Handicap

[minime123]

I joined a club 18 months ago and a mate scored 3 cards for me and i ended up with a 19 handicap, to be honest this is imposible for me a 24 - 25 handicap would be more realistic. I've been told if i don't play a comp for a year i can resubmit 3 new cards and obtain a new handicap, is this correct or how can i obtain a more realistic handicap??

 

[virtuocity]

Firstly, welcome.

Secondly, during one of your rounds you would have played to 19 handicap. This, however, would have involved adjustments to poor scores on certain holes.

When starting out, you are effectively playing off scratch (zero handicap). If you scored a triple bogey or worse on any hole, then the scores for each of these holes would have been adjusted down to scoring a maximum of double bogey on each hole.

For golfers who play 'wildly' i.e. capable of a few pars and maybe even a birdie but with the rest of the card littered with triples, quadruples and worse then I sympathise that the initial handicap allocation may be frightening. I don't know if this describes your game?

Please don't be put off having this handicap. The worst that can happen is that each time you play a competition and fail to get within 4 strokes of your handicap then you'll receive an increase of 0.1.

If you're committed to improving your golf then you may soon find that you're comfortable playing to 19. If you're not committed to improving then your handicap will increase over time- perhaps not at the rate you want- and you may be entitled to an adjustment by the handicap secretary to reflect this.

Remember, your handicap won't increase if you shoot (net and after adjustments) 4 over your handicap. That's essentially a 23 handicap. You say you're comfy playing to 24? Well all you need to do is make up one shot. Just one shot! How can you do this? For starters, get your butt down to the practice area and putt until you're sick of the sight of the ball going in the hole. That's a few strokes right there.

To finish, a lot of good courses only allow those with handicaps of 18 and under to play. Embrace your 19, conquer it, improve and get down as low as you can.

Good luck.

 

[Beezerk]

Agree with the above really, I was given 20 and I rarely play to it although on the odd occasion I've shot in the mid 80's.
We regularly play with people in comps who are off say 14 and you think to yourself, that handicap is far too low for them. Maybe they had a decent few rounds in a purple patch and are now struggling to get that form back but that's just golf lol.
I enter comps with the mindset of just trying to enjoy it and play to my best ability on that day, I don't go in to win.
Purposely not playing in comps and putting in 3 higher cards next year could get you seen as a bit of a bandit by some, you know how some club members can be (total knobs)

 

[williamalex1]

I joined a club 18 months ago and a mate scored 3 cards for me and i ended up with a 19 handicap, to be honest this is imposible for me a 24 - 25 handicap would be more realistic. I've been told if i don't play a comp for a year i can resubmit 3 new cards and obtain a new handicap, is this correct or how can i obtain a more realistic handicap??

If you stay at the same club and don't submit at least 3 comp cards, your h/c will become inactive. I think after submitting 3 more cards it will only reactivate your old h/c plus maybe .1 if the cards were over SSS.

 

[pbrown7582]

Hello and welcome.
Stick with it and you'll find the means to improve and play to your handicap.
You cannot just start over after a year your original handicap is considered and had to be declared even if you change club.