Par 3 Course - Handicap Level?

[DevonRoyals]

Some advice / guidance would be really useful.

I'm currently a member at a 9 hole Par 3 course (Par 27) with holes ranging between 100 yards and 220 yards. Unfortunately work commitments don’t allow for much more at the moment, but I’m hopeful of playing a little more this year.

My handicap for 18 holes is currently 8 and most rounds I shoot between 29 - 32 - so around my handicap.

But, how would this equate to a full course?

I’ve had some people tell me 1.5 x / 2 x and 4 x handicap - but was keen to see if anyone could provide any more clarification or guidance.

 

[rulefan]

Playing a course where all holes are par3 will not give a reasonable handicap estimate for a full length course. At least half your shots will be being played with a driver or long wood/iron. These can present all sorts of situations never encountered on a short course.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

Well in theory you should be an 8. But as presumably you're never using a driver off the tee, finding the fairway may be an issue, at least initially.

 

[jim8flog]

Our 9 hole course is a good mixture of 3s 4s and 5s with a lot of trees, OB and water but only one hole really is long enough for a driver. On that course I would generally play to less my than my handicap which is based upon our 18 hole and I reckon there would be about a 4 -6 shot difference based upon playing the 9 hole twice The 18 hole is harder.

Thing to remember as well as using a driver is that on a par 3 course all your tee shots in to the greens are played off a perfect lies placed upon a tee peg. On an 18 hole normal length course there will be 28+ shots played off less than perfect lies.

 

[Swango1980]

Well in theory you should be an 8. But as presumably you're never using a driver off the tee, finding the fairway may be an issue, at least initially.

I'm not sure how in theory his handicap would be 8? Firstly, there is no mention of whether his 8 handicap being an Index or just the course handicap. Given the mention of his scores, I assume course handicap (can you even get an Index for a Par 3 course?)

If a Par 3 course had a Slope, presumably it would be a lot lower than a Slope of a longer, regular course? I've no idea what that would be. But, if it was around 100, then if the player had a course handicap of 8, then that would give the player an Index of about 9.0. If that player then went to play a regular course, slope 130 - 140, then their Course Handicap could be 10-11.

And, if the Par 3 course had a slope of 80 (just to help give a broad range), then if the player had a course handicap of 8, then that would give the player an Index of about 11.3. If that player then went to play a regular course, slope 130 - 140, then their Course Handicap could be 13-14.

But, as mentioned by others, there are other factors that may make it difficult to properly compare a par 3 course to standard courses. All your full swings can theoretically be played off perfect lies, and tee pegs used. You probably don't need to hit any full blown drivers (and if you do, then a standard course may be very long for you).