Lance Armstrong

Pro Zach said:
Apparently they play in the club competition because the handicap system is what makes golf great.

The question is, if it is the handicap that makes the game great, why would they choose to play in a non handicapped competition?
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You still haven't answered my last post? Just wondering?
 
Pro Zach said:
The handicap doesn't give everyone the chance to compete, it gives everyone an equal chance of winning. You do not need an equal chance of winning to compete. Have you ever played any game or sport were you have had to compete against an opponent you knew was better than you? Did you refuse to play or did you try your best and enjoy the challenge?

I think that challenge is the most enjoyable part of competition. We don't have this in golf because everyone is made equal.
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To compete you must have a chance of winning
If you have no chance of winning you are just taking part in the activity.

When you play the monthly medal you have a chance of competing for the prize on offer because the handicap system allows everyone to win.
In, say, a 100 metre race against Mr Bolt, we would simply be taking part in the race, we can't compete to win as we do not have the same ability. In order to compete against him - have a chance to win - he has to be handicapped in some way....

See the difference?
If you have no chance to win you can't compete, you're simply taking part.
 
You're 6 monthly crusade against handicaps Zach....

Have you raised the possibility of playing some division comps off scratch at your club?
 
Liverpoolphil said:
And that is exactly what makes golf great and sets it apart from all other sports

Take that away and the sport dies very quickly.

Comparisons to other sports doesn't work because golf is different.
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And in other sports (football, cricket, rugby, whatever) you end up playing in leagues where you invariably play people / teams of a similar standard. (Cup competitions aside but even then the local park football team wont play Manchester United as it would be a farce) Golf is probably unique in its club set up in that respect.
 
At my last club, there was one competition per year that was a scratch competition, split into 3 different divisions. 0 to 11, 12 to 19, and 19 and above. Every year, the divisions were won by the lower end of that division. The 19 handicapper had no chance playing scratch against the 12. It was pointless. So still way more than half the field had no chance of winning.

Playing off 12, I won it twice, and got a nice cup for the trophy cabinet. It was a bit of a hollow victory though, as I knew that I pretty much just had to play a couple under handicap to win it.
 
murphthemog said:
At my last club, there was one competition per year that was a scratch competition, split into 3 different divisions. 0 to 11, 12 to 19, and 19 and above. Every year, the divisions were won by the lower end of that division. The 19 handicapper had no chance playing scratch against the 12. It was pointless. So still way more than half the field had no chance of winning.

Playing off 12, I won it twice, and got a nice cup for the trophy cabinet. It was a bit of a hollow victory though, as I knew that I pretty much just had to play a couple under handicap to win it.
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Funny how people are different. Every comp I won by virtue of my handicap taking me past players who had a lower score felt like a hollow victory to me. I find winning a scratch comp and knowing you really were the best player on the day much more fulfilling.
 
FairwayDodger said:
Funny how people are different. Every comp I won by virtue of my handicap taking me past players who had a lower score felt like a hollow victory to me. I find winning a scratch comp and knowing you really were the best player on the day much more fulfilling.
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But in your scratch comp if you were against Handicaps 0-11, playing of 4 I would suggest you are a very good player who could threaten the leaderboard, at the same time I don't think you'd see the guy off 11 as a serious challenger, that's the issue in scratch comps, we know before the first ball is struck who the best golfers are, any someone having a great day or a bad day doesn't change that.
Scratch Golf is the purest form of Golf but scratch comps by division is just using handicaps without saying it.
 
pauldj42 said:
But in your scratch comp if you were against Handicaps 0-11, playing of 4 I would suggest you are a very good player who could threaten the leaderboard, at the same time I don't think you'd see the guy off 11 as a serious challenger, that's the issue in scratch comps, we know before the first ball is struck who the best golfers are, any someone having a great day or a bad day doesn't change that.
Scratch Golf is the purest form of Golf but scratch comps by division is just using handicaps without saying it.
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Not really arguing, just giving an alternative point of view. I might be off 4 now but I felt the same when I was off 16 and beating lower handicap players; it always seemed a hollow victory.
 
FairwayDodger said:
Not really arguing, just giving an alternative point of view. I might be off 4 now but I felt the same when I was off 16 and beating lower handicap players; it always seemed a hollow victory.
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lol, was also agreeing with your point, just can't understand how Prozac calls handicaps cheating (Lance Armstrong) but advocates scratch by division, what other method is there to decide ability in Golf? So handicaps are OK for somethings!
 
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