Ok ladies and gentlemen, here is my off season question for the day.

What handicap makes you feel guilty? I.e. mine was at a .3 and I have moved to a 1.6 which I feel is pretty fair but if it moved to a 2.5 I would feel pretty guilty about getting 3 strokes. What say you?

Well I was a +6 but moved to +4.7 last revision. Now my +6.5 buddy is gonna be pissed.

I guess it really all depends I mean if I'm hovering about two strokes above my normal average but that's what I'm turning in round after round it is what it is. Where I feel guilty is when I'm two strokes above my average and I'm on the way down playing somebody for money and they think I'm a sandbagger

If I'm fairly turning in my scores, both home and away, I don't feel bad about whatever my handicap is. I had a great 4 months of golf May - August, and my handicap reflected it. Now a bunch of those low scores are dropping off as I post newer, higher scores. It is what it is. I'm not apologizing to any of my group.

My foursome will always be between 8.5 - 11.5 during the year. Any of us can beat the others depending on the day, so we don't give strokes between us.

In club tournaments, I have no problem taking whatever strokes I get because I know my number is legit.

I get it!! This is where I was going. I feel guilty at the beginning of the season because my handicap is normal 2-3 strokes higher because I'll go out in bad weather and turn in my rounds. It all evens out in the end, but i feel some guilt in the process.

I'm not a good player but it cracks me up to be paired with someone who says they're a 3, 4, 5 handicap and after they shoot 91 they just can't understand how all those slices and lost balls happened.

REMARCH11 said:

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I get it!! This is where I was going. I feel guilty at the beginning of the season because my handicap is normal 2-3 strokes higher because I'll go out in bad weather and turn in my rounds. It all evens out in the end, but i feel some guilt in the process.

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Feel no guilt. Nobody's bothered that you're not playing to your low handicap when it's working its way back up (except maybe your partner). Like you say, it all evens out.

Only time I was uncomfortable was when I was a lot younger, with an 11 index and shot my career low (73) in a wedding tournament at a course I'd never played before.

Now with a 15.5-16, I just hope to get an occasional invite to play. Anywhere.

jja79 said:

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I'm not a good player but it cracks me up to be paired with someone who says they're a 3, 4, 5 handicap and after they shoot 91 they just can't understand how all those slices and lost balls happened.

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Fair, although I would highlight that one should only beat their handicap about 20% of the time. So that 5 handicap isn't some guy that averages 77. He's probably averaging 80, visits the high 80s from time to time, and a sloppy day on a tough course can get up pretty high

True. But also a lot of people are just full of sheet,.. in both directions, when keeping a score or index.

I agree. Lots of folks are full of crap. But just as many don't understand that a handicap isnt an average score.

Im an 8, but if i consistently turned in my good days i'd be a 5 or less. Only time i felt guilty was playing in a handicapped tourney as a 9, shot my career best 64 on par 72 course. Luckily, i was playin with guys id played in lots of tourneys against so they know my handicap is decently legit.

Frankly, vast majority of guys i play against at an 8 are sandbagging 3s. Id rather play against most 1 or 2s... those guys are usually my skill level that just want the number to impress friends but arent that good.

Isn't it about time for Seriously77 to pop up on this thread?

I was so hoping he would take the bait!!!! I thought we would have a gargantuan number of posts by now!!

I shouldn't be helping a 3-5 handicap look for drives sliced into the trees on 10 holes.

I'm currently at 9.6. I feel a little guilty there.

Side note I'd love to play Seriously77 at a 9!

So would i.....man, that would be glorious!!!

I play ball down golf so I've never felt bad about getting strokes. Especially from those that take mulligans and 5' gimmies for bogey.

I'm a 2.5 but in our game we figure then quarterly. Apparently our leader made a math error on mine and one other and put me down as a 5. I just figured all of those 81-83s from the summer were finally paying off.

After shooting a couple of 74s a couple of weeks ago and cleaning house he called me and told me of his error. I laughed. So we go back out last week and I play as a 3 and shoot a freaking 81.

Did shoot 78 yesterday as a 3 and came in 3rd in the individual. Course played hard yesterday.

I always answer "I'm a strong 12" when asked about my handicap.

I probably should quit saying that.

Quote:

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vast majority of guys i play against at an 8 are sandbagging 3s.

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why on earth would anyone who is a "legit 3" (and based on everyone's lack of knowledge about the handicap system - I bet it isn't a 3) want to sandbag to beat their buddies. That's just sad.

Outside of tournament golf, I think 99.9% of handicaps are more lied about than fishing stories. I see it all the time..."oh yeah, so and so is really good - shoots in the low 70s." Sure enough the guy struggles to break 85 and likely will never sniff the 70s other than a "career day".

I think anything over single digits and id feel guilty.

When I can get my wedge practice in during the week, and hit the range a time or two to straighten out the driver, I can score pretty well. Even on bad days though if someone offered me 10 strokes, they'd have to be famous lol

Not sure about all that .3, .whatever, 2.5. I am quite positive if you write all your scores down you will get x.y handicap, thats how it works out.

However, if your saying that your game never varies by more than a stroke and you would feel guilty taking 1 extra stroke, I don't really have answer for that. Other than you should be playing golf on the web.com tour.

