Would golf be better without handicaps?

[Jates12]

Why do lower handicap golfers always assume that when they get beaten by a high handicapper then they are a bandit/cheat (obviously assuming poster is low handicap)
I played in an event last week and the winning player in the morning got 41 points. I had played with him in that round and he struck the ball really well, hardly missed a fairway and putted really well. He played off 13 so no-pne mentioned his score or used the b word, would that have been the same if he played off 24?

That can happen at any handicap though, he played to 8, good knock off 13, if you play to 19 off 24 thats a decent knock as well.

I think what Pin-seeker is alluding to happened recently at my club, we had a new member join and he was given a 20 handicap which he didnt question, he put in his 3 cards playing with a member and thats what he was given. He proceeded to win 3 medals in a row because he hadnt mentioned that when he lived in SA 2 years ago he was a 4 handicapper. That in my opinion, is the fault of the Handicap/Comp Sec and the player for not being honest, knowing he was he alot better than his allocated handicap and i think thats cheating/banditry. He has now been cut to 9 and boy is he struggling to even compete.

 

[Imurg]

People forget that a huge chunk of golf played his not competition golf, not playing for your handicap but using it.
I play, mostly, with CVG and Fragger.
Our handicaps at 8, 12 and 20
If we play to our ability and play scratch then I'll win every time, CVG will come second and Fragger won't.....
If we use handicaps we all have a chance to win the day and the bragging rights and that's what makes golf the game it is.
If people want to play scratch golf then go and play scratch competitions or simply play off scratch, put zero in the handicap box and see how long it takes you to get disillusioned with your scores.
Handicaps are vital to club golf. Not everyone has the time to practice enough to get good, some people will never be good no matter how much coaching they get.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

For me it's more that a club should always have a scratch prize in every event. Would give us lower handicappers something to aim for every event other than just a handicap cut.

We have a lowest gross prize for every singles comp, in theory everyone could win it, but in reality it's probably between no more than 6-8 players, Every club should have a lowest gross imo it gives the best players a fair chance of reward.

 

[Slab]

Agree with this, certainly used to be like this at clubs i was at previously.

The usual argument against is that only a handful of players can win it (well no, anyone who is good enough can win it)

Surely anyone can win a handicap comp if they are good enough so why would you need a scratch comp too

 

[Imurg]

I'm not hugely interested in winning competitions, haven't been for years.
I play qualifiers to try to get my handicap down
Sure, it's nice to win but beating handicap, like I did today, floats my boat much more than winning a shop voucher or even a trophy..

 

[Hobbit]

Down the years I've been a member of teens of golf clubs as I've moved around the UK and mainland Europe. Handicaps work if managed properly and the clubs structure comps. The best example I've seen was a club with a best gross and best net prize, and then also had divisional prizes. Yes it takes a bit more work but it goes a long way towards stopping the moaning about high handicappers 'v' low handicappers always scooping the prizes. Its more inclusive and everyone has something to play for.

 

[GeeJay]

I haven't read the whole thread, but my view is that the handicap system in golf is one of its strengths. When properly implemented it gives all players a chance to compete against the course.

Unfortunately, like many other things some people abuse the system in order to gain unfair advantage. With everyone playing off scratch, many players (including me) would probably never win a competition. A Cat 1 standard player is always likely to do better against the course than a Cat 2 or Cat 3 standard player.

So short answer for me is no.

 

[patricks148]

the only issue i have is the way handicaps can be manipulated and the expectation than anyone should win. TBH when i first started playing i didn't know about handicaps and just wanted to get better and be the best i could. Winning though its nice to get an accolade its not why i do it.

I'm all in favor of the suggestion of comps for handicap sections or Cats

 

[MendieGK]

Surely anyone can win a handicap comp if they are good enough so why would you need a scratch comp too

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

 

[FairwayDodger]

Personally, I enjoy playing scratch more than handicaps. The bigger the handicap gap, the more contrived it becomes and the less I enjoy it. "You would say that", I hear you say, but this has always been my opinion even off a much higher handicap. It never sat well winning a comp when someone else has plainly played and scored much better.

