So..... What is the best way to work out h/capping???

I certainly think something should be done and I think the cuts that come with a good round should be harsher.

For example, last year I had three rounds that were four over gross. I think I should have been cut to 4 but I remained at the 7/8 region.
I don't think the cut should be harsh for a one off wonder round but if someone is regularly (three times) shooting the same score then a bigger cut should occur.
I appreciate that clubs can cut players once a year but mine only seems to take 'majors' into consideration and not monthly medals/stablefords.
 
How about a computer system where all the members are listed and anyone can change someones handicap after they have played with or against another member - bit like a handicap wikipedia!

I only suggest this as everyone thinks they know, that everyone who wins something, is a bandit and what their real handicap should be - so change it and see how good they are at being better than the current system..
 
I can't see a system that will eradicate those that wish to live and play outtside the paremeters and therefore be in a position to cheat and clean up in these big events. For the most part the current system works for the vast majority and up to a point is manageable for the H/C secs to operate. No-one wants to give up hours of their time and use a lumbering dinosaur of a system.

Is the new version better than the predecessor. Probably. Is it perfect. No. Is it the best of a bad lot. Possibly. Either way it is here to stay for the foreseeable and so all we need to do now is find a way of trawling the net and catching these handicap cheats
 
I certainly think something should be done and I think the cuts that come with a good round should be harsher.

For example, last year I had three rounds that were four over gross. I think I should have been cut to 4 but I remained at the 7/8 region.
I don't think the cut should be harsh for a one off wonder round but if someone is regularly (three times) shooting the same score then a bigger cut should occur.
I appreciate that clubs can cut players once a year but mine only seems to take 'majors' into consideration and not monthly medals/stablefords.

Two points:

2 over gross against what - par or SSS/CSS? If against par rather than SSS/CSS, there can be a difference of maybe 5 shots.

All qualifiers are considered on Annual Review. There is a "target performance" according to your handicap level and your overall performance is gauged against that.
 
Two points:

2 over gross against what - par or SSS/CSS? If against par rather than SSS/CSS, there can be a difference of maybe 5 shots.

All qualifiers are considered on Annual Review. There is a "target performance" according to your handicap level and your overall performance is gauged against that.

I was 4 over par and, as a result of the CSS, got cut 0.6. That's fine if it's a one off but it wasn't. I did it again. And again. So, my suggestion is to then automatically cut the handicap to 4. Otherwise, I'm still off 7 when, based on recent performance, I should be off 4.
 
I was 4 over par and, as a result of the CSS, got cut 0.6. That's fine if it's a one off but it wasn't. I did it again. And again. So, my suggestion is to then automatically cut the handicap to 4. Otherwise, I'm still off 7 when, based on recent performance, I should be off 4.

To give a sensible, reasoned reponse, I would need to see your handicap record for an extended period but, from what you say, I couldn't argue against a cut to 4 but, any reduction which would bring you into Cat 1 would be carefully scrutinised by your County Union and only they can authorise it. From personal experience (not my handicap I hasten to add), the County Unions don't agree to Cat 1 status lightly.
 
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Depends on what handicap should be based on, for me it should be about ability some reckon the congu system works, others think it should be about form where the us systems works, maybe a hybrid of both would work best.
 
To give a sensible, reasoned reponse, I would need to see your handicap record for an extended period but, from what you say, I couldn't argue against a cut to 4 but, any reduction which would bring you into Cat 1 would be carefully scrutinised by your County Union and only they can authorise it. From personal experience (not my handicap I hasten to add), the County Unions don't agree to Cat 1 status lightly.

This is something else that I don't get - why do the county union have to authorise you becoming a cat 1 golfer? It's like you're joining some secret cult! Maybe, as a cat 1 golfer, when you stand on the first tee with other cat 1 golfers you have to do some weird handshake and show each other your left nipple.
We had a guy at out club who, off 9, shot 1 under gross. He was cut accordingly but, as yet, hasn't got close again. That's OK from a handicap point of view but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if I'd gone for my handicap last year and handed in three cards all of which were 4 over gross then my handicap would have been 4. Why does the same not apply once I've got a handicap? All it means is that my handicap of 7 is wrong.
 
