Handicap question

[Skithepowder]

I order to get a handicap you treat max score as double bogey, so if I had a par 4 SI 1 hole and I score an 8 then it counts as a 6 for calculating my adjusted gross score for those 3 initial rounds to calculate my 1st handicap right.

But then say I do those 3 rounds and I'm allocated a handicap of 26, that means I get 1 shot on all holes and 2 shots on SI 1-8. And as I understand it (maybe this is where I am wrong?) I now use a 'net' double bogey score to calculate my adjusted gross to work out if my handicap changes. So same hole as above par 4 SI 1, I score an 8 again but as my handicap gives me 2 shots I score net double bogey, so my 8 counts as an 8 for adjusted gross purposes.

The thing I don't get about this, is it seems to be much easier to get an initial lower handicap but much harder to reduce it if you have a higher handicap as those 8s often count as 8s for adjusted gross score, am I right the way I'm thinking? Seems a strange way of doing it if I am, seems to make it much harder to reduce your handicap than to get a lower one in those 1st few rounds of you see what I mean.

 

[Siren]

I believe its a net double bogey not a gross for example that par 4 SI1 with an 8 you would have had a double shot so the net double for yourself is a 7 rather than a 6.

 

[Fyldewhite]

There has to be a way of assessing a new player of any ability. SI can't come into it as the player doesn't have a handicap yet. The method is as you describe.....nothing above a double counts. The system is (I think) slanted to get as low initial handicap as possible. Because new players generally improve quite quickly this isn't really an issue. I suppose you are right but I think you are comparing apples and oranges. The two methods are not supposed to be the same and are for entirely different purposes.

 

[Foxholer]

...The two methods are not supposed to be the same and are for entirely different purposes.

Correct!

You will also have picked up 4 (in your case) shots of 'buffer' (before 'the system' deems the round deserves an increase) after that initial allocation too!