Golf Handicaps

shimdig · August 1, 2006

I was watching some guys on the golf channel with playing lessons from the pros and it said that a couple were 14 or 15 handicaps. When I think 14 or 15 handicap, I think aprox. 18 or 19 over, which translates on most courses to about a 90 or 91. However, their games don't seem to match the high 80's low 90's range (no offense at all). Am I not understanding handicaps correctly?

wedgetoafoot · August 1, 2006

I think you have it right. Of course you have to ask what course rating and slope they are calculating their handicap rounds from, but generally I think you have a pretty good estimation.

dannypharvey · August 1, 2006

USGA handicap system is poo. if your handicap is 15 you should shoot 15 over on average not 18 or 19 over.

spk74 · August 1, 2006

I agree, the guys on the recent run of Playing Lessons w/ Faxon, they did not seem to be 15 handicap golfers to me. Perhaps the show focused on the weakest parts of their respective games, or perhaps the handicaps weren't "official". Then again, if Faxon and a bunch of cameras were following me around, I'd probably play poorly too.

I'm not an expert on the USGA handicap system (nor any European counterpart), but the USGA has a way to account for courses of varying difficulty, even tee boxes of varying difficulty [course and slope ratings]. Beyond that, it is based upon the idea of having a "club" and a "home course".

The world's handicap systems might be as different as night and day, but neither is any better than the other, I don't think. Which side of the road do you drive on? I drive on the right side.

CowtownTexas · August 1, 2006

I've always understood handicaps to be more about your potential than your average score. If you're a 15, playing a par 70 course, you should occasionally shoot around 85 with most of your rounds being in the upper 80's.

Of course, it all depends on the player. I may not be a good example, but I've been known to have wild swings in my handicap. In the past year, I've gone from 11 to 15 to 17 to 15 to 10. Granted, I completely changed my swing during this time and paid a price for a while. I also play between 10-12 rounds per month on average 12 months a year (the joys of Texas).

Your handicap is based on your last 20 scores. It takes the 10 lowest scores and throws out the other 10. Doesn't matter if those other 10 are 20 strokes higher or 1 stroke higher than the lower 10.

Also, it takes into account the course and slope ratings of where you play. This is what really throws the system for a kink. I'll use my home course for an example. From the tips, we have a course rating of 74.7 and a slope of 133. From the men's tees it's 71.7 and 127. This is on a par 70 course.

This is where I think the handicap system fails. For me, there's not a 3 stroke difference between the championship and men's tees. If I'm playing good, I'll shoot about the same score from either spot. If I'm playing bad, it really doesn't matter as these scores won't be in my best 10 of 20.

So, while my index is a 9, I rarely go out and shoot 79 on our course (I've actually only broken 80 once this year on our course). That said, I have shot 79 once in my last 20 scores.

So, the handicap is more about potential than anything else. Where the system really fails is when you have someone who plays as much as I do and has wild swings in scoring. When I was a 17 and playing in net games, I knew it was a matter of time before I started killing everyone I played in net-games. When my swing finally came around, I almost felt guilty playing people based on handicaps. Of course, I lost plenty of money to them while the handicap was rising, so I didn't feel too bad.

Basically, it's a flawed system, but I've yet to see anyone come up with anything better.

jportz · August 1, 2006

You're exactly right "Cowtown". It's about potential not average. There are generally 2 types of golfers...we'll use a 10 handicap for example....there are those who are very consistent and shoot around the same score every time. On a good day they'll shoot an 80 and on a bad day they'll shoot an 85 but for the most part they're always right there. Then there is the 10 handicapper who can shoot a 75 on a good day but also post a 90 on a bad day. The handicap system is designed perfectly for the consistent player but is flawed for the streaky player.

I'm currently a 9.0 and am a streaky player. I have the ability to shoot very low....my lowest round was a 3 under 69 earlier this year....but then a week later, on the same course, I posted an 86.

I agree that the system is flawed but there's nothing else better. For a guy like me, if I have a couple of good days my handicap can drop to a 4 or 5 for a month (it has) but then 2 months later it's back up to a 9 or 10.

Instead of using handicaps they should put us in categories (or flights) with golfers that are close to our abilities and the we all just play scratch. I'd like that much better.

Split it up like this scratch - 5, 6 - 10, 11-15, 16-20, etc....then everyone in that flight plays straight up with the others.

There's nothing worse than playing a good round, posting a NET score of 2 or 3 under and getting beat by a buy who posts a NET 60 or 58 or something ridiculous like that.

wedgetoafoot · August 2, 2006

I like the flight idea for US handicap events. Competing on raw score is the best way to go without question. I wouldn't want to say that I shot a 75 and lost to a guy who shot 76, that is backwards.

Also, even if it is about potential, I would say the US system is good. There has got to be some way to put people who play Bethpage Black and Goat Track National on an even playing field which is what the US system accomplishes even if it isn't perfectly accurate.

Ty_Webb · August 2, 2006

USGA handicap system is poo. if your handicap is 15 you should shoot 15 over on average not 18 or 19 over.

I'm not convinced that the UK system results in much different. It's much quicker to come down than go up (although not in my case at the moment - that steady 0.1 a competition is not matched by the cuts), so UK handicaps tend to be reflective of a good day rather than an average one. If a 15 handicapper shoots 14 over, it would take three rounds of more than 17 over to get back to where he started.