Setting your own handicap

[rosecott]

I think this topic has been discussed before with some forummers of the opinion that there is no harm in a player managing to persuade his club to give him a handicap lower than his ability justifies.

The most obvious way of doing this is to be selective in the 3 cards being submitted for initial handicap award. If you submit only the 3 best cards you have achieved and ignore all the other rounds you play in the same period of time, then it is not a true reflection of your general playing ability.

Another situation is where a player submits scorecards from social games, asking for a reduction under “General Play”.

Do you have any faith in the CONGU handicapping system?

 

[USER1999]

If someone wants a vanity handicap, fine, let them have it. I just hope they don't put their name down in any drawn pairs comps, as I don't want to play with them.

As to congu, I am fine with it til something better comes along.

 

[Snelly]

I suppose to some extent I set my own handicap as I am not a member of a club and therefore do not have an official one. I have two society handicaps which are a relatively accurate reflection of my game though and when playing a friendly game with people for the first time, I tend to tell them the situation and let them choose what I play off.

In a wider sense though, I think Congu have it about right although I cannot claim to be an expert in this area.

 

[chrisd]

Another situation is where a player submits scorecards from social games, asking for a reduction under “General Play”.

He is only allowed to submit a card if he declares his intent to do so before the round starts so if he does, and then has a mare, he will go up .1


Chris

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I thought that you could no longer be adjusted on general play?, not sure.

If you get a 'vanity' handicap, surely it would gradually come back to a realistic level as you would not be competitive in qualifying rounds and would achieve a 0.1 adjustement upward each time. Odd thought, I only ever seem to come up against people who mysteriously have one of their 'best ever' rounds when they beat me up in a match having played 10 shots better than their handicap, I believe that there is a euphomistic name for this type of player.

 

[DaveM]

I really dont see the point getting a false handicap. You are only kidding yourself, no one else. As soon as you get a club out you tell everyone, how good or bad you are!

 

[Anders]

Would having an artificially low handicap to start with relieve some of the pressure on high handicappers though? When I started I felt my first handicap was too high, and the pressure of trying to get it down to what I thought was right in every competition led to nothing but .1 increases for some time. Most of my cuts came after making a complete mess of one or two of the first few holes, resigning myself to the fact that I won't get cut this round and so just relaxing and playing better golf.

I know there is the whole argument of the pressure of having a card in your hand adds to it, but if I started out where I thought I should be then I don't think I would have been so concerned about chasing cuts.

 

[johnboywalton]

There are a couple areas I am not sure about, I wonder if someone can help clarify?

Can you get a handicap if you are not a member of a club but play there regulary? Can you get a handicap if you belong to a club, but do not play in the comps, or do you have to play in the comps?
Do the online ones mean any thing at all?

I know simple answers for a lot of you, but not to me??

 

[sweatysock41]

You cannot get an official handicap unless you are a member of a club affiliated to one of the national golf unions. You can get a handicap by submitting 3 cards indicating which tee you have played from, signed by a member with a handicap - these do not have to be under competition conditions. Online ones are worthless.

 

[chrisd]

There are a couple areas I am not sure about, I wonder if someone can help clarify?

Can you get a handicap if you are not a member of a club but play there regulary? Can you get a handicap if you belong to a club, but do not play in the comps, or do you have to play in the comps?
Do the online ones mean any thing at all?

I know simple answers for a lot of you, but not to me??

I think that the aswers are

1 .. No

2 .. Yes, you can put 3 cards in, signed by a playing partner and assuming they are reasonable scores, they will give you a handicap - It will lapse to an "inactive" status if you dont play in competitions but yu will not lose it completely

3 .. Online ones have no significance other than for casual games with your mates/ societies

It's aways best to ask and you will always get honest answers here


Chris

 

[timchump]

people trying to get false vanity handicaps are stupid in my opinion

i'm quite happy to play such people in competions, beat them and then collect my prizes from the pro shop.

thinking about it i wish more people had vanity handicaps

their just fooling themselves, it isn't going to make their shots go any longer or straighter

 

[Anders]

I believe you have to play in at least 3 qualifying comps a year to keep your handicap active.

