HawkeyeMS
Ryder Cup Winner
I'd be happy with that. Club golf as we know it would die though
Changes to Highest Male Handicap
- Thread starter Foliage Finder
- Start date
I'd be happy with that. Club golf as we know it would die though
shagster
Head Pro
i know it would die and i am against that totally, but it will keep the low handicappers happy as they can win all the trophies are prize pots.
as i mentioned earlier, there are ways around it, as others also mentioned.
its just golf not life or death and if i get beat by a high capper then so be it, let them have there moment of glory if they win the comp.
next we will be picking on female golfers because they can get 36 shots, and play of tees further forward, and in some cases i have seen, nearly 150yrds, but then low handicappers would not play in mixed events anyway so not a problem
shagster
as i mentioned earlier, there are ways around it, as others also mentioned.
its just golf not life or death and if i get beat by a high capper then so be it, let them have there moment of glory if they win the comp.
next we will be picking on female golfers because they can get 36 shots, and play of tees further forward, and in some cases i have seen, nearly 150yrds, but then low handicappers would not play in mixed events anyway so not a problem
shagster
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
It isn't about high handicaps winning. It's about shooting a score that actually merits a win.
I'm sorry but anything in three figures just doesn't cut it.
You can give as many shots as you won't. The current limit is at approximately 100 shots. That's more than enough for anyone.
Other than that. If you are new to the game. Enjoy what the game sets out. You simply aren't ready for competition.
The only sport on earth where people think you should get rewards for turning up. It isn't school sports day. Get out there. Earn it. Enjoy it. It will mean a lot more.
I'm sorry but anything in three figures just doesn't cut it.
You can give as many shots as you won't. The current limit is at approximately 100 shots. That's more than enough for anyone.
Other than that. If you are new to the game. Enjoy what the game sets out. You simply aren't ready for competition.
The only sport on earth where people think you should get rewards for turning up. It isn't school sports day. Get out there. Earn it. Enjoy it. It will mean a lot more.
ger147
Tour Winner
That assumes the comp is Stableford. Pretty much every comp in my neck of the woods is Medal play. And we rarely have slow play issues round here as even on busy weekends we rarely if ever take 4hrs for a 3 ball.
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Craigg
Q-School Graduate
This :thup:
Er! I'm quite old and I can't remember the maximum handicap for men being less than 24. That was certainly the case in the early 1960's when I started playing golf. I can remember that all irons were blade type and small (1.62") British size golf balls.
MadAdey
Money List Winner
I am still trying to work out what the point of increasing the maximum handicap is.
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
I fully respect your stance and were you're coming from, 2 minor points you don't seem to address.
1. If you don't live near a Par 3 Course or a Municipal and you take up the game, love it practise hard and join a club, submit 3 cards and you're actually playing to 32-33 you're given a handicap of 28, you would then enter comps and hopefully improve to a real 28 and below. From your post above what your saying is that's OK to start of a false handicap because anything in 3 figures doesn't cut it! Unfortunately the main way to get reduced is to play in comps even if in your opinion they're not ready.
2. Rather than being the only sport on earth where people think you should get rewards for turning up, It's actually the only sport that allows people to compete on a level playing field because of the handicap system.
Because there are players, particularly Juniors and Seniors and less athletic Ladies, who cannot play to the current maximum handicaps. My late wife was in the last category and it took her several years to eventually get down to 34, after which a shoulder injury unfortunately stopped her playing. For quite a long time her best score was 115 on a par 68 course. However she enjoyed the social side of golf, so why discourage players like her from playing in comps? She wasn't a slow player by the way: I was always telling her to take a bit more time over her shots! My present club has a number of senior Gents and Ladies who can't play to the current maximum handicaps, so the proposed changes would benefit them.
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swasterix
Medal Winner
There is another part of this issue that I think has been missed, from the perspective of the high handicapper.
I am am relatively new to golf, and would consider myself to be an improving player. Joined my first club this year, and was given a handicap of 24 based on my first three cards. Played in a few comps so far and have got down to 23. I have no interest whatsoever in winning competitions, more so I am playing to get my handicap down.
i came third in a competition this week shooting a net 67. Did I feel good about this? Not really! Did I feel good about the hc reduction? Yes!
whenever you meet somebody, and the discussion turns to golf, the first question they invariably ask is "what's your handicap?". It's embarrassing enough to announce "24". I can only imagine the embarrassment of announcing "37"!
i would like to think that most high hc golfers, like me, have no interest in winning anything and are more interested in seeing improvement. I personally think that if I were to be given a handicap of 40, the embarrassment alone would be enough to put me off playing golf for life! At that level, you don't need a number to track your progress. You know in yourself that you are improving. Breaking 120, 110, 100, 90.
28 shots is more than enough to make even the poorest player competitive on their good days, without getting into a situation where abject failure is celebrated!
I am am relatively new to golf, and would consider myself to be an improving player. Joined my first club this year, and was given a handicap of 24 based on my first three cards. Played in a few comps so far and have got down to 23. I have no interest whatsoever in winning competitions, more so I am playing to get my handicap down.
i came third in a competition this week shooting a net 67. Did I feel good about this? Not really! Did I feel good about the hc reduction? Yes!
whenever you meet somebody, and the discussion turns to golf, the first question they invariably ask is "what's your handicap?". It's embarrassing enough to announce "24". I can only imagine the embarrassment of announcing "37"!
i would like to think that most high hc golfers, like me, have no interest in winning anything and are more interested in seeing improvement. I personally think that if I were to be given a handicap of 40, the embarrassment alone would be enough to put me off playing golf for life! At that level, you don't need a number to track your progress. You know in yourself that you are improving. Breaking 120, 110, 100, 90.
