the case for the low handicap advantage...

[duncan mackie]

We get lots of threads bemoaning the bandit, high handicapper, fast improver and even fast improving, high handicap junior bandits in any competitions!

Club championship for us is 36 hole medal over 2 days. I couldn't help noticing that even for the nett scores the top 10 places were occupied with handicaps as follows:-

11, 4, 4, 2, 2, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3

the event has no handicap restriction, no junior restriction (CONGU handicap is all that's required) so I wonder where all these thread provoking, headline grabbing golfers were? Maybe they all headed off somewhere else to play a BB stableford NQ event instead?

this also represented almost all cat 1 entries, only 3 x 5 handicappers failed to make the top 10.

in my book the reward for excellence built into the handicapping system works well, possibly too well for medal events now.

:thup:

 

[pbrown7582]

our last 2 medals were won with net 62 and net 64 (sss 71) gross 68 and 69 so the winners were off 6 and 5.

 

[Joff]

In other news, water is wet.

It's generally stableford where higher handicappers have the advantage, such is the apparent inability to keep the bigs scores off.

 

[turkish]

In other news, water is wet.

It's generally stableford where higher handicappers have the advantage, such is the apparent inability to keep the bigs scores off.

:whoo:Hiya

 

[bobmac]

Official statistics published by the DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT.......

'There were 24,580 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in the year ending June 2014'

'Provisional estimates for 2013 show that between 230 and 290 people were killed in accidents in
Great Britain where at least one driver was over the drink drive limit. '

Therefor you are less likely to be killed or seriously injured if you drive pished


"Lies - damn lies - and statistics,"

 

[garyinderry]

Major at my old club was won two weeks ago by a 28 handicap with a 5 point margin of victory. 46 points enough for the win.

I checked his card to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. He just seemed to keep it simple. Parred the four par3's, an easy par 4 and one other I think. Just kept the big numbers at bay.

28 men do sometimes clean up.

 

[rosecott]

Just returned from a Sunday Driver at Greetham Valley - excellent 2 days, 2 interesting and enjoyable courses and very good hotel. The trophy was won by a 27-handicapper who scored 48 points on the shorter course on the first day and 43 points on the second day - 91 points over the 2 rounds.

 

[duncan mackie]

Major at my old club was won two weeks ago by a 28 handicap with a 5 point margin of victory. 46 points enough for the win.

I checked his card to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. He just seemed to keep it simple. Parred the four par3's, an easy par 4 and one other I think. Just kept the big numbers at bay.

28 men do sometimes clean up.

they do indeed - and I would expect them to from time to time; it's just that from threads on here you would think it's not worth the average cat 1 golfer bothering to turn out in a competition!

 

[Region3]

I think one of the bones of contention is that there is nothing a low hc can do through their play to prevent a high handicapper winning, whereas the high hc can shoot a score that is near enough impossible for a low hc to beat.

As an example, a 23hc won a medal last month with a nett 58. Our amateur course record is 69.

Without checking back through the records I'd guess that the majority of medals at our place are won by mid hc's.
The last 4 were a 10, a 16 and 2 in the 20's.

 

[duncan mackie]

Just returned from a Sunday Driver at Greetham Valley - excellent 2 days, 2 interesting and enjoyable courses and very good hotel. The trophy was won by a 27-handicapper who scored 48 points on the shorter course on the first day and 43 points on the second day - 91 points over the 2 rounds.

not sure what a Sunday Driver is or who was eligible but the clubs events don't show it in the results section...

 

[Old Skier]

"Lies - damn lies - and statistics,"

however the results shown by DM are more the norm along with the amount of match play events held by clubs being eventually won by the low handicapper.

The advantage now is that the stats that are now available to EG and CONGU are factual and updated every time a club holds a qualifier.

 

[rosecott]

not sure what a Sunday Driver is or who was eligible but the clubs events don't show it in the results section...

A good hotel deal with 2 rounds and DBB.

 

[patricks148]

all our Puller medals have been won by 15+ handicaps . young lad who's off +4 has been pipped by at least 2 shots and he has reg shot gross scores in the 60's in every one.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

all our Puller medals have been won by 15+ handicaps . young lad who's off +4 has been pipped by at least 2 shots and he has reg shot gross scores in the 60's in every one.

