What do you think is your golf handicap ceiling?

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Might sound like a cop-out but I don't want to put a number on it, same reason I didn't enter the 2013 handicap thread. I'm going to try to break down some mental scoring barriers this year, found myself "allowing" myself my handicap at the end of last year, after making good progress at the start of the season I felt myself uneasy in new territory and an early double bogey would instantly start the counter rolling - "only 9 shots left". No way to shoot a low score. The result was a bunch of +1s and buffers.

This year I'm going to try to play medals like I played matchplay last year, completely uninhibited by numbers and just playing the best I can on every hole. I played low in those games, a few of those in the year and my handicap would be slashed. I'm not going to stand on the first tee as a 12 h/c, that number doesn't mean anything when I'm playing very well or indeed very badly. I'm hoping that by becoming un-obsessed with the numbers I shoot really really low ones.

Have no idea where that will lead this year or beyond, but should be a fun experiment this season anyway. If I can keep it up of course!

Yup - I get a lot of identification with whatyou say in the first paragraph of your post @Curls. If ths year I can get back to single figures, and stay there, I will be delighted - 6 for me is maybe a 3yr target. If I am 9.4 come end Sept this year I will be a satisfied bunny.

 

[Khamelion]

I'm fairly fortunate in that my daughter is of an age where she is independant and my other half doesn't mind me going out to practice, I tend to drop into the driving range on the way home from work. Unfortunatley I really only get to play on the course once a fortnight due to work or if I take time off, so my course time is limited and I've not been out on the course since end of October.

I know I would like to break 90, 85 would be good 80 would be brilliant, but I am realistic to understand that without actual course time, practice in the DR and lessons are not going to let me achieve my goals.

 

[Curls]

Yup - I get a lot of identification with whatyou say in the first paragraph of your post @Curls. If ths year I can get back to single figures, and stay there, I will be delighted - 6 for me is maybe a 3yr target. If I am 9.4 come end Sept this year I will be a satisfied bunny.

What are you at now? PM if its a forum no-no to post it!

I love reading about the mental game, just finished "Peak performance" and as with all these types of books its 80% stuff I know, 10% stuff I know I'm never going to implement and 10% gold. This is what I got out of this one. I'm going to try to set different targets this year, ones not relating to numbers. I've just bought a little notebook and am going to write a goal for each hole I play, look at it before I tee off, and whatever has gone before or is yet to come will be completely irrelevant to achieving that goal.

Example: The first is a short par 4. Goals will bit aim for the left side of the fairway and approach to below the pin. I have no idea how many times last year I let excitement carry me away, end up on the right side of the fairway or above the hole on the green. It's a good birdie opportunity but I parred it loads and even bogey a few times. Only time I birdied it was in matchplay, because I was going out with the attitude that I had to win the first and birdie was the way to do it. When I did that the rest of the course didn't matter, unlike Medal day when I started the clock at 12 h/c and counted down as I lost shots.

Fair enough there are days when your swing is in and you're on fire, and there are days when you can't get it going, but I let the number at the turn define how I play the back 9 and hopefully with a list of instructions for myself I can play past the numbers and in the process shoot low ones.

Big plans, we'll see how well I stick to them

 

[HawkeyeMS]

For me personally I think I can get to 8 but when I get there, I'll think I can get to 6 because I believe if you stop thinking you can improve, you'll get worse.

I also believe there are two types of handicaps, physical handicaps and mental handicaps. Many people play to their mental handicap because when they put themselves in a position to shoot below their handicap, they think themsleves out of it.

 

[Khamelion]

"...am going to write a goal for each hole I play, look at it before I tee off, and whatever has gone before or is yet to come will be completely irrelevant to achieving that goal."

I like this idea, think I will do the same thing, there are a few holes on the course I play where I always do the same thing, a gentle reminder before hand to try something different may just spark something mentally and who knows....

cheer for that

 

[bladeplayer]

This expression always puzzles me. It may be that my relatively consistent scoring is different from the streaky way others play, but in order to get down to a particular handicap, you have to actually play below it! So 'merely' playing to it should not be a problem!

Seems to be more an attitude issue than anything else, though crossing a Category boundary does reduce the buffer allowance.

Speaking personaly ,
If i Have a couple of good weeks i could get cut & possibly esr'd , i could come down maybe 2 or 3 shots,

that would take me down to 4 but my general play say over a couple months i possibly could not consistantly play to 4 & end up geting a series of .1 back ..

 

[Curls]

I like this idea, think I will do the same thing, there are a few holes on the course I play where I always do the same thing, a gentle reminder before hand to try something different may just spark something mentally and who knows....

cheer for that

No worries chap, sounds like you have lots of more important things going on than golf so will be playing for enjoyment, the chapter of that book I'm referring to would really help that. The notebook with a goal for each hole isn't the way he tells it really, he says things like "the goal is to hit 10 out of 14 fairways" or "hit 6 greens in reg" or "make 3 birdies". Again its all taking focus away from "get in under 12 h/c", which has to be the way forward for me at least. I need constant reminding to stay focussed in medal golf hence the hole-specific targets. I'm never going to make all of them, that's not the point, and when I don't hit a fairway for example there will be a secondary set of targets to limit the amount of damage I can do.

