How can I spot a mid handicapper?

sawtooth

sawtooth

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I had to leave the Matchplay championship thread as it was getting way too hot in there.:eek:

But after reading the posts it got me thinking and it prompted me to ask the question what should a mid or even high handicapper look like?

Are they expected to chunk, thin, fat, slice, hook, toe, slap, shank, etc their way around the golf course?

Or are they permitted to be decent ball strikers?

I'm not defending or attacking anybody (simply because I don't know the persons in question) but it appears a bit wrong to make a snap assessment of someone on the basis of a few exceptional shots, holes or even an exceptional round here and there.

I'd be pretty upset if I was labelled a cheat or a bandit just because I didn't fit with someone else's perception of what a 9 handicapper should look like in terms of how they strike the ball, how they putt, how long they are etc.

IMO the word bandit/cheat is used too flippantly. We've all heard things like "he strikes the ball too well to be of that handicap". I've even been guilty of making that early assessment myself at times.

I guess the real question is.....is it possible to be a high-ish handicapper but also a decent ball striker? Without being labelled a cheat?

I think probably yes is the answer.
 
I think I fall into the 'strikes the ball too well for my handicap' however sadly the direction the ball travels in ensures my handicap is floating around it's present mark. Having played cricket for 25 years (at a reasonable level) I have very good hand eye co-ordination which I think can make me look a better player than I am at times.

I am working hard on it through lessons and work at the range so hoping the handicap will start in the right direction!
 
Well you saw me play Sean at West Hill, I think i started with 3 straight par's on a course i had never played! playing off 18 at the time, that's a pretty good start to a round! You probably though, "18 h'cap my wotsit" It obviously collapsed as it normally does with me to a 32 pointer (still a pretty good round for me!), but it takes at least 18 holes to really assess whether someone is a bandit or not IMHO.. I would say i strike a decent ball, however, i make lots of mistakes, poor decisions that dictate my 15 handicap now..

Play with someone for more than 1 round, every dog has his day, but to continuously post crazy low scores would suggest the handicap is too high..
 
Rooter said:
Play with someone for more than 1 round, every dog has his day, but to continuously post crazy low scores would suggest the handicap is too high..
Click to expand...

My point in case was our club championships.....nett 62 on day 1 to give me the lead....nett 75 on day 2 as I sliced, thinned and hacked my way round....
 
I'm probably the opposite of the type of player you're talking about. I think compared to others of a similar handicap I don't strike the ball as well or as far. I'm just relatively consistent and have a half decent short game.

I agree that the word bandit is thrown around too often. Inconsistency is to be expected with mid to high handicappers and often on good days they'll clean up but it doesn't mean they're dishonest.
 
I think it's consistency. Mid handicapper can certainly play the game but will hit too many poor shots and have too many rounds where they're just not "on their game". But certainly capable of a nice swing and good ball striking.... sometimes!
 
FairwayDodger said:
But certainly capable of a nice swing and good ball striking.... sometimes!
Click to expand...

Exactly! someone who does that for 18 or 36 holes is either having a worldy, or they have an inflated handicap. I have played with people in the past and they have commented after a few decent holes "no way you are XYZ handicap" then i duff one off the tee, thin chips, miss easy putts, then they can see why i am what i am. I would love to tie my good playing together for 18 holes! it just doesnt happen though!
 
It seems to me that a lot of golfers have the opinion that everyone else is massaging their handicap up or down....it seems easier to assume that everyone is a cheat without knowing the full story. Stinks of sour grapes and unnecessary competitiveness in what is, after all, just a game.

I've been accused of being a bandit twice. Once because on two holes I tee'd off well and "struck the ball like a lower handicapper" and the other time because I was riding a donkey and wearing a sombrero.

I just feel really really sorry, verging on pity for the people that think this way.
 
Rooter said:
Play with someone for more than 1 round, every dog has his day, but to continuously post crazy low scores would suggest the handicap is too high..
Click to expand...

That would be my opinion too.

'Good Ball Striking' is pretty subjective phrase too. I used to consider myself one and a nice strike pattern smaller than a 50p piece on the blades backed that up. Touch around greens was/is my problem.

One time 'banditry' is fine by me - and the term is really a compliment. There are some (Wild Willy) types who are liable to have a good score or 2 in amongst some dross. There comes a time though where there are some less flattering adjectives added. Mid handicappers winning loads of big handicap competitions would tend to raise my suspicions. And it's pretty easy to 'manage' a 6 handicap - as any 'observation' type adjustments would have o b approved by the Area Authority rather than merely the Handicap Secretary.
 
And its always when someone says "you're striking the ball well for a x hcp" or "theres no way you're a x hcp" that the round starts to fall apart for the mid handicaper.

If the better player either said nothing, or encouraged their playing partner once in a while then you never know, the mid/high handicapper might actually improve and we all get what we want. The better player gets an opponent/partner at a closer level of competitiveness and the mid/high handicapper improves their ability, consistency, confidence etc.
 
I suppose consistence is the key. I can very often have a great round apart from 3 holes.. I got hammered by a 15 handicap in one of the club knockouts, true i did have to give him 8 shots, but was well under his handicap. Once we finnished tha game we played in for a couple of quid and he lost a ball off the tee in all 4 holes... at least i got £2 off him;)
 
FairwayDodger said:
I think it's consistency. Mid handicapper can certainly play the game but will hit too many poor shots and have too many rounds where they're just not "on their game". But certainly capable of a nice swing and good ball striking.... sometimes!
Click to expand...

+1 Agree with this.

My biggest problem is consistency. I have the ability (and have done very recently) to play to a low double figure handicap (I shot 84 of 18.9 two weeks ago).

Sadly my game isn't consistent enough to be able to deliver quality golf like the above for a whole 18 holes or indeed from one round to the next.

At 33 I am very much a weekend golfer and I don't get a huge amount of time during the week to practice - perhaps once a week at the most at the range. I know my game would be greatly improved if I had more time to commit to it, but alas at this point in time it would take a lottery win for that to be possible :(
 
patricks148 said:
Once we finnished tha game we played in for a couple of quid and he lost a ball off the tee in all 4 holes
Click to expand...

I've seen this sort of thing happen quite a lot - mainly by the higher handicap/winner of the match. I put it don to pressure coming off an concentration disappearing. Of course the reverse can happen too! How many times does either partner start playing great shots once the match is over!:whistle:
 
I would say I don't strike the ball particularly well, but I wouldn't say I strike it particularly badly either. I don't hit as many "bad" shots as my HC would suggest. What I do though is make multiple bad decisions which is my downfall and something that I have been working on and since I have I have made buffer several times and had a small cut (0.2). Early in the season though I had a run of consecutive 0.1's that were, in the main, caused not by playing badly (in terms of hitting the ball) but by thinking badly and hitting the ball in to the wrong places and costing myself dear.
 
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