This is something else that I don't get - why do the county union have to authorise you becoming a cat 1 golfer? It's like you're joining some secret cult! Maybe, as a cat 1 golfer, when you stand on the first tee with other cat 1 golfers you have to do some weird handshake and show each other your left nipple.
We had a guy at out club who, off 9, shot 1 under gross. He was cut accordingly but, as yet, hasn't got close again. That's OK from a handicap point of view but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if I'd gone for my handicap last year and handed in three cards all of which were 4 over gross then my handicap would have been 4. Why does the same not apply once I've got a handicap? All it means is that my handicap of 7 is wrong.

No - you would definitely not have been awarded 4 automatically. Your whole playing and handicap history would have been scrutinised before any award. It is unthinkable that anyone is going to submit 3 cards for handicap which will result in the initial award of a Cat 1 handicap without many, many questions needing answers.
 
I'm 50, I've been playing for 35 years but never joined a club so never had a handicap, I play 2-3 times a week.
I now want to join a club - here's my 3 cards....

What else is there......?
 
No - you would definitely not have been awarded 4 automatically. Your whole playing and handicap history would have been scrutinised before any award. It is unthinkable that anyone is going to submit 3 cards for handicap which will result in the initial award of a Cat 1 handicap without many, many questions needing answers.

Really? Why?
Say I'd played off 11 when I was 20 but then walked away from the game. I'd played sporadically until I decided to get back into the game in my mid 30s. I'd joined a golf club and my handicap cards were 4 over, 8 over and 11 over. What handicap would I have been given? Surely the 4 over handicap is the one to choose - otherwise I'm a bandit.
 
I think h'caps move too slowly in BOTH directions.

Let's say a new player manages 15,20 and 25 over, he gets 15. If he never plays to 15 in the first year, 15 is wrong, it was his best round. Another player hands in 20,25 and 30 over, he gets 20. As soon as he plays to 15 (if he does) he should be off 15. With the current system, it could take 50 weeks to go up from 15 to 20.

We have these things these days called "computers" which are very good at working with "numbers" (statistics etc.)

At the end of a season, as long as you've played more than, say, 10 games (regardless of Q - or not), hand in ALL cards from proper "arranged" comps (so not bounce games) and let the computer work it out.

Players coming down fast are nearly always playing off too high a h'cap and players that get close every week but never break nett par or 36 points can spend years in the wilderness.
 
No - you would definitely not have been awarded 4 automatically. Your whole playing and handicap history would have been scrutinised before any award. It is unthinkable that anyone is going to submit 3 cards for handicap which will result in the initial award of a Cat 1 handicap without many, many questions needing answers.


Why wont a handicap committee scrutinize that same playing handicap history of so called bandits then?
I would think that if a fellow shoots 3 rounds of AW's scores then he has to be genuine.....

Seems a bit weird that someone clearly good enough to play off of 4 isnt allowed to without the say so of a certain body.
Yet someone that clearly is protecting their handicap is allowed to keep playing with no intervention.:rolleyes:

Typical of another stupid rule in this game.
 
Oh, and b.t.w. I think a h'cap should be based on a formula that includes your "season's best" and your "general average".

I can't speak for low/high h'cap players, but I think I'd be well unhappy to get chopped to a figure based solely on the game of the season.
 
Oh, and b.t.w. I think a h'cap should be based on a formula that includes your "season's best" and your "general average".

I can't speak for low/high h'cap players, but I think I'd be well unhappy to get chopped to a figure based solely on the game of the season.

Why? You've shot that round for a reason - because you can.
Take the guy at my place who shot -1 gross off 9. Is he a +1 golfer? No. But, his game suggests he's better than 9. So, rather than cut him 2.2 shots why not cut him 5.5 shots? He'll be off 4.5 then. There's no way he can be a bandit off that handicap.
Then, for the rest of the season (or the following year if he scored that well in December) his scoring is monitored and if his game never gets near that mark again he gets shot/s back.
After all, he's a member of our club, we get to see him playing week in, week out so we can gauge his game.
 
I'm 50, I've been playing for 35 years but never joined a club so never had a handicap, I play 2-3 times a week.
I now want to join a club - here's my 3 cards....

What else is there......?


Now come on Rosie, you can't leave it like that...

Not a common occurance at all but I bet it's happened somewhere before.........
 
there used to be a rule 19 i think it was called , that allowed further cuts to be made at the h\cap sec discretion to a certain limit from one cat to a lower cat. is that rule extant.
 
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