What does the handicap # tell you?

[Ego Woods]

I guess this is for the more experienced golfers.....what does learning one's handicap tell you?

For example, here's what i recently read from a Golf Channel article from Rich Lerner regarding the recent pro-am:

"After checking celebrity handicaps against the swings I saw my impression is as follows: Bill Murray’s a great value at 15, Emmitt Smith’s a soft 14, Chris Berman needs every one of his 18 pops, Costner’s a risky 14 because he admits he rarely plays, and while Samuel L. Jackson makes a decent move on the ball, I’d be more comfortable with Sam at a 9 instead of his current 7. "


....so then how can u tell the difference a golfer with say a 5 handicap as opposed to a 7? or a 1 and a 2?

or anything similar to this? Given that some golfers are stronger in their short game than perhaps their irons.........or some are great a putting while avg off the tee....there could be a variety of reasons of how the golfer got to the handicap they are today......

[Nocturnal]

If your opponent wants to bet and claims a 15 handicap and you notice there is a dime sized spot worn in the centre of his wedges it's time to run!

Handicaps have no value whatsoever unless everyone is honest i.e. do they count 2 strokes for every lost ball or do they just throw a new ball out on the fairway and have at it :nono: , do they putt every ball out :rolleyes:. Do they record 'every' round they play or only the good (and/or bad) ones, if not it's not a realistic handicap.

Most high handicappers try to 'lower' their handicaps while low handicappers try to raise theirs. The only handicap I trust is my own and on even days of the week I don't even trust that!

[noback]

The only handicap I trust is my own and on even days of the week I don't even trust that!Ditto on that, disturbing but aint it the truth:D

[Shadow]

Handicaps have no value whatsoever unless everyone is honest i.e. do they count 2 strokes for every lost ball or do they just throw a new ball out on the fairway and have at it :nono: , do they putt every ball out :rolleyes:. Do they record 'every' round they play or only the good (and/or bad) ones, if not it's not a realistic handicap.

Most high handicappers try to 'lower' their handicaps while low handicappers try to raise theirs. The only handicap I trust is my own and on even days of the week I don't even trust that! A handicap is an number which indicates a golfers "potential." It is obviously based on the best 10 of the player's last 20 games, so it is lower than what the player's average or median score is. For example: My current handicap is 1 and from one set of tees the course rating is 70. This means that the average of my best 10 games is just about 1 above the rating, or 71. However, the truth is that my average score is fractionally under 73 for all of my games, meaning that the bad games were discarded in the calculation.

When you say above that most high handicappers try to lower theirs, are you suggesting that they cheat to do this? I agree that some do, in order to win net prizes or to stay in a higher class, however, most do not. In fact, as a handicap is a measure of improvement, I believe that most golfers work hard on their games in order to lower their handicap, honestly.
There are some, but very few, reverse sandbaggers, ie., low handicppers who have a handicap even lower than what it should be. They use gimmes, takies, foot wedges, ie., they cheat, because their fragile little egos cannot take being what they are, instead of what they feel they should be. Watch these guys in tournaments. They choke their guts out, as now they have to count everything, AND, live up to the low handicap. It is all very amusing.

One other correction: The penalty for a lost ball is 1 stroke, and not two.
If a ball is lost or is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).
http://www.rcga.org/english/Rules/rule_27.asp

[Nocturnal]

When you say above that most high handicappers try to lower theirs, are you suggesting that they cheat to do this? Emphatically yes, of course people do. Re the two strokes I was thinking stroke and distance with Lost Ball/OB go figure, I always think of that as a two stroke penalty, as by the time I can't find my drive it's too late to go back to tee. So I drop where I went out of bounds or lost the ball and take two strokes.

My reference above however was that high handicappers don't want to have to say that they're a high handicapper so they tend to lose track of shots in the round and/or only input their better scores. On the reverse, some low handicappers want to have the advantage a couple strokes would give them and tend to input only their mediocre rounds.

