handicaps

[ChrisWelsh]

I'm sure it's factually correct but doesn't mean that age is the cause of the lack of improvement.

There will be lots of us who have reduced our handicap after that age (I've come down 5 shots) simply because of making a choice to work on my game in a serious way. That could happen at any age but these numbers suggest it typically happens before then.

The stats may show the drop off in handicap improvement based on age but there's not enough data to imply anything else. It does make an interesting soundbite though, especially as most people will naturally correlate it with growing older.

 

[duncan mackie]

I'm sure it's factually correct but doesn't mean that age is the cause of the lack of improvement.

There will be lots of us who have reduced our handicap after that age (I've come down 5 shots) simply because of making a choice to work on my game in a serious way. That could happen at any age but these numbers suggest it typically happens before then.

The stats may show the drop off in handicap improvement based on age but there's not enough data to imply anything else. It does make an interesting soundbite though, especially as most people will naturally correlate it with growing older.

interesting how different people take different points from such a statement, or statistic.

personally what I see is that generally playing for a longer period (in years) doesn't equate to improving handicap.

the average nature of this statistic will include how long people have been playing before age 35 and to what level they are playing at that time, but from my experience and observation of others over the period since they were 35'ish everything is consistent with that.

I don't see 35 as an age element with any implication to physical capability, it's far more a lifestyle one overlaid with the core easy advancement/learning period being up to 18.