The peasants are revolting

[dronfield]

Paying to play your own course every week - madness

That comment is made a lot - particularly by us folk still working, who may not have that many opportunities to play during the week.

 

[garyinderry]

Oh no, you've gone and done it now, the secret's out. My pro shop credit income stream will never be the same again.
Seriously, one year I calculated my twos sweep profit and asked the club pro to transfer half of it to the junior section competitions prizes fund.
I think everyone knows what the twos sweep is all about, that's why it is optional. I have to alleviate my guilt from time to time.
I'm doing quite well this year so far. 8 twos in 13 comps. I might offer a prize on Club Champ day to whoever makes the highest (not NR) score.

I've covered my comp fees this year on 2's quite comfortably. Suuuusssshhhhhhh

 

[Foxholer]

I have been a Cat 1 player for 35 years and am currently off 3 and I would respectfully disagree with that being a rule of thumb. All golfers can have good and bad days. But if you’re off a low figure it can seem like you’re consistent because to many 79 gross still sounds alright but to me it’s a pretty poor round of golf. It’s the same as a 10 handicapper dropping 30 shots in percentage terms.

Loads of cat 1 players fluctuate wildly in terms of scoring. In my last 20, the scores range from 67 to 83!

Where I would agree though is that + players are very consistent. There’s about ten of them at our club and none of them ever have a complete mare.

The above would simply make you another example of an elderly Cat 1 golfer. The graph of your scores is likely pretty similarly 'erratic' as Voyager's probably for similar reasonbs.
Oh and I'd dispute the validity of your '10 capper' comparison! That falls into the 'Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics' category!

 

[badgergm]

Our club has quite a few multi round competitions - 6 in total I think, with one being an epic four rounds, over two weekends. Most play the last round in reverse order, I.e leaders out last, and gather round last green for a presentation. Certainly gives the more consistent low people an advantag, and is a great way of doing things. Pressure in the last group!

Main point is that with scratch / divisioval / multi round comps then should be able to be creative and satisfy all standards of golfers. That might mean an update of long cherished traditions though......

 

[Tashyboy]

Can we make it to 500 posts in 24 hours? Will that be a record? Will the OP win an award if we do?

Certainly hope not, my initial post was someone moaning he has no chance of winning a board comp playing off 3, but it transpires he has 4 one pointers on his card. So he ain’t never gonna win. My concern is that a couple of things he did say folk can relate to. Folk dropping out of comps being a main one. Surely that cannot be good.
However at our place to enter a comp is £4 plus £1 for 2’s. Whether that is a 18 hole or a 9 hole. It seems the norm that folk are now saying stuff it for £5 for a nine holer and folk are having more and more fiddles.

 

[jim8flog]

Two questions I would ask are

1. Are low handicap players really worried about board comps? We used to have a scratch knockout comp but there were so few players that entered we ditched it .

2. Are players really bothered about winning personal trophies? We have a very large box full of uncollected personal trophies. Is a name on the main club trophy sufficient?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Two questions I would ask are

1. Are low handicap players really worried about board comps? We used to have a scratch knockout comp but there were so few players that entered we ditched it .

2. Are players really bothered about winning personal trophies? We have a very large box full of uncollected personal trophies. Is a name on the main club trophy sufficient?

1. At my place many are. We had 32 entries in our scratch K/O. Not a huge number but decent enough representation of the low guys
2. Not so much I am thinking. I'm not bothered. Becoming part of the historical record of the club is what I really value, inscription on trophy is nice, recorded on a board also.

 

[rulefan]

I thought that was the purpose, but not so, as I have been informed by those who have given it a lot more study than I have.
I think the main concept of average of best 8 of last 20 appears to be universal, but Handicap Index, Course Handicaps and Playing Handicaps, and how they are calculated, varies around the world. I would be very wary of someone coming to my club from Australia, quoting their GA Index as equivalent to my EG Index and playing in an open, and that could be my dear brother.

I think you will find that the Australian GA Handicap is virtually the same as what everyone else calls Handicap Index. Further, the GA Daily Handicap is equivalent to our Playing Handicap (ie Course Handicap with 93% built in). I would be interested knowing where you think there are substantial differences.

