Do handicaps take account of age?

[Jaco]

Asked an older gentleman, who was on his own, if he’d like to join us today, and had a very enjoyable round with him.
He was way more competent than me, hitting every drive down the fairway.
I think he said he was 73, and ten handicap.
It made me wonder, is age relevant when calculating your h’cap?

 

[Jigger]

Nope. It’s based on ability to get around a course in a number of strokes. This is why we also shouldn’t have gender based tees.

 

[srixon 1]

No. If that was true I should be getting worse, but at 61 my HI is the best it has ever been and there is still room for improvement.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

No. If that was true I should be getting worse, but at 61 my HI is the best it has ever been and there is still room for improvement.

Indeed. I’m a little bit older than you and after a decent round last weekend my handicap off our yellow tees is back to where it was at my best…35yrs ago. Couple of good knocks over next few rounds and off whites I’ll be down to that best ever from of back then. Then with a bit of luck and practice I’m aiming to get down to my best/lowest handicap ever.

 

[Jaco]

Thank you…..I guessed that was the case, as it makes sense, but just wanted clarification.
Gentlemen today was great company, and gave good advice, and 10 seems very good at that age.
He plays four times a week, which is great.

 

[Orikoru]

Only in an indirect way. I.e. you get older, you hit it less far or worse, and your handicap goes up.

 

[chrisd]

Only in an indirect way. I.e. you get older, you hit it less far or worse, and your handicap goes up.

Speak for yourself sunshine, I'm still hitting ok at 71. This is going to be "the year"

 

[williamalex1]

Indeed. I’m a little bit older than you and after a decent round last weekend my handicap off our yellow tees is back to where it was at my best…35yrs ago. Couple of good knocks over next few rounds and off whites I’ll be down to that best ever from of back then. Then with a bit of luck and practice I’m aiming to get down to my best/lowest handicap ever.

Hugh you've had the swing of a master for years, like a maturing wine

 

[louise_a]

Thank you…..I guessed that was the case, as it makes sense, but just wanted clarification.
Gentlemen today was great company, and gave good advice, and 10 seems very good at that age.
He plays four times a week, which is great.

I got to my lowest HI 7.8, when I was 70.

 

[williamalex1]

I got to my lowest HI 7.8, when I was 70.

Well done Louise , 24 HI, is my highest ever at 77, lowest was 9 on the occasional good day

 

[rulie]

I'm 78, off an 8, and did manage to shoot two below my age on Friday!
My lowest handicap was +2, when I was 57.

 

[ExRabbit]

I'm 78, off an 8, and did manage to shoot two below my age on Friday!
My lowest handicap was +2, when I was 57.

When did you first shoot below your age?

I've heard that an ex-member of our club was somewhere around 2 when he was maybe 80, so pretty much shot below his age every time in his later years.

 

[rulie]

When did you first shoot below your age?

I've heard that an ex-member of our club was somewhere around 2 when he was maybe 80, so pretty much shot below his age every time in his later years.

When I was 68. I admire those that do it often and regularly, I don't! And it doesn't seem to get easier!
See the article below:

https://londonontariosports.com/golf/london-area-news/remembering-ed-ervasti/

 

[Slab]

And remarkably for the longest time courses had (have!) senior tees, senior comps and senior divisions/diff tees in mixed comps

So while the handicap doesn't take account of age, age could still dominate aspects of club life over ability

 

[Voyager EMH]

Got down to 5 in 1977 and currently 4.3

Age immaterial.

 

[Jigger]

Thank you…..I guessed that was the case, as it makes sense, but just wanted clarification.
Gentlemen today was great company, and gave good advice, and 10 seems very good at that age.
He plays four times a week, which is great.

Sky once did a piece celebrating a player turning 100 who still played off 17. Now I can’t vouch for the course he played but I used to play often with a guy who was mid 80s and off 9.

 

[jim8flog]

All the years I played in Seniors matches with a handicap of 6 the only time I got shots was against some one 10 years older than me who still played of 2.

 

[AussieKB]

I'm playing tomorrow in a Veteran's comp off a 1 handicap, mainly because the rating and CR/PR are all wrong, but no one seems to want to get the course re-rated and my age is 71.

Every year I turn up and the howls of people losing shots make me laugh, I've gone down from 36 to 30, how can that be fair.

 

[Billysboots]

Only in an indirect way. I.e. you get older, you hit it less far or worse, and your handicap goes up.

Maybe in general terms, but that’s far from the case across the board.

A fella who used to play with us was well in his 70’s and, the older he got, the more his handicap tumbled. Sure, he hit it shorter, but he gained hugely in accuracy as a consequence. And he’d got 50 years’ experience of manufacturing shots around the greens to get him out of trouble when he found it. When he moved elsewhere he was playing off mid single figures.

There are countless other examples like him at our club alone.

 

[Orikoru]

Maybe in general terms, but that’s far from the case across the board.

A fella who used to play with us was well in his 70’s and, the older he got, the more his handicap tumbled. Sure, he hit it shorter, but he gained hugely in accuracy as a consequence. And he’d got 50 years’ experience of manufacturing shots around the greens to get him out of trouble when he found it. When he moved elsewhere he was playing off mid single figures.

There are countless other examples like him at our club alone.

I didn't mean to imply everyone gets worse once they turn a certain age, I think there was an 'if' missing in my sentence. i.e. if you lose distance as you get older.