POLL: How do you feel about WHS?

[Orikoru]

You say you are playing much better than you did the whole of last year. Yet you have just lost 2 rounds from last year (presumably) that are much better than you are playing now?

Contradiction?

Maybe you are just hitting another purple patch, like last year, but not quite as purple? Whereas if you sustain your form, to the point you are genuinely better than last year, your handicap will end up coming down again, to lower than it was last year.

As I mentioned, two decent rounds in a rare purple patch - in July as well so it was warm and dry as opposed to now.

I know the difference between playing well and not, so I won't dignify the last bit with a response.

 

[D-S]

The Good :
- course rating and slope adapt handicaps allowances well to different courses. Probably. Whether to a better effect than CSS is unclear.

CSS was the UHS version of PCC and only applied in competitions so is not comparable with CR and Slope.

 

[Dunesman]

CSS was the UHS version of PCC and only applied in competitions so is not comparable with CR and Slope.

How quickly we forget. I meant SSS.

 

[Swango1980]

As I mentioned, two decent rounds in a rare purple patch - in July as well so it was warm and dry as opposed to now.

I know the difference between playing well and not, so I won't dignify the last bit with a response.

Simply saying, if you are only submitting the same number of good scores as the purple patch you had last year (but not as good), no system can decipher "well, their scores are not as good, but the golfer himself can feel it in his bones that he has actually elevated is general level"

But, if you keep it up, especially as weather gets better, you will be rewarded

Yes, you may feel like you should go down bit after submitting a decent score. But, to counter that, there are plenty of rounds you didn't go up 0.1 after submitting stinkers after your last purple patch, as you were only losing one of your worst 12 scores anyway.

 

[Orikoru]

Simply saying, if you are only submitting the same number of good scores as the purple patch you had last year (but not as good), no system can decipher "well, their scores are not as good, but the golfer himself can feel it in his bones that he has actually elevated is general level"

But, if you keep it up, especially as weather gets better, you will be rewarded

Yes, you may feel like you should go down bit after submitting a decent score. But, to counter that, there are plenty of rounds you didn't go up 0.1 after submitting stinkers after your last purple patch, as you were only losing one of your worst 12 scores anyway.

Well, in the old system I'd be buffering right now rather than going up a whole shot wouldn't I? Wasn't perfect but you didn't have the scenario of going up when you play well.

Don't even mind going up, I'm just saying it's overdue if anything. I'm confident I will start to come back down a bit when the weather is nicer. But, because of my other problem of our course ratings going up, I might not come back down much until I'm able to put some other scores in at away courses.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

An observation on my own handicap record.

I have scores in my 20 going back to August 2023. The reasons are two-fold. Personal circumstances through 2024 meant missing a lot of club competitions (and I usually have played in a lot of club comps), and secondly a reluctance (for whatever reasons) or lack of incentive to put in GP cards. The scores back in 2023 (include my two very lowest) by definition cannot be any sort of reflection of my current form. I am only now working to get rid of them but they shouldn’t be there. If the window for scores to be included in my 20 was shorter I would have put more GP cards in.

 

[GreiginFife]

Personally don't care either way. In any system my handicap is my handicap. I don't give two flying fornications about anyone else's.

I don't play in comps with a sole intention of winning, if I do great but that's just a bonus. I play in comps to test myself against the course when it's set up at it's best/hardest and to lower MY handicap in the process (or increase if I have a bad one).

My handicap is the only benchmark that matters to me, why people get so riled up by what other's do and don't do in a game we play as a hobby and/or for enjoyment makes me wonder what else they get irrationally incensed at.

 

[Swango1980]

An observation on my own handicap record.

I have scores in my 20 going back to August 2023. The reasons are two-fold. Personal circumstances through 2024 meant missing a lot of club competitions (and I usually have played in a lot of club comps), and secondly a reluctance (for whatever reasons) or lack of incentive to put in GP cards. The scores back in 2023 (include my very lowest) by definition cannot be any sort of reflection of my current form. I am only now working to get rid of them but they shouldn’t be there. If the window for scores to be included in my 20 was shorter I would have put more GP cards in.

I got into the habit of submitting GP scores every round. I know people don't like it, but for me it adds something extra to the round. Keeps me motivated longer, otherwise I find it much easier to lose interest in a round that isn't going too well. I find the advantages are:

• If I actually play well, I'm rewarded with a good score going on my record. Rather than thinking "if only" after a good round I haven't pre-registered
• I never really feel like I'm under or over handicapped.
• I use the MyEG App, so I can put everyone in the group's score into it (regardless of whether they are submitting theirs or not). No need for a physical card, it works out your handicaps for you, calculated your scores as you go along (including stableford) and checks you have entered the correct score if someone else in the group is also entering your score on their App.
• I don't feel under any extra pressure during comps now, hoping I submit a good score for handicap. Handicap rounds just feel second nature.

I suppose it is less important if you have loads of comps to play. But, if you've only one a week or so, over the summer season, it isn't a lot of golf to take into account, especially if you play much more regularly than that. That is my issue, I reckon I play 2 or 3 times more social rounds than comp rounds

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I got into the habit of submitting GP scores every round. I know people don't like it, but for me it adds something extra to the round. Keeps me motivated longer, otherwise I find it much easier to lose interest in a round that isn't going too well. I find the advantages are:

• If I actually play well, I'm rewarded with a good score going on my record. Rather than thinking "if only" after a good round I haven't pre-registered
• I never really feel like I'm under or over handicapped.
• I use the MyEG App, so I can put everyone in the group's score into it (regardless of whether they are submitting theirs or not). No need for a physical card, it works out your handicaps for you, calculated your scores as you go along (including stableford) and checks you have entered the correct score if someone else in the group is also entering your score on their App.
• I don't feel under any extra pressure during comps now, hoping I submit a good score for handicap. Handicap rounds just feel second nature.

