Best handicap management strategy ?

[Alan Clifford]

Milestones are milestones because we put them there. Why put them there at all - they mean nothing in kilometers. etc.
Milestones such as breaking 90, breaking par, or a single digit handicap are such, and having put them there, they therefore do mean somthing.

Actual milestones are a measurment of distance. Here the word is used in a different context - to signify something that is imortant and significant. Moving from 10 to 9 just because it is moving from 2 digits to one digit is of no importance. It is no more important or significant than changing from changing from 11 to 10. The change to one digit is just an irrelevant consequence of the numbering system we use.

 

[Imurg]

Actual milestones are a measurment of distance. Here the word is used in a different context - to signify something that is imortant and significant. Moving from 10 to 9 just because it is moving from 2 digits to one digit is of no importance. It is no more important or significant than changing from changing from 11 to 10. The change to one digit is just an irrelevant consequence of the numbering system we use.

Clearly you just play golf...you're not a Golfer.......

 

[Springveldt]

Actual milestones are a measurment of distance. Here the word is used in a different context - to signify something that is imortant and significant. Moving from 10 to 9 just because it is moving from 2 digits to one digit is of no importance. It is no more important or significant than changing from changing from 11 to 10. The change to one digit is just an irrelevant consequence of the numbering system we use.

I guess for your psyche it could be important, I know it was for me. To me, it felt like a reassurance that all the time I had put into practicing was working. I need milestones in my head to continue to push me or else I get distracted and start focusing on other things.

It was like once I got to single figures my next thought was “I would love to be a Cat 1 golfer”. A handicap of 5.4 isn’t statically significant but in my head it was.

Now it’s “I wonder how close I can get to scratch” is the next big milestone but that’s one I doubt I will ever reach. I’m going to set something more realistic like shooting under 158 for next years club championship.

 

[Billysboots]

The problem with this is he’s doing a genuine low man out of a team space.

He would be, agreed. But he’d only play once.

When he gets battered 10 & 8 he might understand that handicaps are about ability, not bragging rights, and stop being so foolish.

 

[garyinderry]

For me, no they won’t be a single figure handicapper as to be that you will need to be single figures at the vast majority of courses (excluding stuff like Carnoustie off the championship tees etc). If your playing handicap is 9 or better at most member courses off of the white tees that’s when I would consider myself a single figure handicapper.

Totally agree with the Cat 1 thing. According to WHS I’m like a Cat 1 golfer as I get 5 shots off the whites at my course yet if we were still under congu there is no way I’d have got down to 5. I’m only a 5 due to the high slope rating at my course.

We are on the exact same index at the min. 4.3.
It's the lowest I've been for a couple of years. Off the old system the handicap would have been higher. I only just broke into cat 1 in 2019. Think I got to 4.7 or something in the old system.
I can look back through my record on golf ireland from 2019 and it gives a WHS index of 3.0 at it lowest.
That's nearly a two shot difference in the two systems.

It rose fairly quickly from that point. It peaked last August at 8.0 just shows you the rapid rise and falls you can have these days. Overall I think this is a good thing.

 

[Voyager EMH]

If you achieve a score differential of 9.4 or lower, then you have played to single figures.

If the average of your best 8 out of last twenty score differentials if 9.4 or lower, then you have achieved an HI of "single figures".

If your HI is 9.9, then you are "below 10.0".

"Single figure golfer" to me means "playing to" or achieving a score differential of 9.4 or lower around 20% of the time.

 

[Kennysarmy]

He would be, agreed. But he’d only play once.

When he gets battered 10 & 8 he might understand that handicaps are about ability, not bragging rights, and stop being so foolish.

Just have to hope the club he's playing aren't doing the same thing to teach someone else a lesson!

 

[sjw]

I can understand you rationale regarding shots on 18 and 9. But I don't understand the relevance of getting to single figures. As I said, that's just an artifact of the decimal system. If we used octal, your rationale regarding shots would still stand but decimal 9 would become 11 using octal. It's the same number but I'm guessing that getting down to 11 wouldn't appear to have the same, but artificial, cachet.