 

[harpo_72]

Our place hasn’t seen this trend and the low handicappers have done well. Nothing stand out, to suggest there is an issue.
However the course suits the low handicapper who has distance and control.. bunkers placed between 200-230 Yards won’t bother them … so I suppose the complaint is, it is killing the competition by penalising those players who cannot pass those distances safely. I get there is a skill but it’s more skilful to thread your way through than blast over the top of the traps.
So in the end your scratcher /lowey should select his new club more carefully

 

[rosecott]

Paying to play your own course every week - madness

Not all clubs are the same.

My club, and many others are the same, operates on a site run by a limited company which provides all the facilities and sets the annual fees to pay for them. As a club, we have no direct income and rely on 20% or so of competition fee income to run the club - computer hardware and software, trophies, office expenses etc. etc.. Without the income stream from competition fees, we would not exist as a club.

 

[Foxholer]

Paying to play your own course every week - madness

You don't have to!
Though I've never had a problem with doing so - it's a pretty trivial amount after all. When I was Comp Sec. the 2s sweep was always 'non-profit' for the club and there was minimal 'profit' from entry fees - 10% from memory, which subsidised/sponsored Interclub Match food.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

We don't have to pay to play competitions - and didn't at my previous clubs - we do have a couple of quid sweep and twos but they are optional. Can't see why anyone would insist on charging members.

What funds the prize vouchers or trophies?

We pay to enter every comp and the money goes towards the prizes

 

[davidy233]

What funds the prize vouchers or trophies?

We pay to enter every comp and the money goes towards the prizes

We have a sweep (voluntary) and that's divvied up between the winners in each division, most people pay a quid or two to take part but it doesn't mean you can't win if you don't pay - you just don't get any money for winning in that instance - Trophies already exist for anything that's worth winning - I'd assume that a very small part of my membership fee goes towards the cost of the 'keepsake' trophies that get handed out for winners to take home.

 

[The Dog.]

The above would simply make you another example of an elderly Cat 1 golfer. The graph of your scores is likely pretty similarly 'erratic' as Voyager's probably for similar reasonbs.
Oh and I'd dispute the validity of your '10 capper' comparison! That falls into the 'Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics' category!

Elderly? You cheeky clueless git!

 

[davidy233]

2. Are players really bothered about winning personal trophies? We have a very large box full of uncollected personal trophies. Is a name on the main club trophy sufficient?

Love this one - anyone up for admitting to having a shelf in their house where they display their gold painted plastic tat golf trophies?

 

[nickjdavis]

Love this one - anyone up for admitting to having a shelf in their house where they display their gold painted plastic tat golf trophies?

The only golf trophy I display is a metal nut and bolt golfer breaking a club over his knee for shooting the worst score in a society event at Beau Desert back in 2012. My only gripe with getting the trophy is that my score wasn't the worst of the day...but it was the worst of all those who stuck it out and played the full 18 holes.

 

[Diamond]

Just some thoughts.

Competitions I have entered, are run with 85% to 95% of your handicap. This favours the lower handicap golfer.
Payout for gross score, this favours the lower handicap golfer.
Payout for 2s, this favours the lower handicap golfer.
Club championship off scratch and handicap limit of 12, this favours the lower handicap golfer.

All the board comps at my club are won by someone different each year except the Club Championship and the Matchplay pairs. One is off scratch the other full handicap the rest is an eclectic mix of names.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Love this one - anyone up for admitting to having a shelf in their house where they display their gold painted plastic tat golf trophies?

Not me. They are all in boxes in the loft apart from a framed photo of me with three trophies I won in 1995 and another won of me and Mrs V with the club champ trophy in 1991. I like that one for the smile on Mrs V's face.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I think you will find that the Australian GA Handicap is virtually the same as what everyone else calls Handicap Index. Further, the GA Daily Handicap is equivalent to our Playing Handicap (ie Course Handicap with 93% built in). I would be interested knowing where you think there are substantial differences.

I did not say "substantial" I said "varies". You have given an example "93%" not 95%. Most cases this might make no difference once rounding to a playing or daily handicap, but it is different.
The GA formulas below vary from what we use in GB and I. Maybe not substantially, but they vary. What I like about the Ozzie system is that there is no Course Handicap. This has eliminated the misconception that many have here about "losing a shot with 95% being applied when lower handicappers do not lose a shot". That misconception still persists widely around my club. It sickens me.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Elderly? You cheeky clueless git!

Maybe he got confused between me and you. I don't know him personally. If he's elderly, you could forgive him for his mistake.
I am also a clueless git, sometimes. But I'm not that keen on being described as "elderly" either.