Handicap and ambition-Gross or nett

[granters]

Hi Guys,

Joined the forum a while ago and am off on post surgery leave just now so have been catching up with some cracking posts the last few days. I will be trying to contribute more from now on.

I took the game up again last year after a 10 year lay off. Used to play off 5, managed to get down to 10 last year before i had to give it up again as the mrs was almost made redundant! Anyway, will be able to get going again next season thankfully due to a massive promotion for myself.

What i'd like to seek thought on is at what point handicap wise do your ambitions really kick on and you begin to think in terms of gross score rather than nett?

The interesting thing i learned during my brief return to the game was that i was still thinking like a 5 handicap, but was unable to live up to this. When i eventually got round to thinking like a 13 handicap, ie realising my limitations, i knocked 3 shots off in a month and started to regulary shoot in the 70's again.

The main reason for this was "allowing" myself to shoot 80-83 rather than focusing on 70-75 (which was totally unreasonable).

But at what point in your handicap to you start to apply this sort of pressure again, as i will hopefully have to deal with this problem when i start again next season?

Is this what separates the better players from the poorer ones? Giving themselves the pressure of having to shoot low gross rather than being happy to nett buffer?

Interested to see your opinions

 

[lobthewedge]

I would say when you get to single figures, and its a case of breaking 80 each week.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Personally, all I care about is my gross score, it's really all I've ever cared about. When I 1st started playing seriously I had no idea what stableford points were so my only marker was my gross score. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a gimme and as a result, me and my mate used to just go and see what score we could get. That's the way I still am, the only thing that counts is gross score.

 

[brendy]

I am not sure at what point I stopped thinking about net pars etc, I play to the courses par per hole.
If you keep relying on your handicap, it will be a crutch that you will always lean on.
This doesnt mean you can shoot level par, but it does give you a little more ambition and maybe some positive thought to play the harder holes differently and score better perhaps.
Id say that if you are under 18 handicap then it suggests that you are capable of hitting a par or two per round, if you are under 9/10 then you are capable of parring every hole (not necessarily on the same day!) and you can forget about net altogether. The card looks after itself regarding net so dont you be worrying about it.

 

[jammydodger]

Whenever you're good enough to shoot level par on a regular basis. Until then you'll always be applying your h/c ie nett

 

[HawkeyeMS]

At the end of the round yeah you'll be applying your h'cap, but you don't have to think that way.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hit it find it and repeat until its in the hole and then add it up. Do that 18 times and see what you have. Some days you'll play well and others you won't. I'm a s ambitious as anyone to get cut and still want to get back to single figures but I'm not playing well enough. End of. I go out every time trying to shoot as low as I can and a bit like Hawkeye am more interested in my score (not points) and the quality of my ball striking.

I guess once you hit the single figure mark again the aim is to kick on further unless you are suffereing an Imurg like slump (sorry mate) and so that would probably be the starting point for me but even then I'd take each round as it came. One thing is certain with golf and that's nothing is certain

 

[RGDave]

Half the time, I don't even bother to work out my nett.
Actually, I'll correct myself; I hardly ever work out my nett unless I have to.

Sometimes when I get in from playing, my wife even asks "how many?" and my answer is 80 or 85 or whatever.

I had a 75 last year, the best score since taking up the game again. I couldn't tell you the nett.

I might be a bit rubbish, but it's all about the gross if you ask me.