Would golf be better without handicaps?

Golf would not be better, that is the beauty with golf. I can have a game against my wife(hcap 36) and my son(hcap 17), me (hcap 9) and any one of us can win the matchplay on any one day..

When we play other sports like tennis, badminton, it is not competitive, I have to resort to playing left handed against my wife to make a game of it.
 
DarrenWilliams said:
Golf would not be better, that is the beauty with golf. I can have a game against my wife(hcap 36) and my son(hcap 17), me (hcap 9) and any one of us can win the matchplay on any one day..

When we play other sports like tennis, badminton, it is not competitive, I have to resort to playing left handed against my wife to make a game of it.
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After doing some research on Mile End it looks like you had a good knock at the weekend mate! Congrats!
 
We only have handicaps so that when we get drawn with the low single figure players they can learn that they needn't throw clubs, swear and be obnoxious when there shot isnt as good as they hoped it might be as we, higher handicappers, dont all think we are professionals and are less prone to outbursts! 🤣
 
Handicaps are a staple of the game. Without them golf wouldn't be the social sport it is.

A lot of people seem to moan about bandits which we are fortunate not to have at my clubs. Cheats on the otherhand - especially with the more senior members is not uncommon.
 
Old Skier said:
It's pretty sad that so many off you belong to clubs were you feel banditry and cheating is rif.
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banditry is very real. the example below was at my club when it was blowing 30mph. 48 points from a 28 handicaper in them conditions was crazy
 

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Golf didn't have handicaps. It was introduced to make for a more social and fairer past-time - why change for the worse?
 
MendieGK said:
In opposition to that, i shot -2 in a medal last year. 5 under handicap. shot the best score anyone shot by 5 shots (iirc).

lost the comp by 9 shots!! so by your estimation, i would have had to have shot 61 gross to be 'good' enough.

i have no issues with handicaps and i think they are essential to keeping the sport afloat, but clubs need to find a way to cater for all levels. divisions are the best way forward imo
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I'm actually in favour of rewarding the best player on the day, I just thought the counter-argument presented for having it was flawed

Divisions are ok too but cant cater for when numbers are low
Just imagine 4 cat 1 players in that division and 70 cat 3 players all in same days comp. Same comp fee paid. Divisional prizes are some of those smashing Nike collarless shirts
Cat 1 have 1 in 4 chance to win V 1 in 70 chance (some may even have sound reasons to suggest that the div 1 prized should be better than the div 3 prize)

Within a few weeks all the cat 1 boys are ordering rory wigs online to match their new £65 shirts while most of the div 3 boys wont see a win until well after Nike release their basketball style golf shirts in a few years (which is fine because they weren't good enough... except for the fact they've just forked out the best part of £200 for div 1 prizes on top of the div 2 & 3 prizes)
 
I do think if you dropped handicaps it would kill the competitive side of club golf, only cat 1 guys would bother entering and some others just wanting a knock.

I think a couple of the main issues are that the lower the handicap, in theory, the less variance you have in your scores. It's pretty tough for a club scratch golfer to shoot 5-6 under, but relatively likely for a 28 hcp to do so.

The other thing is rapidly improving players, I think in some of the new rules proposals they are trying to address this, the current system doesn't react quickly enough to someone who is improving quickly.

I know when I started and was playing, practicing and having lessons all the time I'd be shooting under my handicap every time I had a card in my hand for about 6 months before it finally started to level out. I had a genuine handicap to start with, I wasn't cheating or protecting. it's just I was improving very rapidly which is what a lot of new players to the game will do if they put the work in.

Luckily I was at a club everyone knew everyone and they knew how much work I was putting in and was never once accused of being a bandit, even by the low guys. In fact it was the opposite, I was given lots of encouragement, was often asked by the low guys if I wanted to join in with them if I met them on the course and they'd give me lots of hints and tips.
 