All of it is complete hogwash to me, I shoot in the high 70s - mid 80s and that's what I tell people when they ask what my handicap is. I dunno what that would work out to as a handicap and I don't really care, because the only one I'm playing against out there is myself :D

[openflows]

Generally speaking I think it all depends upon whether or not you're competitive, and whether or not you want to interface/interact with the official world of golf.

I think regardless of skill, if you're serious about golf, it makes sense to maintain an honest handicap. From a personal level it helps chart progress over time, and on a competitive level it helps provide for a broader plane of competition.

We tend to think that competition between people of dramatically differet skill is not possible or desirable, however the handicap system helps make that not only possible, but fun. Certainly I know when I was a 20+ handicap I loved playing against and sometimes beating people with really low handicaps. Similarly it's way more fun to play in a tournament when you actually have a chance of winning, and again, handicaps make that possible.

For people who shoot above 100 or even in the high 90s, there are significant benefits from maintaining a handicap, since the day may come when you genuinely improve substantially and for the period of a few rounds you can really clean up in competition. People may accuse you of "sandbagging" but the fact is you earned it. And the best way to cash in on such an improvement is by having a handicap to do so.

Handicaps are the currency of the golf world. Many fancy schmancy courses require you to have an "official" one before they will allow you to play. So in general, it's worth having one. Especially if you're just getting into the game...

[el tigre]

Most high handicappers try to 'lower' their handicaps while low handicappers try to raise theirs. The only handicap I trust is my own and on even days of the week I don't even trust that! Comments like this always tick me off, because the implication is that most golfers cheat and lie when it comes to tracking and reporting handicaps. The truth is exactly as Shadow pointed out - some do, but most do not.

The fact is that most golfers who take the time to track and record their handicap do so because they are taking the game more seriously and want to improve. So they tend to play by the rules and honestly record their strokes. While "sandbagging" does happen, in my experience it is far less common than a lot of people claim. And there's nothing worse as a high-handicapper than having a great round when everything comes together, and some jerk accusing you of cheating. More common seems to be the "vanity" handicap - people who base their handicap on their best score because they don't want to admit to being a high-handicapper.

I shoot in the high 70s - mid 80s and that's what I tell people when they ask what my handicap is. In my experience it is people who do not track their handicap but instead use statements like this that you have to watch out for. I don't want to pick on you in particular Nocturnal, because if you never play a competitive round then this is fine. But if you do play competitively once in a while and simply rely on this statement, then you are in fact "sandbagging". A handicap is not your average score - it is your best 10 rounds out of 20 - so obviously it is going to be lower than "what you usually shoot".

IMHO if you ever play in any kind of competition where strokes are given, then you must keep a handicap. With all the free tracking software out there it is really easy to do. Otherwise, keeping a handicap is a good way to chart your progress but usually not necessary.

[Nocturnal]

I don't want to pick on you in particular Nocturnal, because if you never play a competitive round then this is fine. But if you do play competitively once in a while and simply rely on this statement, then you are in fact "sandbagging". A handicap is not your average score - it is your best 10 rounds out of 20 - so obviously it is going to be lower than "what you usually shoot".Every round I play is competitive, I compete with myself, and no one else. That's what golf is about, not some artificial system that attempts to allow folks of different abilities the chance to compete. I've seen way too many arguments about who gets how many per side and what exactly the bet was. About who's a sandbagger and who isn't. I've found that not having a handicap keeps people from trying to 'compete' or bet with me and I like it just fine :)

Every time I go out to play I try to shoot my personal best, once in a while I succeed, most times I fail. I never drop F bombs, I cheer for my playing companion's good shots and commiserate with their bad ones, and hope they do the same for me. I figure if I didn't lose a ball all day it was a terrific round no matter what I scored. Someday you too will be old and cynical like me :eek:

[el tigre]

Every round I play is competitive, I compete with myself, and no one else.... I've found that not having a handicap keeps people from trying to 'compete' or bet with me and I like it just fine :) Yeah, I can understand that and see where you're coming from. The ONLY REAL competition in golf is you vs. the course - everything else is kinda artificial since nothing you do on the course really has any effect on anyone else.

I'm already old - I'm just trying to hold on to my optimism as long as I can!:D