this form you'll be doing it under your own steam very soon!!!

indeed - I wouldn't bother to pursue this line unless at least one of the ESR's was at an away course.

 

[Crow]

Well done Rick! A couple of excellent rounds there, could do with some of that myself.

 

[rickg]

indeed - I wouldn't bother to pursue this line unless at least one of the ESR's was at an away course.

probably right. I met with the handicap secretary today and advised that i would like it to be considered. He asked me to submit my request in writing with the full details which i did today.

Like you and Robo said, probably will get pushed back, but nothing to lose by trying.
Got a qualifier on Sunday so will try and get there in the tried and tested fashion.

 

[CMAC]

Do it on merit, not on the 'mood of the day' of the local committee!