If you understand the rationale about shots on 9, then the idea of being proud to be a single figure golfer shouldn't be that much of a stretch for you...

But besides failing to impress anyone that you know what octal base is, the only thing you're contributing to this thread is ignorance and difficulty.

In response to the OP: the best strategy is just surely to play golf, and if you hit the index you want, whatever goal you set yourself, whether it's 20, single figures or 0b01011, then you've earned it, and if you don't? Well..

 

[Voyager EMH]

If you understand the rationale about shots on 9, then the idea of being proud to be a single figure golfer shouldn't be that much of a stretch for you...

But besides failing to impress anyone that you know what octal base is, the only thing you're contributing to this thread is ignorance and difficulty.

In response to the OP: the best strategy is just surely to play golf, and if you hit the index you want, whatever goal you set yourself, whether it's 20, single figures or 0b01011, then you've earned it, and if you don't? Well..

I have found his contributions to be mildly amusing and entertaining.

 

[Backsticks]

Upshot on this one is I did play my 9 holes, and feel it probably was worth the 'damage limitation' to flush out my 20th card which was a good one. Played middling, and hi increased by 0.4 which took me back to 10.6. Who knows what the back nine would have done, better or worse, but was happy enough to bank that score. Good news was I played well this weekend and got it back to 10.1 straight away. Clear waters ahead now to try to break that 10 barrier after nearly 30 years of trying.

And, does anyone know about a correlation between strokes gained, as in Arcos or Shotscope and HI ?
Shotscope showing me 1.5 in shots gained on a 10 hc for this year. Am I right to draw some hope that it is indicating a HI of 8.5 is in my range ? Or is there really any correlation ? How does anyones (with a decemt number of rounds on the year) HI compare to their shots gained ?

 

[Backache]

Upshot on this one is I did play my 9 holes, and feel it probably was worth the 'damage limitation' to flush out my 20th card which was a good one. Played middling, and hi increased by 0.4 which took me back to 10.6. Who knows what the back nine would have done, better or worse, but was happy enough to bank that score. Good news was I played well this weekend and got it back to 10.1 straight away. Clear waters ahead now to try to break that 10 barrier after nearly 30 years of trying.

And, does anyone know about a correlation between strokes gained, as in Arcos or Shotscope and HI ?
Shotscope showing me 1.5 in shots gained on a 10 hc for this year. Am I right to draw some hope that it is indicating a HI of 8.5 is in my range ? Or is there really any correlation ? How does anyones (with a decemt number of rounds on the year) HI compare to their shots gained ?

Must say I started using shot scope and stopped after not to long when I realised that its measurement of some of my shots into greens was well off. As a gross idea of how different parts of your game function it may be useful but I am a little sceptical if it can accurately measure strokes gained to a 1.5 level of accuracy.
Actually although I think strokes gained gives very good insights into ones game and the importance of different parts I'm not sure that its limitations in granularity of data allow it to compare down to 1.5 strokes as an individual .

 

[IanM]

My PB fell off on Saturday. HI went up a full shot.

What can't speak, can't lie

 

[Old Colner]

My PB fell off on Saturday. HI went up a full shot.

What can't speak, can't lie

Same for me and another qualifying score on the bottom, maybe just as well we have a pairs comp this week after midweek green's maintenance.

 

[peld]

My PB fell off on Saturday. HI went up a full shot.

My PB will drop after the next round and unless its a stormer, and likely push me up a full shot, and my early summer progress will be fully wiped out.

It may be a blessing as it'll bump up my hcp for the Winter League (HCPs are frozen when course goes to winter set up) !

 

[Jason.H]

I have my best 4 dropping off in my next 4 comps. I either enjoy playing well and retaining my handicap or enjoy getting a shot or two back. Either way I’ll enjoy it