Do you believe you can get to scratch?

[Lord Tyrion]

Basically, you can't practice on your own course but you can go to another course and practice?

I meant, as I am sure you realised, that they could go to another club if they had a practice area. You would need to have some sort of agreement / make a payment with that club, you are using their facilities after all, but that was my point.

 

[Beezerk]

Basically, you can't practice on your own course but you can go to another course and practice?

Yes, that’s absolutely normal

 

[Neilds]

On reviewing this thread, my question is would you want to be scratch?

The majority of 5hc or below golfers that I know appear not to enjoy their golf as one hole could ruin the round, I watched a 4capper walk off after 2 holes last week as he started double double … it wasn’t about winning but he knew his day was pointless. I have quite a few friends in the 6-9’s and they have even commented that golf isn’t as enjoyable as it was when they were 12/14 ish,

And the amount of low handicappers who get really annoyed when you say "Good Shot" and they moan that it was 2 feet left of centre and not what they wanted
If being scratch turns me into a grumpy golfer, then no thanks!


Not that it is likely at all

 

[bobmac]

Ok, how do you practice and improve the shot we were talking about in the video at a club that has has no chipping green baring in mind it does no damage to the course

 

[bobmac]

Yes, that’s absolutely normal

That's what he wrote

 

[Beezerk]

Ok, how do you practice and improve the shot we were talking about in the video at a club that has has no chipping green baring in mind it does no damage to the course

You don’t, just play the game and enjoy being out with friends.

 

[Beezerk]

That's what he wrote

Great minds and all that

 

[Mandofred]

The two courses I am a member at allow chipping on the putting green....although would frown if you wanted to hit high flop shots. One course doesn't have a practice area other than the putting green although there is a driving range very close....but I don't like driving ranges. I added a course a month or so ago that I was with the last couple of years partially just because they have a small practice area....it's not ideal, you can't hit driver but it's fine for everything else for me. The first club I was at had a much larger field, I don't know if they still have the same "membership" that was there when I was, but you could pay something like £200 and you could use the "facilities" which included the practice field. If I was desperate to get better practice I would check back in with them to see if they still did something like that.

Practicing chipping on the course will cause damage. You need to find somewhere else where it is allowed. If I had a motorcycle and wanted to practice motocross I can't take it onto the Stray and tear it up because there is no other area to "practice"....you either don't ride or find a place that does allow it.

 

[sjw]

I've never known a forum as able to derail a thread into a petty argument or bickering as efficiently as this one. It's honestly impressive at this point.

 

[Springveldt]

I believe that what is upstairs is the key to going really low. You can have all of the other tools, but if you are a mental midget you're doomed.

I can be playing lights out, all aspects of the game firing and suddenly have the demons enter my head asking me how long can I keep this up, when will the bubble burst? I bet there aren't too many scratch golfers who doubt themselves like that.

That's exactly what I'm like. There have been loads of rounds where I'm level through 12 or 13 and I'll mention that I wish I had really took one or two of the birdie chances I had to give me a bit of breathing space as I know my bad swing is coming. One of the lads who is scratch and probably the most positive golfer I've ever played with will say "you keep thinking like that and it will happen."

I've seen him start double, bogey and say "I've got 16 holes left to get them back" while if that happens to me I'm thinking "why the hell did I even get out of bed".

I play off 4.. I think I could and I think I could achieve it in 2-3 years - but I would caveat that by saying that I don't think I will. I don't put in the time or effort.

I would also caveat that by saying, I could under (*trigger warning*) WHS, but I wouldn't under the old system.

I'm currently 2.8 and if we were under the old system I doubt I'd even be a Cat 1 golfer.

 

[GreiginFife]

I've never known a forum as able to derail a thread into a petty argument or bickering as efficiently as this one. It's honestly impressive at this point.

I've said it before Sam, some of them would argue about the smell of oxygen.

 

[garyinderry]

One of life's little pleasures in golf is finding a quiet green late on in the evening in the summer and hitting all kinds of short game shots.


Chipping around a green in the summer doesn't damage the course.

It's fairly simple

Don't stand and bash chips from the same spot.
Be aware if anyone if coming along. Move aside immediately and don't hold anyone up.

I can see why some courses put out blanket bans on practicing on the course because there are plenty of ignorant people out there.

