Winning Open score to raise eyebrows!

[garyinderry]

ive shot a few silly scores when I first started playing comps. I was given an 18 handicap. didn't really get near to shooting a big score for a while. it gradually went up. I played in an open at an away links course and shot something like 25 points. it pushed me up to 18.5

the following day, in glorious weather I shot 47 points at my home course. 9 pars, 9 bogies. personal best at the time.

someone off 18 can score really well by playing bogey golf and pick up pars on the easier holes. par the par 3's and par 5s and you have 7 pars straight off the bat, a couple of the easier par 4's and you got yourself a hell of a score.

 

[ColchesterFC]

I'm a 21 handicapper and recently carded a 79

And yet you are still playing off 21. That makes you almost as big a bandit as the guy in the original post. Protecting a nice high handicap are we?

 

[Kellfire]

And yet you are still playing off 21. That makes you almost as big a bandit as the guy in the original post. Protecting a nice high handicap are we?

If he doesn't do it in a qualifier then what should happen?

 

[Deleted member 18121]

And yet you are still playing off 21. That makes you almost as big a bandit as the guy in the original post. Protecting a nice high handicap are we?

I did it in a round by myself on fathers day... now, who's going to accept that as the truth? Or at your club do they let people mark and sign for their own cards?

I've got no reason to protect a handicap, or haven't you taken in anything that I've said?

 

[ColchesterFC]

If he doesn't do it in a qualifier then what should happen?

How about this......

"Handicap adjustments under Clause 23 ("General Play") should be made in the following circumstances:

1. Exceptionally, where a player is trying to achieve a handicap higher than his ability justifies,
2. Where a player returns poor scores in Handicap Qualifying Competitions, but has been successful in Match play and Best-ball events,
3. A player whose standard is clearly improving and who has returned two or more scores well below his handicap in a short period of time,
4. A player who, because of health or advancing age, is quite unable to play to his current handicap and does not compete in enough competitions for his handicap to be adjusted accordingly.

An example of (3) was given whereby a category 3 or 4 player who returns two nett differentials of –5, say, in quick succession should have an aggregate reduction of 5 strokes taken from their handicap".

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm sorry but it has to be said......
In my opinion......
A 20 h/cap playing in a big comp and shooting those scores is just ridiculous.
To shoot 45 plus s/ford points is almost certainly cheating, to do it again is cheating.
When I learned my golf, to even get 36 points you had to have a good day. 40 was outstanding.
Too many people today believe they should be able to shoot 36 points most times they go out and it's wrong. IMO

I feel for the 1 h/cap guy.
20 shots behind?
Level playing field my bum.
:rant:

Couldn't have put it better myself, so I won't :thup:

 

[Karl102]

Am enjoying reading this thread.... I still think 2 net rounds in the 50's raises a few eyebrows. I have looked at Bearsteds website and it looks quite a challenging track. I wonder if the OP knows the winners home club and if any questions were actually raised?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'm a 21 handicapper and recently carded a 79.... I've also carded a 96, 89, 92, 84.

I really dont see why shooting a low score (or 2) is such a big deal.

Surely in a low handicappers career you've shot some low scores on your journey that dont represent your handicap?

I would be delighted to shoot rounds of 77 & 79 on the same day at an away course in an Open, in fact I'd be ecstatic, it really isn't that easy to do even for a Cat2 single figure golfer. I accept low rounds from high handicappers are achievable and normal but two rounds that low from a 20 h'capper has to raise a few eyebrows.

 

[Kellfire]

How about this......

"Handicap adjustments under Clause 23 ("General Play") should be made in the following circumstances:

1. Exceptionally, where a player is trying to achieve a handicap higher than his ability justifies,
2. Where a player returns poor scores in Handicap Qualifying Competitions, but has been successful in Match play and Best-ball events,
3. A player whose standard is clearly improving and who has returned two or more scores well below his handicap in a short period of time,
4. A player who, because of health or advancing age, is quite unable to play to his current handicap and does not compete in enough competitions for his handicap to be adjusted accordingly.

An example of (3) was given whereby a category 3 or 4 player who returns two nett differentials of –5, say, in quick succession should have an aggregate reduction of 5 strokes taken from their handicap".

So you'd cut someone on one solo round as per this example?

 

[ColchesterFC]

So you'd cut someone on one solo round as per this example?

Nope but if you read his original post he's also shot an 84 as well as the 79 which certainly fits with point 3

"A player whose standard is clearly improving and who has returned two or more scores well below his handicap in a short period of time"

And off 21 I would class that as two scores well below handicap.

