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Handicaps controversial?

muttleee

muttleee

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I was just reading the Wikipedia entry on golf handicaps and was surprised to see this:

"For a long time the use of handicaps has been controversial in golf and other sports. Perceived rewarding of mediocrity and the arbitrary leveling of playing fields have fueled many debates with respect to the legitimacy of the continued use of handicaps."

Personally I've never heard any such controversy and can't imagine anyone but the best players playing competitive golf without the handicap system.

It got me to thinking...would you still play golf if handicaps were abolished? I'd still enjoy the thrill of a great shot but competitions would be pointless unless they were limited to players within each individual category, at the very most. I don't ever see it happening, btw.

I suppose that, being Wikipedia, I could just go and change it. ;)
 
It is a wierd concept. At any other sport, the better player or team wins.

In golf, there is this level playing field. As a result, there is no real need to ever get any better, as all you are doing is making it harder on yourself.

Would you still be interested in playing footy, if there was a handicap system in place in your local league, such that you had to give some teams a 4 goal start?
 
I agree, I think that if you play the majority of comps and your handicap stays the same, goes up or down, then fair play.
Maybe i am bitter, but I played a foursome match against a pair of chaps one of whom was off 23, he rarely played comps, I saw his name 2/3 times last season, we lost the foursome match on the 16th, his partner was very erratic off the tee and played off 13. But the chap who was off 23 hit the ball lovely didnt miss a fairway when he drove and was pretty long around 250 ish with a driver. We went 4 down through the first 5 holes, he made a 20 footer on the first, hit a second shot iron to the par 5 2nd and they made birdie, holed a 6 footer for par on 3, his partner chipped in for par on 4, and he nailed a putt on 5 from the back of the green to a front pin for a win on the hole..... we got a few back, but I did wonder about the validity of his handicap, it was also questioned in later rounds after they made the final.
Maybe a change in the handicap rule to playing more than 3 rounds would help?
 
The only people who take the hump are low handicappers who think that a high handicapper should never have a good round.

They seem to forget that every high handicapper aspires to be a low handicapper.

They whine and moan that it's harder for them because they have to shoot a 72 when they're off scrach to beat a 21 handicapper who 'only' has to shoot a 92.

It must be so very difficult for you being a low handicapper, I can only wish, hope and dream to have these worries in the future.
 
I would still play. It's the only sport i've ever played that handicaps are used.

If they didn't exist, you'd only end up with competitions for people who play round in certain brackets of gross scores....

I'd imagine you'd get the same people winning the same things all the time at golf clubs and you'd quickly get people stop playing in the competitions.
 
At the professional level there are no handicaps and the best player on the day(s) does win. This is as it should be.

In Club Championships (all of them as far as I am aware) the scores are gross scores so again the best player on the day wins.

Handicaps serve to level out the playing field in social golf and club competitions and most of the time they do a good job. There will always be some instances where a player has an extraordinary round that is way better than they usually achieve. In other instances players claim a handicap which they know is not correct and allows them more shots than they should have, this is just cheating themselves and everyone else.

In my club's major competitions you can only play if you have played in at least 3 club competitions in the preceding 12 months. This helps a bit but doesn't totally eliminate banditry.

I had one client I played golf with sometimes and he was not a member of a club despite playing regularly. His attitude was that his handicap was what he usually played to. Don't think he ever got less than 38 points all the times I played with him.
 
Think handicapping overall is a good thing, allows all to compete.
Most clubs will operate different sections in Medals anyway, we do 0-12 and 13-28. We all know the high handicappers are potentially more likely to throw in a really low nett score when they have a 'good day' so the 2 sections help in that regard.
For Cups there aren't sections. I don't know what other clubs are like but I reckon at mine the guys playing around handcaps 5 to 12 take most of the cups, not the higher handicappers. Most are played over 2 rounds so consistency is needed, not a one off miracle round.
Handicapping seems to work ok with us. It's always going to throw up questions of bandits but overall the system works ok. I would agree with a previous poster that 3 cards in the year is not enough to base a handicap on, I would say 10 would be better. If you can't return 10 cards then don't expect to roll up once in a blue moon and win by miles .
 
Most top level sports do play off of a level playing field. Be it golf, skiing, motor racing, yachting etc. It is done to find the best player.

To use the football analagy from an earlier post, football does have a handicaping system. It's called leagues! Except the FA Cup of course.

Our club champs this year are restricted to h'cap 15 or better with the ( how ever many is allowed to enter) going to the lowest handicapped players. It will run as a scratch event with no handicap allowance. The reason being that the Club Champ should be the best player at the club and not some potential bandit or high h'capper having a good day.

Personally. I think it's the right thing to do. After-all, every week of the year there is a stableford or medal comp with handicaps allowed.

I like the handicap system. It enables me to play golf more equally with all-comers. If I ever reach single figures then I might not win so many of the weekly comps. But bring on the club champs. In the new format, it will find the best golfer in the club. Which is how it should be.
 
Interesting thread. I'd still play regardless.
In/at my club (and I don't know if this is representative of clubs nationwide) the chances of me winning either the scratch/gross or net of any given competition is zero. OK, so theoretically, you could put the figure at a few % but either way, it ain't going to happen.
However, as the recipient of a good few vouchers for winning the net in div 1, I'm not going to moan.
In a monthly medal, the *best* prize (£value) goes to the lowest gross score - and I approve of that. If a proper player off 4 shoots par and I have a net par round, he gets about £30 and I get £20/25.....

I don't believe the system encourages mediocrity, I think it works just fine.

However, in my world (in the madness of my mind) I would have 6 divisions and make everyone play for the best gross in their division.
 
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