 

[Orikoru]

I've never known a forum as able to derail a thread into a petty argument or bickering as efficiently as this one. It's honestly impressive at this point.

The way I see it - once the core group has answered the initial question, the topic either evolves or it dies.

Have you not seen the adjacent thread on 'golf rules people are allowed to break' where it's become a discussion of how tee time spacings impact slow play??

 

[Eesat 90210]

And the amount of low handicappers who get really annoyed when you say "Good Shot" and they moan that it was 2 feet left of centre and not what they wanted
If being scratch turns me into a grumpy golfer, then no thanks!


Not that it is likely at all

There should be an automatic 2 shot penalty for:

Saying "good shot" before the ball comes to rest. Nothing worse than necking one up the fairway or mis-hitting an iron and you know it's coming up short and some clown is cooing over it...

Exclaiming "IN" when a putt is 3 foot away from the hole, just before it veers left or right as it always does!

Yours,
M Grumpy.

 

[sjw]

The way I see it - once the core group has answered the initial question, the topic either evolves or it dies.

Have you not seen the adjacent thread on 'golf rules people are allowed to break' where it's become a discussion of how tee time spacings impact slow play??

I've got no problem with a thread dying. I'd sooner that then it just turn into the same argument again and again. I know we're only on "practicing on the course" at the moment, but it won't be long before it evolves into slow play or something. We only narrowly avoided WHS grievances this time around.

Yep, I think we've circled back to the point I was making. It's not always easy to get the practice in. Our club has a 'no chipping' sign on the practice green, but I've even seen the club pro having a few chips there before a match he was playing in, because there's nowhere else to do it! Daft really. We have a practice area but the chipping part of it is completely useless - mentioned it before, but it's like they put an upturned bowl of a green down that's only six feet across, so you can't play any sort of chip and runs to it - all you can do is trying and flop it onto the top of it. Don't know why they don't flatten that area and do it properly, but maybe it's just a cost thing.

It was a valiant effort to pull it back on topic though!

 

[Orikoru]

I've got no problem with a thread dying. I'd sooner that then it just turn into the same argument again and again. I know we're only on "practicing on the course" at the moment, but it won't be long before it evolves into slow play or something. We only narrowly avoided WHS grievances this time around.

It was a valiant effort to pull it back on topic though!

I think I could get to scratch if it wasn't for the pesky dress codes preventing me! Abolish them!

 

[Springveldt]

The way I see it - once the core group has answered the initial question, the topic either evolves or it dies.

Have you not seen the adjacent thread on 'golf rules people are allowed to break' where it's become a discussion of how tee time spacings impact slow play??

That's because they do, don't they?

 

[Eesat 90210]

Question is, what is a "scratch golfer" nowadays though?

When we had a decent handicap system it was simple, you were officially Scratch (zero) handicap from 0.4 down to +0.5, very simple and everyone understood it.

Now you can be 2 point something but have a Course Handicap of 0, that's not a scratch golfer in most people's eyes I would imagine.

You can have an index of +2 and be playing off 1 on the right course on the right tees...he's better than a scratch isn't he?

Who knows?

 

[Neilds]

Question is, what is a "scratch golfer" nowadays though?

When we had a decent handicap system it was simple, you were officially Scratch (zero) handicap from 0.4 down to +0.5, very simple and everyone understood it.

Now you can be 2 point something but have a Course Handicap of 0, that's not a scratch golfer in most people's eyes I would imagine.

You can have an index of +2 and be playing off 1 on the right course on the right tees...he's better than a scratch isn't he?

Who knows?

Don't, just don't!

 

[Orikoru]

Question is, what is a "scratch golfer" nowadays though?

When we had a decent handicap system it was simple, you were officially Scratch (zero) handicap from 0.4 down to +0.5, very simple and everyone understood it.

Now you can be 2 point something but have a Course Handicap of 0, that's not a scratch golfer in most people's eyes I would imagine.

You can have an index of +2 and be playing off 1 on the right course on the right tees...he's better than a scratch isn't he?

Who knows?

I would go by the index personally. It's the same debate we had when we were asking whether 9.9 was single figures or whether it had to be 9.4.

Pre-WHS you just had a different debate about scratch golfers at short courses being less good than scratch golfers at hard-as-nails courses anyway.