 

[pokerjoke]

I'm sorry but it has to be said......
In my opinion......
A 20 h/cap playing in a big comp and shooting those scores is just ridiculous.
To shoot 45 plus s/ford points is almost certainly cheating, to do it again is cheating.
When I learned my golf, to even get 36 points you had to have a good day. 40 was outstanding.
Too many people today believe they should be able to shoot 36 points most times they go out and it's wrong. IMO

I feel for the 1 h/cap guy.
20 shots behind?
Level playing field my bum.
:rant:

I totally disagree with your assumption that to shoot 45 points is certainly cheating.
Even though my handicap is 7 and I have never shot level par,i believe I am going to
sometime on my home course,that would be 45 points.
Does that mean you think im a cheat ?,knowing you as I do,im sure you would not
think im a cheat.
I also believe I should shoot 36 points every time I go out,i certainly don't,but 2 points
on every hole,with the opportunity to get a few 3s and even a 4,36 points should be a normal score.
Obviously it depends on the severity of the course as well,the weather etc.
I don't feel sorry for the 1 handicapper as im sure he has won many comps on his way down to his
very low handicap.
The problem is Stableford,it allows for complete meltdowns on holes,however the potential for high
points scores on others.
A 300 yard par four that is straight with no major hazards,where a high handicapper has 2 shots could
easily result in 5 points.
I do agree with your first statement following the op,two scores in the 50s one after the other is ridiculous,
however certainly not impossible,imo.

 

[Kellfire]

I totally disagree with your assumption that to shoot 45 points is certainly cheating.
Even though my handicap is 7 and I have never shot level par,i believe I am going to
sometime on my home course,that would be 45 points.
Does that mean you think im a cheat ?,knowing you as I do,im sure you would not
think im a cheat.
I also believe I should shoot 36 points every time I go out,i certainly don't,but 2 points
on every hole,with the opportunity to get a few 3s and even a 4,36 points should be a normal score.
Obviously it depends on the severity of the course as well,the weather etc.
I don't feel sorry for the 1 handicapper as im sure he has won many comps on his way down to his
very low handicap.
The problem is Stableford,it allows for complete meltdowns on holes,however the potential for high
points scores on others.
A 300 yard par four that is straight with no major hazards,where a high handicapper has 2 shots could
easily result in 5 points.
I do agree with your first statement following the op,two scores in the 50s one after the other is ridiculous,
however certainly not impossible,imo.

43 points would be level par off seven by the way.

 

[pbrown7582]

C

I also believe I should shoot 36 points every time I go out,i certainly don't,but 2 points
on every hole,with the opportunity to get a few 3s and even a 4,36 points should be a normal score..

This is partly where confusion sets in as CONGU h/cap system is supposed to keep people at a level where only 3/4 games out of ten are in buffer let alone shoot nett par (36pts) every round .

 

[pokerjoke]

43 points would be level par off seven by the way.

Yes your right,but 45 points is not cheating,imo

 

[FairwayDodger]

I think it's possible to do it once on a round when everything clicks, your luck is generally good and you hole some tasty putts. To go out and do it again seems pretty dubious.

Like pokerjoke I believe I have a level par round in me and I guess it could be next next time out but it's more likely I'll nudge the handicap down a bit further before I manage it.

Trouble is that handicap golf is such an artificial competition anyway that people need to believe it's fair for it to have any credibility. Scores like these just undermine it. Personally, I couldn't care less where I finish in any handicap comp - if I win or get a prize it's just a bonus but I always feel slightly bad about it if I'm pipping a lower handicapper who shot a better gross score. The only prize I want is a handicap cut.

@adam6177 obviously I don't know you and there may be good intentions behind it but to claim an "unofficial" handicap that's three better than your "official" one is just asking for trouble. If you have no interest in comps then why have an official handicap at all? If you do have one, I think you have an obligation to play enough qualifiers to keep it current.

 

[Pro Zach]

Here's a scenario.

The person in the OP plays lots of comps and has a 'genuine' 20 handicap. Knowing he was playing in this open he was trying to work out how to play well. (as we do) He realised that most of his shots are lost because of his terrible slice. He is always hacking out of the right rough or trees. So he books a lesson with a pro. Lets call him Bob from Lincoln.

Bob puts some head covers on the floor and tells him to hit the ball without hitting the head covers. This is a eureka moment. Swinging from the inside has the ball going straight.