Like I say, not going to be easy to stick to but worth a punt anyway

 

[NWJocko]

I don't practice and play mayb once a week sometime once every 2 weeks due to young family and work but play off 6 and I find even if I have a bad round I won't score higher than 81 and good rounds are 2 or 3 over.

I'm very similar to this, off 7 but play once a week at most and never practice. Won't get any lower the way I go about things just now but not really bothered.

My short game (50yds in) is absolutely appalling so if I could practice it would be on that. With practice I like to think I could get down to 3 maybe. Not going to happen for a long while though.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

What are you at now? PM if its a forum no-no to post it!

Don't understand. I said I got a lot of identification from what you wrote in that para - by which I mean - a lot of what you wrote rings bells with me and relects my thoughts also. What's forum no-no about that?

 

[pokerjoke]

If you could use a driver you'd be 2 shots a round better off comfortably. I don't really think you WANT to use a driver though. If you're honest.

Thanks for the vote of confidence,however i know your right[i must resist].
Seriously though if i could hit a driver 20 yards past my 3 wood,thats 2 clubs
less into the green,got to be worth 2 shots.

 

[Curls]

Don't understand. I said I got a lot of identification from what you wrote in that para - by which I mean - a lot of what you wrote rings bells with me and relects my thoughts also. What's forum no-no about that?

Bit of a misunderstanding chap, I read your paragraph perfectly - I was referring to the conversation had on here some time ago about why people put their h/cs in their sigs or not. Some folk don't like to post it for their own reasons, if you were one of those then I wanted to respect that and let you PM me. A forum no-no for some revealing their h/c so I didn't want to force you into it. If its not a no-no for you - doesnae matter!

 

[MadAdey]

I like the idea behind your new approach to the game. I think it could work on a normal day with not much wind, but I know of a few holes at my place that could have a sheet of A4 all to themself depending on the wind.

 

[Curls]

I like the idea behind your new approach to the game. I think it could work on a normal day with not much wind, but I know of a few holes at my place that could have a sheet of A4 all to themself depending on the wind.

Obviously I haven't thought it through

Lol. Yeah you have a point, at our course if there's a strong wind its predictable enough, prevailing even! Guess I'll have a little book of calm and a little book of wind.

 

[Garesfield ACE]

I am a realist...long term hope would be 14..by the time am 60.......7 years time.

 

[Piece]

I think the very best I could achieve would between 1-3. I've got too many long term flaws in my swing to realistically be better than that.

 

[SimonC]

I would say 1 or 2 just by getting rid of a couple of silly bogeys or doubles I tend to throw in every round. I've been told that I hit it as well as most scratch players, I just tend to get in my own way i.e. taking silly risks when I don't need to.

Maybe this year I will learn to play sensible golf and get down a couple of shots............actually stuff that just grip it and rip it's more fun.

 

[Fader]

I don't like to think their is a ceiling on how far I can improve or how low I can get. I'm a very goal orientated person and if I stop having goals of how low I want to get then I'll stop improving.

It's just about having realistic short term goals that make the long term happen. I started playing regularly and got my first handicap in July 2011 and was given a handicap of 19. My goal longterm was get to cat 1 by July 2013 givig me 2 full tears to do it, so for the end of 2011 it was to try to get to 13, so that in 2012 I could go for a single figure handicap of 8 and then push on to 5 or less by July this year and set new goals after that.

Turns out by end of 2011 I got down to 11 so was ahead of my goal setting, so I thought aim for 7 in 2012 to make it easier in 2013. Problem was I changed jobs and lost a lot of practice time and gained a couple 0.1s back early last year so reset my goal back to 8 as it was initially, and despite some shocking results early on in the year I finished up on 8.1 by the end of the playing season in October. So puts me back on track for this years long term goal.

When I get 5 I will then look at trying to get to 3 and beyond that scratch in a couple of years especially now I have the practice time again.

A lot of people do ask how do I enjoy my golf if I'm constantly striving to be lower instead of just enjoying the game, for me being very competitive the enjoyment is being the best I can be whilst enjoying the company of others playing this game.

 

[JustOne]

I now feel I could get down to 6... Any more than that, I'd have to practice.

That's summed me up.

I can play off 6 and not really worry about anything
Play every week and I could be 5 or 4
Practice as well and that could be 3 or 2
Be totally obsessed and I'd say 1 or scratch.

You only get out what you put in. Without practice the short game and putting are total guesswork.

 

[MadAdey]

Obviously I haven't thought it through

Lol. Yeah you have a point, at our course if there's a strong wind its predictable enough, prevailing even! Guess I'll have a little book of calm and a little book of wind.

Not knocking your thinking mate. The 4th at my place (430 SI1) 45* dogleg left at about 280 yards. OB 10 yards from the right hand side of the fairway all the way down to the green. wind is either straight behind which means I will hit a 3w to stop myself running out of fairway or it blows into your face off the left so I hit driver to get it far enough down there so that I have a chance of getting home. This hole can easily play as a par 5 into the wind, so knowing what I am going to do on the tee is key to this tricky hole.

 

[Justman]

Sometimes I think my ceiling is 28!

I don't really know yet what my ceiling could be but I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out.