Got my handicap

[sellers]

after putting in 3cards at my local club (a par 72), cards were 104, 100 and 98. Got my handicap back which was 18. The sec said that given that I'm 23 I'll improve quickly and he would only give me 18 as a max due to that factor.

I'm happy to have a mid handicap but don't think I'll be competitive in any competitions until i get a lot of practice in!

 

[kid2]

after putting in 3cards at my local club (a par 72), cards were 104, 100 and 98. Got my handicap back which was 18. The sec said that given that I'm 23 I'll improve quickly and he would only give me 18 as a max due to that factor.

I'm happy to have a mid handicap but don't think I'll be competitive in any competitions until i get a lot of practice in!

Sellars
i think that 18 is the perfect handicap to start with as you have a shot per hole now......take this view when you play it helped me no end......
Off 18 if you bogey any hole it gives you 2 points.....36 after 18 is a very good round.....
When your standing on your par 3,4 or 5 aim to bogey them NOT par them.....It takes all the pressure off you and if you sneek in an odd par or birdie its an added bonus

 

[Tiger]

I don't get it though. Unless when you scored 98 you had a couple of god awful holes how did he arrive at 18. Saying someone is 23 and will therefore improve seems a bit subjective to me.

 

[Parmo]

He might have a shot a hole depending on sss, it does seem strange to give 18 hip when the scores where high. Time will tell.

 

[DCB]

Without seeing the card in question (98) it's very difficult to give a reasoned answer as to why the 18 was allocated.

If the handicap sec has followed the UHS guidelines then all will be fine. Just remember clause 16 does state the following
"Individual hole scores are ‘capped’ at double bogey for initial handicap allocation
purposes"

 

[funkyfred]

Cant say I agree with this. I thought the idea of a h/c was to be competitive (starting equal) your 3 cards suggest that your starting h/c should have been nearer 28. Now if they were to give you a h/c of 24 I think that would have been a better figure. If you start burning up the course your h/c will soon reduce.

What could happen is that you start playing competitions and you could keep finishing towards the rear and this could have a detremental effect on your golf.

 

[birdieman]

I guess after the stableford reductions you're lowest card came out at 23.
Dropping you 5 lower to 18 seems odd to me, I did M+H duties for a few years and I wouldn't have put you so low...UNLESS I'd seen you play and could tell you'd improve very quickly or you'd had a lower handicap in the recent past which showed you had ability to play much lower. M+H has the power to adjust handicaps not just by the book but as he/she sees fit. You could appeal it to the committee if it's a big problem.
Club trying to guard against bandits I presume. Hopefully if after 6 or 8 cards things are not improving as he thinks they will they'll re-assess you and put you up a bit.

 

[sellers]

The 98 card was yesterday and from memory it went

4
6
5
5
6
3
5
4
9
47

8
4
6
4
8
7
5
5
4
51

 

[birdieman]

9th, 10th, 14th you're getting 4 shots off (reducing anything over gross DB back to DB), guessing SSS is 71. You played to 27 less the 4 shots = 23.

18 does seem very low even if the rest of your numbers over 14 or 15 holes are reasonably steady.

Best get practicing!!

 

[matt611]

18 does seem a little low, but i wouldn't let that put you off. As kid2 says just aim for bogeys on holes. I'm new to golf and on my first competition i was just interested in getting round the course with people i didn't know.
Just wait till next summer you'll be fine.

 

[funkyfred]

Seems unusual to me to have differnt stroke indexes for the same holes depending on what tees you are playing off.

 

[Alex1975]

I don't get it though. Unless when you scored 98 you had a couple of god awful holes how did he arrive at 18. Saying someone is 23 and will therefore improve seems a bit subjective to me.

First off, well done for getting your handicap, im sure your happy, i know i was.

Ye im a bit gutted, I handed in 3 cards 94,94,93 and got a handicap of 19... Im young(35 tomorrow) and getting better... where the hell is my 18 handicap

 

[richart]

I don't get it though. Unless when you scored 98 you had a couple of god awful holes how did he arrive at 18. Saying someone is 23 and will therefore improve seems a bit subjective to me.

First off, well done for getting your handicap, im sure your happy, i know i was.

Ye im a bit gutted, I handed in 3 cards 94,94,93 and got a handicap of 19... Im young(35 tomorrow) and getting better... where the hell is my 18 handicap

According to my 16 year old daughter anyone over 30 is geriatric. Her words not mine

 

[Fyldewhite]

Interesting. The handicapping system is (some say) one of the best things about golf. CONGU say that the only way it can be fair is if all clubs apply the rules in the same way. That's why they produce the handbook which makes no mention of having a sweeping expectation that a 23 year old will improve quite quickly. How do they know how often you will play, how much time you can devote etc ?

If clubs just ignore it and go their own way it just makes a mockery of having rules in the first place. There is always an undercurrent that new players shouldn't win anything as if they do then their handicap is "suspect". In fact the real case is that they should have the same chance as everyone else. OK err on the side of caution by all means but this looks to be at least 3 shots too low.

PS I know an ex-handicap sec at Fleetwood very well. He's an avid "2 arms, 2 legs, 18" man. See times haven't changed.

 

[DCB]

He's an avid "2 arms, 2 legs, 18" man. See times haven't changed.

Thought they went out with the old handiap system in the 1980s

 

[Ethan]

I think you were done. The handicapping guidelines say nothing about shafting younger players with an unreasonably low handicap.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I don't see how it can be right but I know very little about CONGU handicapping. It doesn seem to an outsider that you've been allocated the figure based on reputation, physique and theoretical progress. I'd go back to the guy and ask for some clarification and even if you get put up to 20 or so at least you won't feel under immediate pressure or intimidated by a handicap you haven't quite got to yet

 

[zoolander]

my first 3 cards 93,93,96 got a handicap of 24 (par 71 course)18 is way low!

 

[Parmo]

I think my first comps cards where 105, 98, 94 on a SSS 65 and par 70 and was given 23, I won loads in my first year but this year its drying up and usually play to or about my hcp every week with the odd exception either way.

 

[sellers]

well after playing in a four ball better ball stableford yesterday I played to 19, had a terrible front 9 and an awesome back 9. My partner was on an off day and we ended up with 15 front 9 and 22 back 9.