Region3 said:
Would you also be able to choose whether or not to put money in the sweep for the nett?
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Yes, in fact i don't bother putting money in comps anymore. I won Cat 1 and won £4 yes £4. A lot of the guys don't bother putting money in, Cat 2 has more money in for comps.
 
scubascuba3 said:
Yes, in fact i don't bother putting money in comps anymore. I won Cat 1 and won £4 yes £4. A lot of the guys don't bother putting money in, Cat 2 has more money in for comps.
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Is your prize fund separate to the comp entry fee, or they let you play the comp without paying?

Ours isn't optional (apart from the 2's), the comp entry fee covers the prizes so no pay - no play.

I think divisions in categories can't work unless you have a lot of very low guys. Our divisions have roughly equal numbers in and are up to 11, 12-18, and 19+.


Your suggestion just reminded me of the guys at ours that don't put a quid into the 2's sweep because they have less chance than most of winning anything, but they are fine with me putting a fiver into the kitty for a stableford which I have less chance of winning.
 
Region3 said:
Is your prize fund separate to the comp entry fee, or they let you play the comp without paying?

Ours isn't optional (apart from the 2's), the comp entry fee covers the prizes so no pay - no play.

I think divisions in categories can't work unless you have a lot of very low guys. Our divisions have roughly equal numbers in and are up to 11, 12-18, and 19+.


Your suggestion just reminded me of the guys at ours that don't put a quid into the 2's sweep because they have less chance than most of winning anything, but they are fine with me putting a fiver into the kitty for a stableford which I have less chance of winning.
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i think we have the comp entry then £1 for twos and the same for the sweep, which are both optional.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of guys who don't enter the 2's. We have at least 4 Vickers who i know are not allowed to Gamble ( Presbyterian ) so fine with that, but the others are just tight;)
 
patricks148 said:
i think we have the comp entry then £1 for twos and the same for the sweep, which are both optional.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of guys who don't enter the 2's. We have at least 4 Vickers who i know are not allowed to Gamble ( Presbyterian ) so fine with that, but the others are just tight;)
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I've never entered the sweep because I never expected to win anything. Then I did win a medal. I still wasn't that gutted though, it's not like I play golf for the pay-off. :D I'd be ultimately disappointed if I did.
 
Region3 said:
Is your prize fund separate to the comp entry fee, or they let you play the comp without paying?

Ours isn't optional (apart from the 2's), the comp entry fee covers the prizes so no pay - no play.

I think divisions in categories can't work unless you have a lot of very low guys. Our divisions have roughly equal numbers in and are up to 11, 12-18, and 19+.


Your suggestion just reminded me of the guys at ours that don't put a quid into the 2's sweep because they have less chance than most of winning anything, but they are fine with me putting a fiver into the kitty for a stableford which I have less chance of winning.
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The prize fund is split between divisions, we have 3 and the fund is dependent on who puts money in. Only £1 entry, £1 2's, neither is compulsory. I'm in Scotland its been like thats for many years. My last Essex club 10 years ago was a compulsory £5 as far as i remember, you can see the difference between North and South maybe.
 
Jates12 said:
We have the same but we only do the sweep for the afternoon Tea times, 3pm onwards, we usually have about 10-15. I won the 2s this week, there was only me and another who even had 2s, 23 quid each!
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i was the only person with a 2 in one of the comps last year, 70 plus entrants... thought i was quids in, £36 most had not put in... tight fisted buggers
 
patricks148 said:
i was the only person with a 2 in one of the comps last year, 70 plus entrants... thought i was quids in, £36 most had not put in... tight fisted buggers
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I got £2.25 for a 2 in a club comp 3 weeks ago, :rofl:
 
Competition golf would be over for me if you got rid of handicaps. I play sport to be competitive and when I played rugby I dropped down the levels as age and ability proved not up to it. Whilst I have no expectation of winning when I play golf, I like to at least think that I have a chance and without the handicap system I would not. I have pretty much reached the level I can with the time and ability I have and I would not be interested in entering comps knowing that I could, at best, expect to finish middle or lower in the field.

Would probably ditch membership and play nomad with a few mates.
 
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