First of all, your handicap, is not an average of all your scores... Lets get that out there right now. IT IS NOT AN AVERAGE OF YOUR SCORES!

A golf handicap is basically a score that you are capable of shooting. So, on average, you should be playing worse than your handicap almost every time. If not, your handicap would tend to go lower and lower and lower.

Per the handicap system I am a 2 handicap. I am quite capable of shooting a 70 on any given day. I am more likely to shoot an 80 than I am a 70. I have played a lot of golf, but I do not grind 5 minutes on every shot, and most definitely do not spend enough time grinding on putts.

If it is a tournament all of that changes. I will put in the time and mental effort on every shot.

Point being, unless you are borderline, web.com material... I think your post is more of a brag than anything else, and find it pretty much impossible for you to agonize over one stroke. What your saying is you basically shot 73 - 75 every single time you play without exception. Anyone giving you 2 strokes, and your feel like your cheating? That pretty much sum it up?

A real 2 - 5 handicapper, is shooting 80, more than 74 or 77. Especially on a course he has never played before. The Pro's are not that consistent...

oldschool87 said:

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A real 2 - 5 handicapper, is shooting 80, more than 74 or 77. Especially on a course he has never played before. The Pro's are not that consistent...

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I agree with most everything you said except for this last part. If you're talking about playing different courses regularly, I'll agree with you.

But if you're talking about playing a home course regularly, I think you're wrong. I'm in that handicap range, and it doesn't apply to me, or to the guys I play with who are in that range. I keep all kinds of stats on my golf, so these are real numbers. I've played 92 rounds on my home course this year, and only 7 are 80's. Last year I played 107 home course rounds, with sixteen rounds in the 80's. 2016 was 87 home course rounds with five rounds in the 80's. I think this is probably pretty representative of the guys I play with as well, but I have no numbers to back that up.

I have no illusions that I would be a 2 if I played a different course every week. The fact that the pros can be as good as they are, and deal with different conditions every week, impresses me as much as anything else they do.

(Edited to add: I didn't post my numbers for any reason other than to give my real world experience for why I disagreed with one part of the post. No humblebrag! I know there are guys on here with similar or better numbers.)

What's the course rating? If it's 70 and you're a 2 then yes you're almost always breaking 80 but if it's 75.6 then you're only doing it half the time.

03ki11erAG said:

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What's the course rating? If it's 70 and you're a 2 then yes you're almost always breaking 80 but if it's 75.6 then you're only doing it half the time.

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Very true, and I thought about that after my post. The tees I usually play are rated 71.6 for my par 72 course. The next set up tees I play only occasionally are 70.2.

It does bring up an interesting question about handicaps and how people playing the same course consistently essentially have a lower handicap as a result. Would be interesting to consider an adjustment of some sort.

ORAggieFan said:

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It does bring up an interesting question about handicaps and how people playing the same course consistently essentially have a lower handicap as a result. Would be interesting to consider an adjustment of some sort.

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Having a home course should "equal" out for all members.

Having a home course that is difficult can make a "traveling handicap" an advantage on easier courses.

(in theory, the slope adjusts for that)

DadAG10 said:

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ORAggieFan said:

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It does bring up an interesting question about handicaps and how people playing the same course consistently essentially have a lower handicap as a result. Would be interesting to consider an adjustment of some sort.

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Having a home course should "equal" out for all members.

Having a home course that is difficult can make a "traveling handicap" an advantage on easier courses.

(in theory, the slope adjusts for that)

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I guess my point is, I likely have a higher handicap by having 10+ course in my last 20 vs. someone like my dad who at times would have up to all 20 of his rounds at his home course.

Before I started playing with him, my dad would have a guest for his member/guest who was a 4. Could crush the ball, but was all over the place. His home course was wide open, so it wouldn't affect him. He'd proceed to shoot 90. Had he played various courses rather than just his home course, his handicap wouldn't have been near a 4.

Overall, the difference I'm sure is minimal, but it is there.

Handicap numbers are like bank accounts, only a number. With that thought, natural competitors, like myself, tend to play to the competition . For instance, if I was playing a hacker like Duck, I would only beat him by a single stroke. A little pressure on me yet the type of enjoyable pressure, like watching an old 1950's movie, you know how it is going to turn out but still like to watch.

Most fair weather golfers like Remarch tend to bully the high handicapper but when faced with class competition, fold like a cheap suit. I would have to grind a little bit but still win by a couple of shots.




Bonus:
I am getting ready to write a lesson on sand play, one that will help the municipality masses work toward that single digit handicap like mine.

Seriously77 said:

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Handicap numbers are like bank accounts, only a number. With that thought, natural competitors, like myself, tend to play to the competition . For instance, if I was playing a hacker like Duck, I would only beat him by a single stroke. A little pressure on me yet the type of enjoyable pressure, like watching an old 1950's movie, you know how it is going to turn out but still like to watch.

Most fair weather golfers like Remarch tend to bully the high handicapper but when faced with class competition, fold like a cheap suit. I would have to grind a little bit but still win by a couple of shots.




Bonus:
I am getting ready to write a lesson on sand play, one that will help the municipality masses work toward that single digit handicap like mine.

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Love it!