Handicaps, are they ever really true?

[MoonPig]

Ok so you gain your handicap at your relevant club and it adjusts each week depending on how well you play etc..

BUT does your handicap give a reflection of your true golfing ability or just how well you play your home track.

Does the difficult or length of your course have a positive or negative effect when you take your handicap with you to other courses?

 

[Screwback]

Your handicap is always going to be more accurate round your home course as it is the one you play the most but i think that you should be able to play to it at any course, that said you can play well at any course and not play to your handicap for me i lay more emphasis on playing well and forget about my handicap if you go out to play to your handicap it only adds pressure.

 

[Leftie]

I've been using SS2 for about 3 years and record every round and allow it to adjust h/cap every time - home and away (and I do play away from home a lot ).

My club h/cap is exactly 14.0 and on SS2 13.9.

So in my case at least, it is a true reflection of my (lack of) ability.

It does however depend on how many qualifying comps you play. If you only play a few a year and tend to blow up a bit under the pressure then, no, it may well not be a true reflection.

 

[Bigfoot]

They can only be a reflection of play at your home course. It won't be too far off when you travel unless you play a much more open or tighter course. Best way to go would be to use the slope system and rate each course and adjust your handicap according to which tee you use.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its an interesting point. I use to belong to Wimbledon Common and although short at 5438 yards it was a tight course. However I always thought my handicap was a shot or two too low and I struggled on longer course. Even at the old Royal Ascot my handicap wasn't indicative of my actual competence as that was also a short track. It wasn't until I rejoined on our current layout that I got a handicap that I think stands up at other courses and I think I can play close to the 12 mark a lot of the time

 

[connor]

Its an interesting point. I use to belong to Wimbledon Common and although short at 5438 yards it was a tight course. However I always thought my handicap was a shot or two too low and I struggled on longer course. Even at the old Royal Ascot my handicap wasn't indicative of my actual competence as that was also a short track. It wasn't until I rejoined on our current layout that I got a handicap that I think stands up at other courses and I think I can play close to the 12 mark a lot of the time

I had this type of debate earlier with cousin in law. HIs h\c is 22 mine is 27. There track is about 1000yrds shorter off the whites than where i play.
When i went there i hit a 90 and ive only ever hit 95 as the lowest where i play. He seems to be under the impression im a bandit and should be down on 22 with him.

This came about as i was sorting handicaps for when 12 of us are going st mellion and some dont have hcs so to make it fair ive cut alot of us to allow the other guys to be a 28. I gave my self a 24 but he still thinks its high due to what i hit at there track which i only played a couple times before.

So i think a handicap is representative of where you play as well as how you play. At my old course a friend got an 18 handicap as its quite a short course and you need to be accurate, Now we changed to a longer course he really does struggle playing anywhere near that due to the fact of its longer and he is good from his 6 iron down and cant hit a driver so takes hybrid from the tee and most holes are quite long on the par 4s

 

[USER1999]

I've been using SS2 for about 3 years and record every round and allow it to adjust h/cap every time - home and away (and I do play away from home a lot ).

My club h/cap is exactly 14.0 and on SS2 13.9.

So in my case at least, it is a true reflection of my (lack of) ability.

It does however depend on how many qualifying comps you play. If you only play a few a year and tend to blow up a bit under the pressure then, no, it may well not be a true reflection.

Retired people. Too much time. Us workers are paying for this.

 

[Essex_Stu]

I score better at other courses than my own. My course is very tight and going offline costs you a lot of shots. I believe our greens are also very hard to read with some very nasty breaks in them compared to other local courses.

 

[Leftie]

[QUOTE. Us workers are paying for this.[/QUOTE]

I wish you were Murph.

It's costing me a fortune.

 

[RGDave]

I score better at other courses than my own. My course is very tight and going offline costs you a lot of shots.

Well said!

If I played at the other course in my town, I definitely be off less.