28 shots is more than enough to make even the poorest player competitive on their good days, without getting into a situation where abject failure is celebrated!
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
So how long should you play staying at 28 and show no improvement even though in reality you may be coming down from 40 to 36 to 34 etc,
The issue imo isn't the high handicapper improving it's the low handicapper worried about all these 30+ handicappers winning everything, slowing down play and suddenly flooding onto Golf Courses all over the Country.
Many of our club competitions are split into two divisions, 0-15 and 16+. Generally the lowest nett scores are in the former, although you do occasionally get a bandit score in the latter. Therefore suggest that splitting comps into handicap divisions is the best way to keep the lower handicap players happy. It has been suggested that real golf starts at handicap 18 and below, and once this standard has been attained, then players are unlikely to improve that rapidly.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
You're wrong, though, and clearly ignoring all the good points made by low handicap players on here. Truth is that handicap golf is a lottery at the best of times and genuinely low handicappers generally aren't particularly bothered about winning handicap prizes.
I have no great concern about someone off a very high handicap playing well (for them) and winning a medal. My concerns are all around matchplay which will become a complete farce if players at opposite ends of the enlarged handicap spectrum play each other. On the women's side it's bad enough already and going up to 54 has the potential to be just a complete joke. There needs to be a balance struck that encourages new players / high handicappers without making the whole thing so tedious and artificial that low handicappers just stop participating in their club knockout comps.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
As I mentioned earlier. My club back home did not restrict members when they wanted to play. A new member can go out any time, any day. The tee is open all day for comps. A new golfer may join three golfers in a comp. He can learnt to play and it is quite simple to know if you are improving.
You score yourself off 28 and you watch your score rise up to the magic 36 number.
The bar does not need to be lowered. The game is great where anyone can play anyone but competitions should and currently are for those that have at least a moderate level of skill.
I had ready thought about that stigma of being a 40 handicap. Golf clubs can resemble school playgrounds at times. I can only imagine the names that will get made up for 40 handicapers and a sub group of 28 - 40s.
You score yourself off 28 and you watch your score rise up to the magic 36 number.
The bar does not need to be lowered. The game is great where anyone can play anyone but competitions should and currently are for those that have at least a moderate level of skill.
I had ready thought about that stigma of being a 40 handicap. Golf clubs can resemble school playgrounds at times. I can only imagine the names that will get made up for 40 handicapers and a sub group of 28 - 40s.
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
I understand the point of view of the low handicapper, Gary has put them down very well previously on this thread, unfortunately you have reinforced my point, it's all about you and the problems you'll face playing the high handicapper, if you don't want to risk losing, don't enter the comp.
I don't think many if anybody who enters 3 cards gets a handicap will immediately start entering Matchplay comps, just think low handicappers are taking the extreme point of view to justify not changing the top level. I think if it gets more playing goid on them, and as also previously stated, comps should be played in divisions so your scenario never happens.
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swasterix
Medal Winner
They should stay there until they earn a handicap lower than 28. The player in this example knows that they are improving, but should also know that perhaps they are not ready to be competitive.
the competition I mentioned in my last post was won by a 24 hc shooting a nett 62. Second place? 1 hc shooting a nett 64! Now this would be difficult enough to stomach, without considering that a 40 hc player could have beaten a player shooting gross -5, with a gross 103!
im all for levelling the playing field, but would you consider that to be fair?
I managed to get beaten twice in 4BBB matches last week, despite playing to my 13 handicap on both occasions. In both cases the culprits were 23 handicappers playing out of their skins. However they were both a bit erratic of the tee and each lost at least a couple of balls OOB or in deep rough, so I could see why their handicaps weren't lower. However their lower handicap partners covered for these holes, and provided they kept their balls in play they were getting plenty of nett birdies. Neither of my partners played particularly well, so we lost. That's golf I'm afraid!
Craigg
Q-School Graduate
My angle on this is a simple one. What possible satisfaction can be gained from shooting 112 and claiming a nett level round. Shoot the 112 by all means, and enjoy your golf for what it is, a fun game, but to get amongst the prizes with that score, I'm afraid I'd be embarrassed. By the way, I am by no means a low handicapper. I average low to mid nineties.
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
In a competition were i know the rules and the level of entry, YES no one forces me to enter and if a high handicapper has the round of his life good on him/her.
Golf in it's purest sense is scratch Golf, they are the best Golfers and no amount of worrying about the high handicapper having great day will change that.
MadAdey
Money List Winner
@ swasterix
Well said sir. This is the thing, why are people moaning about not being allowed 40 shots a round. Get playing, do a bit of practice and get better. I understand that some of the senior golfers can struggle to play to a 28. But if the UK adopted the slope and rating system like the US that would disappear. Here it is not ladies, men's and competition tee, it is red, yellow, white and blue. Each set of tees having their own slope and rating figures so you work your handicap off that. Now someone playing from the Reds can play someone from the blues as there handicaps have been evened out.
This eliminates the problem of senior and less able bodied golfers not being able to get round a 6500 yard course, they now have less than 6000 to overcome.
Well said sir. This is the thing, why are people moaning about not being allowed 40 shots a round. Get playing, do a bit of practice and get better. I understand that some of the senior golfers can struggle to play to a 28. But if the UK adopted the slope and rating system like the US that would disappear. Here it is not ladies, men's and competition tee, it is red, yellow, white and blue. Each set of tees having their own slope and rating figures so you work your handicap off that. Now someone playing from the Reds can play someone from the blues as there handicaps have been evened out.
This eliminates the problem of senior and less able bodied golfers not being able to get round a 6500 yard course, they now have less than 6000 to overcome.
