Thanks for the input guys.

Still is for course handicap less then 10. No worse then double. 7 on a par three is rare for 10-19 but easy enough if you hit two in the water. Makes up for not posting triples on par fives which is much more likely.

lol. You must have been watching me, golfnpoker. Ballooned two shots into a headwind. Both in the drink. 5 off the tee but did get up and down from bunker..lol

Can't remember last time I took a 7 on a par 3. 8 on par 5 not as far fetched.

I don't have an official handicap, but if my avg score in in the low 90s with a lot of big numbers does that mean my handicap is probably better than most people shooting that? Its not uncommon for me to play my worst 4 holes at +10 to +14 and play the other 14 at +4 to +8. I played 9 this weekend and made a 14 on the first hole which was a par 5 (5 tee shots OB) then shot 47. Made 2 birdies, 2 pars, and 4 bogeys on the rest of the front.

I have to imagine that I am in the 10-19 range, but it seems crazy to think that triples are rare for people shooting scores around me since I make them all the ****ing time.

Yes.

Using Equitable Stroke Control you would never card anything higher than a 7 when entering your scores.

what's the point of doing it this way? If I am shoot 95 then why would I record an 86 in the same round? It seems inconsistent with my actual play.

A handicap is meant to reflect your true potential as a player. Bad holes happen to everyone but the expectation is that they shouldn't skew your handicap too significantly. These measures also help avoid sandbagging. If Equitable Stroke Control didn't exist, someone could potentially go out and shoot a few intentional blow-up rounds before a club championship or big tournament to get themselves into a lower ability flight or get the edge in a money game.

Spottswoode made some great points.

To add to that keep in mind that you are exactly the type of player that is capable of playing well below their average.

You just noted that you went 9 over on one hole and 2 over on the next 8.

A person might pound 5 balls OB when just goofing around for a fun round, but if this was a tourney wouldn't you just be hitting a 3 wood or utility club off hole one and getting a 5 or 6. Even a 6 would give you a 39.

ESC would give the round you described above a 41 (instead of a 47).

Look at it this way. If I was forced to play someone for money I would rather play a Joe Blow who shoots 42 (6 bogeys, 3 pars) every day, rather than play you if you shot 47 (with a 14!) every day. You are a better golfer than Joe Blow - or at least you have a greater ability to shoot a lower score than Joe Blow. The ESC tries to address that. It addresses your potential. That is why your handicap isn't even your average. It is basically your average of your best 10 or your last 20 rounds.*


I hope you don't take offence but if you can play 8 holes at 2 over and also take a 14 with 5 shots OB on the same hole, you are just being stubborn, or you are just messing around. You have to admit you were not trying to play your best.

*There are other adjustments that factor in course/tee difficulty. You can read up on it if you want.

spotts, what keeps someone from making a bunch of doubles to sandbag the same way before a tournament? Also, seems like if you are in a money game for stroke play and not match play then my handicap would really disadvantage me.

AK, I wouldn't want to hit 3 iron off the tee because I play maybe a dozen times in a good year and hitting 3 iron the 4-7 iron into every par 4 seems a lot less fun than driver wedge. Also, I can't ever have eagle putts hitting 3 iron off a par 5 tee.

I was trying to play my best, but I also hadn't swung a club in about 8 weeks and was told I needed to hurry up to get out before the two foursomes so was a bit rushed to start. Then I saw no one else my whole round which helped. I like playing quickly and it only took me 1 hr 20 min to play 9 holes. Once I striped the first tee shot I ripped every other one and felt like I was in a good rhythm all day.

I actually did hit 3 wood on the first hole, but I don't hit 3 wood well and there is something in my head about 3 iron off the tee where I can hit it 210 off the fairway at a target, but mis**** it a bunch off the tee for reasons that seem more mental. I hit 3 wood for my first 4 shots OB (3 hooks right and one high cut left) and then said **** it and hit driver through the fairway on my 5th. It was a hard dogleg left and I am a lefty who tends to miss with a pull draw so I was scared of that initially. 2nd driver I put out there right down the middle with 202 left and hit 3 iron to 30 feet and missed the putt a little low.

I definitely understand preferring to play someone who will make a bunch of bogeys because they miss almost every green and never get up and down due to a mediocre short game than me who could make birdie on every hole, but I am very consistently inconsistent from hole to hole. I chalk it up to being a little out of practice, but it also plagued me in HS when I was playing 4-6 times a week.