 

[bobmac]

I have no problem with Congu as such.
As a system it is only as good as the golfers that use it and the club staff that implement it.

I'd rather see a new golfer put in his best 3 cards for a new handicap than someone submitting 3 rubbish cards on purpose to get a falsely high handicap, as that is in effect cheating.

My only problem is that is seems Congu has made it more difficult for the club golfer to get cut on general play if he/she feels their game warrants it.
I know it can be done, but it just seems as if the system is set up to make it very difficult as it has to be on a measured course, off white tees and declared as a supp card before going out and signed by both great grand parents.

I'd like to see a more flexible attitude towards the grumpy golfer who wants to get cut.
After all, a golfer who's handicap is too low only affects one person...him/herself.
A golfer who's handicap is too high affects everyone.

 

[johnboywalton]

You cannot get an official handicap unless you are a member of a club affiliated to one of the national golf unions. You can get a handicap by submitting 3 cards indicating which tee you have played from, signed by a member with a handicap - these do not have to be under competition conditions. Online ones are worthless.

Crystal...thank you

 

[Anders]

people trying to get false vanity handicaps are stupid in my opinion

i'm quite happy to play such people in competions, beat them and then collect my prizes from the pro shop.


When started I was not in it to win it, as they say. All I was interested in was getting my handicap down to where I wanted it. I didn't really care about £25 worth of pro-shop vouchers - sure it was nice when I won them but golf has always been about beating myself, not someone else. This may change when I can play more often and enter matchplay comps, but for now it's all about beating my own best score.

 

[timchump]

i guess i am win it to win it with a genuine handicap, i think competitions are the best and possibly should be the only way to get a handicap

I'm not sure whther you are missing my point, people with vanity handicaps in competitions are doing themselves no favours, but i guess such people don't enter many comps?

 

[Anders]

I think I get your point, but to me it depends on the person.

I enter as many comps as I can, which I admit is not many but that's because I don't play that much (once or twice a month on average). If I could, I would enter more but it would still be with the aim of getting my best score.

I just feel I lost a lot of enjoyment in the first couple of years playing, as I was always chasing handicap cuts and coming off frustrated (knowing that I had to wait another week to have another crack at it probably didn't help!). Now I have relaxed, in part because I'm playing less so my expectations are less, my handicap has actually come down and I'm enjoying my golf more

 

[Slicer30]

Put my three cards in last october when I was never breaking 90 and had been a member of the club for 6 months.

This year has seen a big improvement in my irons and I am usually just under the 90 mark and on some occasions in the low 80's.

In july I had a little purple patch and felt my handicap was not accurate reflection of my game, inside 2 weeks I submitted 3 supplementary cards or 79, 83 and 88 off a 23 handicap. Our club stated they'd only use them in the event that I didn't submit any qualifiers cards. So angrily I was resigned to getting the handicap down like everyone else. The extra pressure of having a handicap I thought didn't match my game and trying to get it down hampered me and I started playing worse.

It has come down gradually now and having reviewed my scores for the year its probably what I deserve. 19.6 matches up as I am usually in the 87-92 scoring range and every now and again shoot a low 80's.

Now that I have accepted it, definetely have less pressure to get a big cut. Was goin out aiming to get huge cuts rather than a steady 0.3 every time.

In summary - I think it works but takes time to find your level.

 

[Anders]

Maybe the club pro should be encouraged to play 9 with new non-handicapped members, so that their first handicap is a more accurate reflection of their ability?

 

[rosecott]

inside 2 weeks I submitted 3 supplementary cards or 79, 83 and 88 off a 23 handicap. Our club stated they'd only use them in the event that I didn't submit any qualifiers cards.

Your club was totally out of order. They cannot refuse to accept and process Supplementary Scores onto your handicap record.

The downside, however, is that once you have notified intent - in advance - to submit a Supplementary Score, you have to submit the card. If you don't submit, you should go up 0.1 anyway.