I suppose it is less important if you have loads of comps to play. But, if you've only one a week or so, over the summer season, it isn't a lot of golf to take into account, especially if you play much more regularly than that. That is my issue, I reckon I play 2 or 3 times more social rounds than comp rounds

I've started doing this - done it the last two rounds and a medal this Saturday. Going to do it every time I play on a Saturday in our rollup. I think of putting a card in as chucking it over a fence into a pond of 20 cards of which 8 are floating - the remaining 12 are either sunk to the bottom of the pond or if OK just under the surface. If my card is rubbish it'll sink to the bottom - if it's good it'll float and count - if OK it'll join those just under the surface and has a good chance of counting in time. So I don't worry about putting in a rubbish one and will keep going if it's looking OK.

The club runs an 'open' stableford every Saturday so I can enter that as well as playing in our rollup (or just register for a GP round). All it means is that the card I have in hand for the rollup is now also the card for the comp/GP - but my experience of doing this the last two weeks is that it still felt more like my rollup card than a comp (or GP) card. Of course I had to hole out every hole (not reqd for rollup) but that was no big deal whatsoever. I can honestly say that for almost all of the round I felt no additional pressure than I normally feel playing in the rollup - certainly nothing like what I feel when playing in a more formal club comp.

 

[AussieKB]

I put 150 cards in a year from comps....not sure when I can put GP cards in.....

 

[Swango1980]

I put 150 cards in a year from comps....not sure when I can put GP cards in.....

Assuming you take time off golf to go on holidays, injury, bad weather (maybe not likely in Oz), etc you must be playing close to an average of 4 competitions a week. Impressive.

I play lots of golf, but reckon I'd start to hate it by playing that frequently, especially when I hit a bad spell.

 

[Orikoru]

I got into the habit of submitting GP scores every round. I know people don't like it, but for me it adds something extra to the round. Keeps me motivated longer, otherwise I find it much easier to lose interest in a round that isn't going too well. I find the advantages are:

• If I actually play well, I'm rewarded with a good score going on my record. Rather than thinking "if only" after a good round I haven't pre-registered
• I never really feel like I'm under or over handicapped.
• I use the MyEG App, so I can put everyone in the group's score into it (regardless of whether they are submitting theirs or not). No need for a physical card, it works out your handicaps for you, calculated your scores as you go along (including stableford) and checks you have entered the correct score if someone else in the group is also entering your score on their App.
• I don't feel under any extra pressure during comps now, hoping I submit a good score for handicap. Handicap rounds just feel second nature.

I suppose it is less important if you have loads of comps to play. But, if you've only one a week or so, over the summer season, it isn't a lot of golf to take into account, especially if you play much more regularly than that. That is my issue, I reckon I play 2 or 3 times more social rounds than comp rounds

I started doing the same around May last year. Didn't hate it as much as I thought. It almost takes the pressure off when you're used to every round counting for something - as you say, a comp round feels like less of a big deal when you're having to hole out every week anyway. You kind of end up just letting the handicap be what it is.

 

[AussieKB]

Assuming you take time off golf to go on holidays, injury, bad weather (maybe not likely in Oz), etc you must be playing close to an average of 4 competitions a week. Impressive.

I play lots of golf, but reckon I'd start to hate it by playing that frequently, especially when I hit a bad spell.

This past few weeks, 8/9 Open at Course nearby, 12th Home course, 13th other Home course, 15/16 Open at Course nearby, 17th Vets Course nearby, 19th Home Course, tomorrow 20th my other Home course.....

We have the weather for it.

 

[Swango1980]

There was one chap who was winning virtually every single swindle over last 2 years, and never submitted his score. He was regularly shooting mid to high 40 points, and hit over 50 points twice (albeit some holes were shorter as it was in winter, and 38-40 points may have been standard). His Index was 4-6 shots too high we reckon. People started to hate playing with him just for that, to the point he struggles to get a game, as no one puts their name down next to his on BRS Booking anymore, or less inclined to anyway. And we no longer throw in £2 to a pot if there are a couple of groups of us, if he is playing.

However, I tried to convince him to submit his GP scores. His excuse (which I've heard from others) is that he doesn't because he feels under too much pressure and he ends up playing poorly. It isn't enjoyable. I explained to him that even if that is true, it won't be true until the end of time. Even if he submits a few bad scores to begin with and his handicap goes up, it will plateau eventually. He won't simply get worse and worse and worse. Then he'll start coming down again. And, more importantly, I explained that people won't be bothered if he shoots 50 points, so long as it counts towards his handicap. And if he shoots 20 points and his handicap goes up, nobody would be bothered either.

Anyway, he started submitting GP scores at the end of last year, and now the course is acceptable again, has submitted a couple this season. Nowhere near as good as he was playing when he wasn't submitting those scores, but his Index is still 1.1 lower than it was in June last season, and the lowest it has been since May 2023. And, it certainly looks like it has become second nature to him now, he is now comfortable using MyEG and doesn't see it as a chore.