Scratch comps in your division

[Snelly]

Great idea Bobmac.

Good variety too given that you are suggesting it as something as a once in a while alternative. I am sure it would work if it was done once a quarter or something and it would negate the advantage given to those who protect their handicap.

I can't see why anyone would think it was an idea without merit, unless they were the sort of person that just argues for the sake of it.

 

[bladeplayer]

The comparison to football teams is irrelevant - they play the sport to earn a living and is professional sport

Perfect example for you

We had a young lad who won best gross nearly every medal for nearly 3 years ( won clubs champs 3 or 4 years in a row )

In your plan he would win the low division pretty much every single time - he regulary shots under par - ( mainly 4 or 5 under ) - not many other would have a chance of winning that division - closed shop again to lower handicaps. Where is the competition in that ?

Each division will be dominated by the lower handicaps in that division - a 28 handicapper hasn't got a prayer winning

If people want to reward the lowest gross scores - play scratch comps

Handicap Comps are for a reason - to give everyone the same starting point when they start the game.

Bob is only talking about a few comps a year Phil , he is not instigating wholesale changes , there are of course 2 sides to every idea , scratch favours the low (even in catagories) nett does favour the mid to high more often ..

Solution ?

regular nett comps with multiple catagory prizes and one gross prize ..
then a few catagory scratch comps to keep the others happy ..

Over here you could play a scratch cup pretty close to home club every weekend if that was your desire , i did alot last year , one downside it gets expensive with fee and travelling etc

 

[bobmac]

I would say your perfect example is a rather exceptional case where someone is shooting 4 or 5 under par most comps.
Unless he is +4 or 5, he would clean up in any situation.

Each division will be dominated by the lower handicaps in that division - a 28 handicapper hasn't got a prayer winning

As I said before, in a perfect world, I would agree.
But it's not.
People of all h/caps can come in with extremely good nett scores and that is tough for anyone to beat playing to their h/cap.

Imagine you're off 15 and you play well and score 85 gross gross, 70 nett. CSS is 72. Happy days.
Until someone off 25 scores 94 and beats you by 1. You may be miffed and mumble bandit under your breath as you have been beaten by the handicap.
If however a 17 h/cap shoots 84 gross 67 nett, you wouldn't feel so bad as you were beaten by a better gross score.

If a guy plays better golf than you, he should win. If he wins by having the wrong h/cap, that's not golf.

 

[bobmac]

I can't see why anyone would think it was an idea without merit, unless they were the sort of person that just argues for the sake of it.

People do that?

 

[jp5]

Absolutely great idea, and this is coming from a high handicapper!

I'd much rather play in a division with a handicap spread of 8 or so. I know that within that range, anyone can be anyone on the day. Yes, you'll find that the winners will be slightly skewed to the lower handicappers, but that gives the incentive to improve.

Sign me up!

 

[FairwayDodger]

Imagine you're off 15 and you play well and score 85 gross gross, 70 nett. CSS is 72. Happy days.
Until someone off 25 scores 94 and beats you by 1. You may be miffed and mumble bandit under your breath as you have been beaten by the handicap.
If however a 17 h/cap shoots 84 gross 67 nett, you wouldn't feel so bad as you were beaten by a better gross score.

If a guy plays better golf than you, he should win. If he wins by having the wrong h/cap, that's not golf.

Don't need to imagine it Bob. I recently equalled the course record at my club.... and still lost to a 20 handicapper on countback. I took it all in good spirits though!

Sounds like a good idea as an alternative to a full-on scratch only comp.

And 28 handicappers can still win..... they just need to practice and get better first! :whoo:

 

[Simbo]

Don't need to imagine it Bob. I recently equalled the course record at my club.... and still lost to a 20 handicapper on countback. I took it all in good spirits though!

Sounds like a good idea as an alternative to a full-on scratch only comp.

And 28 handicappers can still win..... they just need to practice and get better first! :whoo:

There's far more skill involved in equalling the course record than a 20 capper having a good/lucky day. I'd take that any day of the week over winning a competition playing off 20.

 

[backwoodsman]

As a high handicapper I think it's a good idea. Perhaps not all the time but more often than we do. (At our place we have 2 possibly 3 - but can't offhand remember the third). Some thought probably needed to get the "banding" right to make it work long term but I don't think there would be a mass desertion by high h/cers (perhaps by the idle complacent but how many of them are there really?).

At ours we have the Apostles Cup & Trophy - top division for 9 and under and then 10-20. At 20 I just scrape in. (In fact I think I've just gone to 20.5 so need to get my finger out to secure a place). Am I going to enter? You bet. Am I going to win? Unlikely - especially as it's a 36 holer and I'm starting from the very back of the grid. The challenge is to finish as high up the leaderboard as I can. A few more comps like this - perhaps with tighter divisions - would be fun.

 

[3565]

I don't really understand how, and neither sought to find out how the CSS is worked out for the day. I've often played and thought that was a tough day (as a cat1) yet the CSS still the same. So for those on here who know how it works, could each catorgory have their own CSS for that day? Or would that not work? Only asking in conjunction with what's being discussed on here with competing only in your catorgory?

Could the CSS be higher for Cat1 then that of Cat2 on that day and so forth?

 

[MashieNiblick]

Our club championship is played over 2 days. First day anyone can enter. Top 24 scratch scores then play on day 2. Lowest scratch aggregate over the 2 days wins. Last year I was lucky enough to qualify for the second round. I had no chance of winning but playing scratch golf really focused me on my game. Being one of the highest handicappers playing on day 2 I knew I had to score well not to finish last or embarrass myself. Playing with a couple of s/f guys who were also really focused helped too. The upshot was I actually played my best golf of the year over those 2 days and even managed to score better than a few of the s/f guys. Also it made me feel like I was in a proper golf competition. Just like the pros!

So for me it was a great experience and I would love more opportunities for that kind of golf. It did really make me approach the game differently.

Thinking about other sports don't we all like to be part of (or cheer on) a team that has its day doing a bit of giant killing. It wouldn't be same with a 3 goal or 100 run head start. You want to beat the big guys on level terms!