Whats your handicap

[backspin]

I wanted to subject this do your think you could be lower at a different course.I think i could be at
at most courses.I play lower than my handicap at away matches.There must be some serious golfers on here.Lets see.

 

[Lipout]

Backspin, i am the same. The first time i play a new course i always play well below my handicap, but i have an explanation. When you play a course you dont know, you have no idea where the real problem areas are (unless some plonker tells you). Therefore you play what you see, ie: the fairway and the green. But when you know the course, you know where all the trouble is. This then becomes a magnet for your ball, because you say to yourself "dont put my ball there!" And thats where it goes.
"THE HARDEST 6 INCHES IN GOLF IS BETWEEN THE EARS"

 

[swingstar1]

I'm 9.6 but hoping to get down towards 8.0 and even scrape 7 this year

I play a course that's very long but quite open so doesnt reward my short off the tee game!

play in quite a few men's opens and aberations aside I normally manage to get it roudn in the buffer

 

[Teetotal]

You are prob playing better becuase it's an away match and you are really wanting to win. They do say that to improve your game you need to get out of the comfort zone and challenge yourself by playing diff courses.

 

[golfdonkey]

I think it depends on your level. I'm off 20 which means I make the same sort of mistakes - duffs, thins and snap hooks – wherever I play. So, regardless of the length of the course, I'll still have trouble hitting it straight and true. If you're a low handicapper who can belt the ball 280 off the tee and get the ball up and down more often than not, there are certainly going to be courses that you can be more effective on.

 

[furyk_or_unique]

I agree wholeheartedly with Lipout. When you play somewhere you don't know as well, you play with greater freedom because you don't fully appreciate exactly how bad or good the shot you've just hit is. Back home you'd either be standing there after a miscue knowing full well the best you can do from there is make double, or building up your hopes perhaps too much because you know you've just nailed it into position A and really should be creating a birdie chance from there. Too much knowledge perhaps when ignorance could be bliss??
One other point in response to Backspin's opening gambit - there is a general feeling that, hard though the Standard Scratch Scheme tries to bring parity, it simply isn't always possible to factor in the difficulty levels of some courses - especially seasonal variations such as unplayably firm sloping fairways in the summer. That is one reason why it's widely felt that players from certain courses have handicaps that travel well because they'd probably be one or two shots better elsewhere. Not sure what you can do about that - except relish away matches if you're in that fortunate position!!

 

[PaulOHagan]

I find the SSS at my course makes it really difficult to get cut and as a result our handicaps seem to travel really well. Standard scratch is three under par and as a category one player getting cut means shooting around level par or better- no easy task on a course exposed to the elements with tricky greens. Not sure whether I’d prefer a low handicap or one that traveled well.

 

[MikeH]

I'm 7.2 and although I think I play at quite a hard course I never seem to score that much better on supposedly 'easier' courses. Not sure why that is maybe I get too carried away and think I'm going to go low and stop concentrating as much

I'd like to think that if I was a member of an easier course then I'd cut a shot possibly even two off that over a season but I am a hopeless optimist!

First medal for me this weekend - just hoping it dries out a bit before Saturday

 

[JustinHarvie]

I agree with golfdonkey - wise words. I seem to make the same mistakes on new courses as I do on my normal course. My old nemesis, the hook shot, lets me down wherever I play. In my view, its only when you start playing to a low handicap that the potential advantages of playing on a new course become a factor.

 

[MacMachattie]

I think that's right JustinHarvie. I find that, as Paul09, says the standard scratch in my club's weekly medals is often under par. If you travel around and play in open competitions you find the CSS tends to be considerably higher.

 

[peter_constant]

I played a few open events last year because really enjoy getting out and playing new courses, the competitive element and thought it'd be good for my game but just ended up getting .2 back everytime! Not sure that's the way to crack single figures - I'm 11.9 and really want to get down to single figures this year

any advice?

 

[The_Golfer]

I agree with the general consensus; when you play a new course you tend to play shot by shot and you don't get eaten up with as much anticipation as you would on a course you know well. You also tend to think more about club selection as opposed to knowing/reaching for the same club on each hole/fairway at your home club. I know that at my home club the fairways are so tight its out of bounds left and right virtually every hole; very punishing but it educates you to stick it straight as possible down the fairway and no overpowering hits as this is too risky. When I play elsewhere it's such a great feeling to look out into some huge open fairways, very forgiving and also varying when it comes to positions and club selections.... still have to accommodate that flamin hook though... bahhhhh!

 

[Coopsarama]

I play off 22 and struggle to break 100 at my own course (think I've done it once) yet when I played another not far away from me I hit 94straight off the bat. Something in this theory definitley!

 

[ocha84]

I'm officially an 18 handicapper, but in my last six matches I always shoot 12 over. This year I'm trying to go down to nine.

I'm looking for lessons at the moment.