Not knowing whether this will hold up in a comp he is delighted that it does. He saves all the shots out of the right rough and chips and putts better because he isn't tense over the prospect of the next tee shot. He shoots a nett 57 and 59 and is over the moon. Best £30 he has ever spent.

Expecting his euphoria to be heightened by the congratulations and praise for his achievement he is a bit dismayed to be met with begrudging hand shakes raised eyebrows and murmurs of cheating. He goes home a bit gutted, half wishing he hadn't played so well.

He comes on the forum to post his story and ask why people would think he is a cheat. But there is already a thread about him. Everyone thinks he's a cheat. Even Lincoln Bob. Worst £30 quid he has ever spent.

Regardless of the story, he either shot the two best rounds of his life and had the pleasure and praise diminished or lost, because of the reaction of others. Or he cheated using the handicap system. Both of these could be solved by, err, getting rid of the handicap system.

Or perhaps it's all Bobs fault.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

@adam6177 obviously I don't know you and there may be good intentions behind it but to claim an "unofficial" handicap that's three better than your "official" one is just asking for trouble. If you have no interest in comps then why have an official handicap at all? If you do have one, I think you have an obligation to play enough qualifiers to keep it current.

I played half a dozen comps and was cut from 28 to 21 quite quickly. I didn't enjoy enjoy the comps as I came across some right (excuse me) (edit)who seemed hell bent on ruining peoples rounds and generally being unpleasant. That is why I have a handicap.

Since that point I've moved clubs but also tried to keep an idea of what my handicap should be as stableford is a very fair way to score as my friends are a mixed bunch. One has never broken 100, one reguarly shoots mid 90s but is capabale (either way) of a total blow up or a complete blinder. The last guy is around 60, used to play off 21 but has lost somr mobility and distance.

I play now only for fun and to spend time with my playing partners. Hence my unofficial handicap.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I played half a dozen comps and was cut from 28 to 21 quite quickly. I didn't enjoy enjoy the comps as I came across some right (excuse me) (edit) who seemed hell bent on ruining peoples rounds and generally being unpleasant. That is why I have a handicap.

Since that point I've moved clubs but also tried to keep an idea of what my handicap should be as stableford is a very fair way to score as my friends are a mixed bunch. One has never broken 100, one reguarly shoots mid 90s but is capabale (either way) of a total blow up or a complete blinder. The last guy is around 60, used to play off 21 but has lost somr mobility and distance.

I play now only for fun and to spend time with my playing partners. Hence my unofficial handicap.

Shame you had a negative experience. Comps can be fun and I've had some of my most enjoyable rounds with people I'd never met before. Hopefully the members at your new club are a bit more agreeable!

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Shame you had a negative experience. Comps can be fun and I've had some of my most enjoyable rounds with people I'd never met before. Hopefully the members at your new club are a bit more agreeable!

That's my hope too. I've only been a member for 3 weeks but told the handicap secretary I'd put in some cards before entering any comps as I want to be judged fairly. ..... because of people in threads like these it puts new members off of playing comps or even becoming members.

 

[palindromicbob]

Here's a scenario.

The person in the OP plays lots of comps and has a 'genuine' 20 handicap. Knowing he was playing in this open he was trying to work out how to play well. (as we do) He realised that most of his shots are lost because of his terrible slice. He is always hacking out of the right rough or trees. So he books a lesson with a pro. Lets call him Bob from Lincoln.

Bob puts some head covers on the floor and tells him to hit the ball without hitting the head covers. This is a eureka moment. Swinging from the inside has the ball going straight.

Not knowing whether this will hold up in a comp he is delighted that it does. He saves all the shots out of the right rough and chips and putts better because he isn't tense over the prospect of the next tee shot. He shoots a nett 57 and 59 and is over the moon. Best £30 he has ever spent.

Expecting his euphoria to be heightened by the congratulations and praise for his achievement he is a bit dismayed to be met with begrudging hand shakes raised eyebrows and murmurs of cheating. He goes home a bit gutted, half wishing he hadn't played so well.

He comes on the forum to post his story and ask why people would think he is a cheat. But there is already a thread about him. Everyone thinks he's a cheat. Even Lincoln Bob. Worst £30 quid he has ever spent.

Regardless of the story, he either shot the two best rounds of his life and had the pleasure and praise diminished or lost, because of the reaction of others. Or he cheated using the handicap system. Both of these could be solved by, err, getting rid of the handicap system.

Or perhaps it's all Bobs fault.

I want to book a lesson with that pro.