 

[Hendo007]

my home course is quite a short one with very small and well guarded greens. Playing at home I find that my short game is quite good because it needs to be. I tend to leave the driver in the bag for most of the holes so as to avoid the trouble and leave full shots into the greens. What i find when I play away is that i am using more of the longer clubs, however if they don't come off then I know i got a decent short game to back it up. So in the end I think it kinda comes out pretty even and the H/C is prob a true reflection of how am playing. (badly at this precise moment might I add) At the end of the day it all comes down to course management. Play the shots your most comfortable with and avoid the trouble.

 

[chrisd]

I find that, tee to green, I can play most courses around what I would expect off my handicap, but, my home course has fairly small greens and when faced with the large ones then my usually safe chipping and putting costs me a shot or two extra.

 

[Foxholer]

Handicaps are meant to be applicable to every course with the SSS adjusting tough or easy ones to 'standard'. Works pretty well, but there are variations.

I've found that Scottish handicaps 'travel South' very well, probably because of the tougher conditions up there. Not only to born and bred Scots either. It took me 6 months to score 36 points when I moved my handicap North and when I returned South, I shot level par at the course I'd played off 7 at!

Also, different styles of course suit different players. A long wide open course would not suit a short but accurate player, but go to a tight small-greened course and (s)he might shoot better than 'cap.

And to get consistent handicaps depends on the Handicap Secretary/Committee being consistent!

 

[upsidedown]

Under the slope index system you have a handicap index and every course is rated so you have an on course handicap, so less shots on easy course and more on harder ones . seems to work quite well when I played away from home.

 

[rosecott]

I score better at other courses than my own. .

Well said!If I played at the other course in my town, I definitely be off less.

But remember not to fall into the trap of comparing your scores against par between your home course and another - it's scores aginst SSS that matter.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I think my handicap is a fair reflection of how I score at my club.

The reason it may not travel well is really because my h/c will reflect the fact that I know my own course so well. So I may struggle to match it playing a course I don't know, but if I played another course regularly I think the h/c would settle down around the same mark unless it was somewhere really tough or different like Carnoustie or RSG.

 

[HughJars]

I had this type of debate earlier with cousin in law. HIs h\c is 22 mine is 27. There track is about 1000yrds shorter off the whites than where i play.
When i went there i hit a 90 and ive only ever hit 95 as the lowest where i play. He seems to be under the impression im a bandit and should be down on 22 with him.

This came about as i was sorting handicaps for when 12 of us are going st mellion and some dont have hcs so to make it fair ive cut alot of us to allow the other guys to be a 28. I gave my self a 24 but he still thinks its high due to what i hit at there track which i only played a couple times before.

So i think a handicap is representative of where you play as well as how you play. At my old course a friend got an 18 handicap as its quite a short course and you need to be accurate, Now we changed to a longer course he really does struggle playing anywhere near that due to the fact of its longer and he is good from his 6 iron down and cant hit a driver so takes hybrid from the tee and most holes are quite long on the par 4s

5 shots lower on a course that is 1000 yards shorter. I imagine par and SSS will therefore be somewhere in the region of 5 less as well. I'm not seeing anything askew in your scoring, only your logic.

 

[Stub]

I have been accused of being a bandit off 28 when playing in roll-ups or matches with friends but off the whites I struggle to get down to 100. Off the winter tees I managed 91 (once!!) and off the yellows have been below 100 a few times. I think many people forget the difference that the whites make on many courses, especially for those like me who are not long hitters off the tee.

 

[connor]

5 shots lower on a course that is 1000 yards shorter. I imagine par and SSS will therefore be somewhere in the region of 5 less as well. I'm not seeing anything askew in your scoring, only your logic.

My par is 72 there's is 69... I'd say in general where I play is a harder track not just in length but the way it plays.. Not sure on there sss I can look on a card later

 

[G1BB0]

although I can hit a decent ball, short game can be tidy and putt decent

My iron play is shocking! My home course is tight with small greens so its hard to score really well and punishes anything right/left or long. I do seem to play better on other courses but blow up holes still cost me.

thats why I am off 28, I have shot +16 once and + 18 twice but never in a comp