Why are you the handicap you are?

[Dasit]

Why are you the handicap you are and what has stopped you from getting lower?


I see a lot of people at my club who have stayed the same handicap for years, fluctuating up and down a few shots over time but not trending downwards.

As a new golfer, I am wondering what is preventing golfers with more experience than myself to get lower.

10 to 13 handicaps seem to be quite common just from brief analysis of HDID.

 

[Norrin Radd]

before my leg injury i had started practicing a lot more and shot a sub par nine holes gross the week before my accident.
now im still recovering and i will be back at the practice field as hard as ever to improve on my what was 14 h/cap ,which is probably nearer 24 at the moment. just by lack of playing .
i think with most people its time on the range or lack of playing that keeps them where they are.
i know its lack of practice for me.

 

[Region3]

Driving. I think the rest of my game is pretty solid and consistent now, but I can be very wayward off the tee and leaving myself chipping out 4 or 5 times a round on a bad day.

Even on my good days I only hit 6 or 7 fairways, but I get luckier with the places I miss in.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

L.O.F.T + general ineptitude and lack of application

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Daft mistakes!
Too many 3 putts, the odd lost ball, or terrible shots not befitting a lower handicapper.

 

[Khamelion]

When I got my first HC I was given 17.1 I was playing a fair bit and was at the driving range a lot, since then I play about once maybe twice a week through out the lighter night, practice infrequently and do not play at all through the late autumn winter months, as such my HC is now 20.3.

So I would say my own natural ability allows me to play golf as a 20hc golfer, with a little practice and regular play I could possibly get down to 16 or 17, with a lot of practice, and a lot of play maybe a little lower possibly 14 or 15, but I would struggle to get any lower unless I played everyday, practiced long hours every day and did nothing else.

 

[Imurg]

Driving. I think the rest of my game is pretty solid and consistent now, but I can be very wayward off the tee and leaving myself chipping out 4 or 5 times a round on a bad day.

Even on my good days I only hit 6 or 7 fairways, but I get luckier with the places I miss in.

Same here.
Poor driving puts pressure on the rest of my game which holds up for a while but something has to give sooner or later.

 

[Junior]

I tend to play half the holes on the course really well. Fairway to green, couple of putts and I 'll play them in say level or 1 under par. On the other holes i'll throw in a couple of 3 putts , a few missed up and downs and a double or 2 and I'm an 8 handicap.

To get lower I think I need work at being more accurate (or consistent) and work on being less handsy with my swing.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Inconsistent ball striking. Old other sporting habits fighting my golf swing. I neither practice nor play enough to iron out the faults and improve. Rather like a previous poster I am under no illusion that I would ever be a single figure player but with application I could get to 18 first off and perhaps 15 if I retired and played a lot of golf.

 

[Val]

12 hc, I recognise im not very good and have no desire to practice so have probably got as low as I can. Been off 12 for 2 years.

A steady short game would get me lower as I don't really have one, my putting is steady rather than good and all my good scores tend to come from good driving and good iron striking. I probably make 1 or 2 birdies every other round.

 

[pinberry]

No one still have the correct answer. The main reason people don't trend downwards is because of lack of practice. The 10-13 hcp you refer to are happy with their game and don't have the time to put proper practice in, which is why they don't become better players. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's important to realise that there are no shortcuts.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

when you first start this game, you should see a fairly decent improvement pretty quickly

I came down from 26 to 20 within 18 months or so

Then you hit the plateau, where your personal combination of natural ability, health, age, available time and everything else in your life conspires against you.and you suddenly stop improving or the improvement slows dramatically or even reverses.

To break this plateau you have lessons, more practice and help the focus, but each plateau you reach is tougher to crack than the one before.

eventually you accept that unless you "do golf" 24 hours a day, you have reached your natural limit and then you relax and enjoy the game for what it is

and sometimes, just sometimes you can improve further because you have relaxed.

You can never master this game, so dont try, just do your best each time and accept that some days will be better than others

 

[fundy]

Injuries for me of late. Had knee problems from old rugby injuries and last years ACL problem set me back again. That and that I cant drive the ball for toffee and my short game can be very temperamental (good job i can hit my irons and putt lol) but most of it comes from a lack of trust of my left side

 

[drewster]

I think my driving game is that of a 9/10 handicap, short game is a 9/10 and Putting is a 9/10 and iron play is more like 13/14. After a season of handicap improvement 3/4s of my game is in very good shape for my ability. With some new hardware i'm hoping to get the irons into more of a 12 handicapper and the other three down to that of an 8 handicapper and then the holy grail should beckon . Easier said than done of course especially with minimum pratice opportunities and being self taught.

 

[Jimaroid]

Statistics and probability.

 

[Garush34]

I don't practice or play enough to be consistent enough. I can play well enough but that can be for only a few holes, but in order to get lower and have a chance each week I need to be more consistent. I play this winter and next year to start practicing more and putting more effort in, I would like to get lower and see how far I can go. A lesson on Sunday, and I'll start from there and discuss with my coach what he thinks needs to be down to get where I want to be.

 

[PaulyMcK]

Only played competition golf so I could get a handicap for a Holiday to Turkey, I had only started to play as a beginner in 2015.

I played my 3 rounds and got a handicap of 24, I played in a few medals after this, 4 to be precise and went up by .1 each time to 24.4, haven't played a medal since 2015, but joined a new club this year that has more medals on offer as well as the fact that it has two courses, so I have no excuses now. I will see how my winter practice goes but I expect to be playing off of 20 at the highest by the end of the next season.

 

[NWJocko]

Not consistent enough off the tee (due to lack of practice)
Not consistent enough on the greens (due to lack of practice)
Being a braindead moron on the course and making stupid decisions

I'm off 5 and only reason I stay there is my irons and chipping/short game are probably at the level of a handicap a decent bit lower than me.

If I couldn't chip I'd be off about 12-15 :rofl:

 

[Hobbit]

The handicap I am is by pure fluke. Why I haven't got beyond a shot or two either way for 30-40 years is pure laziness, certainly in recent years. Actually a bit of laziness and far too much work getting in the way. Would I like to be lower? I'm not sure I'm that bothered. Its more a case of it will be what it will be.

For me, my ambition each time I go out is to break 80. Maybe I need to change my ambition to hitting 75 or lower. I just love being on a really good course and having good craic with my playing partners.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Inconsistent/poor putter/don't play enough.
I'm not a natural & don't really enjoy practicing.
I'm quite happy playing off 18.