Which golfer are you taking?

[needfasp3ed]

Our group had a lively discussion after a league round this week regarding who is generally the better player; both have the same handicap but Player A has mostly all home course scores while Player B's scores are at various courses.  An example here would be a 5 handicap recording rounds at a private club over and over vs a 5 handicap who plays various public courses.  If you were forced to bet on Player A or Player B in a stroke-play tournament, who would you take and why? 

[mat562]

All things being equal, I'd take the guy with the travelling game every time.

 

 

[getitdaily]

Traveling guy 99% of the time. Home course guy at his home course.

 

The home course guy doesn't have to think his way around a course. He knows on the 3rd tee he's hitting driver, 3w on 4, 6i on 5, 6 is a 3 shot par 5. He gets on a foreign course and he struggles to manage the course well. 

[MelloYello]

Experience matters and leads to us playing better at familiar courses. As mentioned above, we know what the shots are going to be. It's like having the questions given to you before the exam. You know exactly what to study. So the traveling golfer is better in this scenario. He's reaching the same index but without the advantage(s). 

 

What makes traveling guys so deadly (and what gets a lot of "sandbagger" criticism) is that they often have a home course where they'll show up and play like a 1 index despite being a 5-10.

 

The traveling golfer often wins a lot of (net) events at his home club. 😉

 

.

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by MelloYello

[LBB]

Forced to bet with no other information, I guess you take Player B.  But there are so many cases in which I would take Player A.

 

Player B's public courses could all be non penalizing with wide fairways, no rough, no fairway bunkers, not a lot of hazards and greens that you can run the ball up to  and don't penalize marginal shots.  And player B might choose to play those types of courses all the time because he sprays his drive all over the place and doesn't do well with very challenging courses with thick rough and having to play strategically.  Player A's private club could be a course the PGAT makes stops on where Player A might know the course, but based on the quality of the previous shot, may constantly have to think about how to change his strategy given how penalizing certain parts of the course are that are not often found on public courses.  Player B may also be penalized more often for marginal drives or approach shots that land 3 yards short and roll back down 20 yards due to the false front that protects the greens.  

 

Player A could also be the type who's last 20 score differentials looks like 8, 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 5, 5, 4 to average best 8 out last 20 as a 5.  Most recent play is a solid 5 differential but is also super consistent overall that someone shooting a 9 differential will always lose.

Player B's last 20 could be 5, 9, 5, 10, 6, 9, 5, 11, 5, 11, 4, 9, 8, 9, 12, 11, 10, 11, 9, 12 to average best 8 out of last 20 as a 5.  Most recent play is more like a 11 differential and isn't as consistent...meaning their bad rounds are always worse than Player A's bad rounds.

 

And the last variable we don't know...this so called match could be played on Player A's home course!!!

[grm24]

3 hours ago, needfasp3ed said:

Our group had a lively discussion after a league round this week regarding who is generally the better player; both have the same handicap but Player A has mostly all home course scores while Player B's scores are at various courses.  An example here would be a 5 handicap recording rounds at a private club over and over vs a 5 handicap who plays various public courses.  If you were forced to bet on Player A or Player B in a stroke-play tournament, who would you take and why? 

Guess it really depends on what course someone plays all the time. For instance I may take a 5 handicap that plays at Oakmont every round over a 5 that plays multiple courses that aren't nearly as difficult. Just another angle to consider.

[ChipNRun]

In certain circumstances, the travelin' man might not be the best choice.

 

I'm one of those people. For several years, my home course was extremely challenging both from design standpoint and maintenance issues (i.e., bunker problems, mature trees onto the fairways, summer problems with poa annua green turf).

 

Circa 2015, I expanded my course mix: started playing in the local amateur circuit, and began going on the road more often with home course senior group. This is the pattern I found from the expanded course mix: My score differentials were mostly lower from the away courses I played. When computing HDCP, out of my last 20 scores, seven or eight of the best 10 were from away scores. I just really struggled at home.

 

So basically, I had a home field disadvantage.

 

Since then the course has spent lots of $$ on new bunkers and other capital improvements (for one, new bent grass greens are superb) and has settled on a fairer course rating for the different tee boxes. So now it's pretty much a wash if I post a home or away score.

[jda]

Nearly always B.

 

However, I will ALWAYS take C which is the person who keeps that 5 playing a NEW course a lot of the time and can maintain with no course knowledge and having to read every green.

[LeftDot]

Absent further information, it's gotta be option B.

 

However, if option A's home course is the toughest in the area, that's a pretty damn good pick - as ChipNRun, LBB, and grm24 have all pointed out.

[Pepperturbo]

I voted for the person who has various course scores. 

 

My reasoning comes from playing over ten years of PVT Interclub match play tournaments; where our club team played against a series of other pvt club teams.  Who I (2-3 index) played against varied, but mostly 10-15 index. 

 

My advantage was being used to playing a very difficult course, so when we traveled to an opponent's course, most of them were easy to navigate and win.  That's when home course advantage wasn't really an advantage.  It was precisely the opposite for those players from easy pvt courses traveling to our course to compete.  Many of opponents were beat up by days end.  That's when a scratch or single digit golfer from an easily rated course gets owned playing a really hard course.

[jda]

I don't know.  Most stokes are lost or gained on the greens and even the members at Bethpage Black know what the greens do.

[Albatross Dreamer]

Can't really answer the question without knowing what course they're playing for the bet. That's a HUGE variable

[slugoo]

I am that guy. No home course. Just public player grabbing games when I can playing to a 4.8. 

 

I'd kill for a home track but city life lol

[ruascott]

I'm the weird guy who typically plays better at away courses.  And I play 90+% of my rounds at my home club,  where I've been for over a decade. 

 

I've tried to figure out why this is.... as it's obviously entirely mental.  I think it comes down to 1) I've hit it in every bad spot imaginable at my course, so every hole has some demon thought in back of my head of what not to do.  2) I know the course so well,  when I'm playing I get stuck playing golf swing,  rather than golf. When I'm at an away course I'm more focused upon the hole in front of me and how to best play it,  focusing more on target,  which obviously ends up a better outcome and better round.  

 

I do tend to putt much better at home,  just knowing the greens so well.  

 

Does this make no sense? Of course. But what does in this game?!

Edited August 26, 2023 by ruascott

[EddieEdwards]

 

I have a different take on this.  Lets say your home course is really easy with a low course rating,  you could be a 5 that shoots par regularly and will also will on higher rated courses. 

 

The low course rating can be used as a form of sandbagging.  I couldn't look up my handicap by course, but when I could I believe this held true.