Happened at my place the other week. 7 under gross was beaten by 2 shots in weekly medal.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Our last medal in division 1 was won by a guy off 11 (with 12 the cut off) and division 2 by a guy off 14 (so one of the lowest in that section). Not sure it really proves anything (Div 1 won with net 68 or -2 and Div 2 with net 70 - level par) other than no-one took the course apart and with two single figure guys second and third in div won that it makes it a more level playing field when these competitions are split.

 

[Foxholer]

We get lots of threads bemoaning the bandit, high handicapper, fast improver and even fast improving, high handicap junior bandits in any competitions!

Club championship for us is 36 hole medal over 2 days. I couldn't help noticing that even for the nett scores the top 10 places were occupied with handicaps as follows:-

11, 4, 4, 2, 2, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3

the event has no handicap restriction, no junior restriction (CONGU handicap is all that's required) so I wonder where all these thread provoking, headline grabbing golfers were? Maybe they all headed off somewhere else to play a BB stableford NQ event instead?

this also represented almost all cat 1 entries, only 3 x 5 handicappers failed to make the top 10.

in my book the reward for excellence built into the handicapping system works well, possibly too well for medal events now.

:thup:

This doesn't surprise me! Course was probably toughened up and played rather long for Club Champs, so I would expect the advantage would move towards lower guys.

If you factor in the numbers of 'mid handicap' guys - and their potential to be improving by more than a shot, then it's also no surprise that they often feature high up in the nett leaderboard! There are, normally, simply a lot more of them!!!

But check out the QF or later rounds of Knockout comps. I'm certain lower handicap players feature there in higher numbers than would be expected by the ratio in the first round.

 

[Oxfordcomma]

After a similar thread a couple of months ago I had a look at the results for my club's competitions and they showed very clearly that the low handicappers win more comps than the high/mid handicappers.

We've all got stories of an improving golfer hitting 46 points but it's not as common as many make out. It sticks in the memory though, whereas a Cat 1 golfer winning doesn't. My weekend comp this week (captain's day) was a Stableford, won with 42 points. By a guy playing off 3.

 

[Slab]

The Cat 1 guys must tee up with a high expectation of shooting well in each comp because lets face it they normally do (maybe even under par) but being so good at the game it cant be easy to have a poorer golfer scoop a placing if the cat 1 has actually had a better than average day

If the cat 1 wins playing (for them) average golf its no shock/surprise, but on the less frequent occasion they lose while playing really well (to someone off a 20 shots inferior handicap) its a talking point

It's as if the fact that it was a handicap comp should be temporarily forgotten in light of a 2 under gross round and it does seem a bit of an injustice if it doesn't win but the numbers do seem to support that the handicap system is still weighted in their favour

 

[Sweep]

After a similar thread a couple of months ago I had a look at the results for my club's competitions and they showed very clearly that the low handicappers win more comps than the high/mid handicappers.

We've all got stories of an improving golfer hitting 46 points but it's not as common as many make out. It sticks in the memory though, whereas a Cat 1 golfer winning doesn't. My weekend comp this week (captain's day) was a Stableford, won with 42 points. By a guy playing off 3.

+1 Good post.
A handicap golf competition is based on the player scoring the best against his / her handicap on the day wins. It's not necessarily about being the best golfer. It's about being the best in relation to your handicap. This is why medals are often divisioned. If we don't like that or feel that the system is too open to an inexperienced golfer having a blinder, then we need to change the system by increasing the number of rounds per year required for an active handicap.
I agree with this post. A high handicapper winning is much more rare than we believe and sticks in the memory when it does happen.

 

[FairwayDodger]

It's all just anecdotal. A quick look through the main comps at my place over the last few months shows high and mid handicaps winning plenty and low handicaps not a lot. Might be a different story over the next few months.

The reason it comes up so often is, as others have alluded to, the low players generally don't shatter their handicaps even when playing well but high handicaps can so its a sore one when you have a good round and lose to someone with a terrible gross score but stupidly low nett.

Doesn't mean the handicap system is wrong just that it's harder for low players to deal with psychologically!