You can't change your handicap much or even at all with two bad rounds. These rounds wont end up in the best 10 of your last 20. Sandbaggers usually fudge most of their rounds to inflate their handicap. or just plain enter false scores. Then they wonderfully shoot 79-78 on the weekend when playing off a 17 handicap!!!, and exclaim it was their best rounds all year.

I never understood how sandbagging could be satisfying to any golfer.

on the 2nd bold...too funny.. after 1st OB the eagle chance was gone. Also, those rushing you must enjoyed seeing you take 6 tee shots...

they didn't get to the tee box until after I was gone, but they had a tee time and I didn't so I wanted to make sure I wasn't there when they got up to the tee. Yea, you're right about the eagle chance, but obviously I didn't expect to keep hitting it OB. I managed to hit all 7 drives in bounds (6 fairways) after those 5.

CDL, you don't have to understand ESC, you just have to abide by it. Like it or not, that's the way it's done. As mentioned, a handicap in the United States is an indication of potential, not actual play.

BO

good discussion on handicap. things to remember about the USGA handicap system. 1) you have to belong to a dues paying USGA certified club with a handicap committee to have an official index that travels. 2) you aren't entitled to an index, an index is earned and is transparent 3) the club handicap committee has the authority to modify your index regardless of what the GHIN calculates 4) any decent club does a thorough job reviewing suspect indexes, thing to look for are, excessive number of rounds posted, excessive internet and away scores posting, a pattern of lower tournament scores then an index indicates, numerous rounds being posted just before the index is updated by GHIN, spiking of index prior to important events such as qualifiers and club championships. I've been handicap chairman for a few years now and the only members who have a problem with enforcement are the ones that have been lowered because frankly they are cheating bastards.

Once again, I wish I had the money and the time to intentionally play a ****ty round of call.

I mean, I play ****ty rounds, just not on purpose.

Entered my first golf competition of any kind yesterday.

It is a "Club Championship" for a local muni and is pretty much open to anyone. I don't have an official handicap but I entered in the Championship Flight which is no handicaps, so that is apparently all right.

36 runners, all supposedly single-digit handicaps. Match play, single elimination. I'm supposed to play my opponent within 7 days. We haven't settled on a date or time.

I have no idea what to expect and am curious about how strictly the rules will be followed/enforced and how good the players will be, it is in NYC.

Looking forward to it in any case.

Good luck man!

Sounds like a fun event.

If everyone playing is a single-digit handicap, then I'd expect rules to be followed pretty strictly as all the guys playing will have a clue.

Hope you don't get any uptight opponents! GL

I'm curious as to where that is being played, Brock. Sounds awesome.

Van Courtlandt in the Bronx. Very close to my apartment.

I also just learned today that I got a first round bye, so I have to wait a bit to schedule my match.

Heading to Niagara Falls this weekend to play in a little guys weekend tournament. We're playing Grand Niagara which is a gorgeous Rees Jones design followed by Battlefield Legends, a really nice Doug Carrick design. Golf with the buds, drinking all day, heading to the casino at night, maybe a nice dinner somewhere; priceless.

I booked a twosome on a "Hot Deal" via golfnow (pre-pay), for a client and I.
It's set for early tomorrow morning at my home course, but the weather looks really bad (forecast is calling for a thunder/lightning storm ) and my client just backed out (and rightfully so). It's already paid for - anyone have any experience with this?

Also, spotts - enjoy your weekend!

I got this from their faq page. Knowing Lionhead, they would never close, so you may be SOL. I think your best bet is to call the course in the morning and talk to them.




edit: The weather looks fine tomorrow morning.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/hou...io/mississauga

Anytime I've needed to change or cancel with Lionhead (even if last second), they've been okay with it -- it's just that, this time, it's already pre-paid via golfnow.

I'm pretty sure I'm SOL, just thought I may have an out.

Also, according to my accuweather app (on my phone) - it says thunderstorms at 7am, then 11am and onwards.

Eta :

On the rules, I am not sure how informed you are, but this might help.

Play the ball as it lies
Putt out everything (yes, putt out that 3 inch putt)
If you think your tee shot may be lost, hit a provisional. And make sure you tell your opponent you are hitting a "provisional".
Know the rules for an OB ball
Know you water hazard, lateral hazard, and unplayable lie options.

That should address 95% of the stuff you might encounter.

Good luck and have fun.

Does anyone play Golfstar by Com2us on their phone?