However, I do agree with everything that has been said about handicaps allowing some sort of competition that wouldn't be possible with differing abilities. The longer I play the better I'm adjusting my mindset to handicap golf and, I guess, when mine starts going on the wrong direction I'll be glad of it....

 

[Orikoru]

We have a lowest gross prize for every singles comp, in theory everyone could win it, but in reality it's probably between no more than 6-8 players, Every club should have a lowest gross imo it gives the best players a fair chance of reward.

Even as a high handicapper I agree that there should be more comps with prizes for best gross. Once a month at the minimum maybe - it would stop the low handicappers having a moan at the high handicappers winning medals, because they simply wouldn't care about the net prize then - they'd be focussed on winning the gross. While people like me would be focussed on winning the net prize. Everyone happy basically.

 

[jim8flog]

Not snooker where you can break then not get another shot.
In golf your opponents can't touch or use your ball in snooker you both use the same balls.
If your op is good enough to snooker you all the time you will soon lose the will to play.

I played snooker for many years in the Guildford league (12 divisions and 12 teams per division) playing in Divison 1 for many of those years. I never met a single player who could clear the table from the break or thereabouts although quite a few could make occasional 100 breaks.

Within the club where I played but not within the league we had a basic handicap system that gave the players with lesser skills a chance but I would agree that the majority of the time the better player would win.

 

[GeeJay]

Even as a high handicapper I agree that there should be more comps with prizes for best gross. Once a month at the minimum maybe - it would stop the low handicappers having a moan at the high handicappers winning medals, because they simply wouldn't care about the net prize then - they'd be focussed on winning the gross. While people like me would be focussed on winning the net prize. Everyone happy basically.

I agree.

 

[jim8flog]

I agree with the point about just a few players would always win the prize.

In our seniors we always have an additional prize for best gross when we play medals off the white tees and we went through a few years when just 4 players would win it, one player winning all bar one in a season.

 

[jim8flog]

I play a lot of matches with other clubs. I have come across many players who " never play like this usually". When you are playing a 20 handicapper who hits every fairway, gets on all the low stroke index holes in regulation it naturally makes you query their handicap big time.

 

[Orikoru]

I agree with the point about just a few players would always win the prize.

In our seniors we always have an additional prize for best gross when we play medals off the white tees and we went through a few years when just 4 players would win it, one player winning all bar one in a season.

This is why I think a once a month gross prize would be sufficient. That said, at our club there are about five guys playing off 5, and another four or five players playing off 6-8 so gross prizes would probably be quite well contested. (One of the 5 handicappers occasionally plays off 4 but there's no one lower than that.)

 

[OnTour]

New club has 5 prizes any category, old club had 3 prizes for cat 1,2,3 and overall winner which worked better for all but less prize money being 10 prizes.

Handicaps work but 3 card rule is pretty useless, it should be 8-10 to get a proper spread and proper review over the year.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Even as a high handicapper I agree that there should be more comps with prizes for best gross. Once a month at the minimum maybe - it would stop the low handicappers having a moan at the high handicappers winning medals, because they simply wouldn't care about the net prize then - they'd be focussed on winning the gross. While people like me would be focussed on winning the net prize. Everyone happy basically.

For me it should be for every single comp, even stableford, they pay the same entry fee in every comp and the club should be encouraging the best golfers in the club to enter every event,

 

[scubascuba3]

No harm in having a lowest gross every week in a comp but people choose whether to enter money in the sweep. Like now you can pay in the competition and pay in 2s

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Personally, I enjoy playing scratch more than handicaps. The bigger the handicap gap, the more contrived it becomes and the less I enjoy it. "You would say that", I hear you say, but this has always been my opinion even off a much higher handicap. It never sat well winning a comp when someone else has plainly played and scored much better.

However, I do agree with everything that has been said about handicaps allowing some sort of competition that wouldn't be possible with differing abilities. The longer I play the better I'm adjusting my mindset to handicap golf and, I guess, when mine starts going on the wrong direction I'll be glad of it....

Only if you play off the Red Tees
Have you checked the rules for Sunningdale?