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Roger Akerman
Handicap: 13
East Sussex
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 118
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My home course is a Par 71 5622 yards, which is fairly open with wide fairways and very few bunkers. My problem is that i record my cards on TSG and have a handicap of 10.8 which is ok for there, but when I go and play other courses which is one or twice a month I really struggle to play to that sort of Handicap, more like 14-15
I wondered if anyone else has this sort of problem, and is there a solution to the problem apart from playing better on away courses, or not entering my home course scores.
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Russell Middlet...
Handicap: 36
Essex
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 387
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I have the same kind of problem.
My golf club has two courses, one long with tight fairways and the other fairly short and very open.
Due to time constraints most of my midweek golf is played on the shorter more open course.
This means I have a managed to get my handicap down to 11 on here (a few months back), but my club handicap is 16 as all of the competitions are played on the longer, tighter course.
Russ
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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I think that playing your own course where you know what club to take off each tee, you know where you want to be on each fairway, you know where the trouble is and you know the greens well enough to know the speed and where the ball will break - well that's got to be worth at least 3 shots against someone playing the course for the first time.
Also, a shorter more open course is more forgiving for most golfers and so it isn't really fair to say that the Standard Scratch Score for a 5,600 yard, fairly open course is only 4 shots less than a 7,000 yard track with tight fairways, lots of bunkers and forced carries over water.
This works both ways of course, someone who has 'earned' their handicap at somewhere tough will generally always seems to 'play to, or better, their handicap' no matter where they go.
All in all, I think the true reflection of your actual playing ability is when you base your handicap on an assessment of your scores from a few different courses (easy enough to do if you enter all your scores into TSG and ask it to use them to calculate your handicap).
The alternative is that we adopt the US PGA approach of having the 'Slope Index' for a course as well as the 'Course Rating' (our Standard Scratch). I don't know why they call it 'Slope' but it's an adjustment applied to your handicap based on an assessment of how tough the course is for an average golfer (I think based on an 18 handicap). This makes for some interesting results - on a shorter, more open course the Slope Rating adjustment might mean your handicap gets cut whilst the Slope Rating for a longer, tougher course means that, for that game, your handicap goes up.
Do you reckon the R&A will adopt the approach of their rival golf authority...
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Ian Halliwell
Handicap: 25
Lancashire
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 82
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hi pete
playing as i do in the states a lot, their system is i believe better.......but bear in mind they prefer scramble formats and competitions are usually in specific classes ie 0-10 11-15......... they still have a distinct lack of belief and transparency in the whole handicap/stableford system at most clubs i encounter..........
id luv to be a 4 when talking golf and a 24 when playing in a comp........
ps im at grande pines orlando on the ewtour this weekend and there wont be a handicap in sight.
keep well
ian
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peter hayes
Handicap: 36
Ireland
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Pete,
As a serving Handicap Sect, you should have ONLY 1 playing handicap,the one your home club issues.Their is no such thing as 'Home & Away' handicaps
rgds
peter hayes
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,955
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Hi Peter, glad to have your official perspective, but my point is that someone who has earned a 15 handicap at somewhere like Princes, Carnoustie, Lytham St Annes etc is likely going to be a better player than someone who has earned a 15 handicap at their local course which is a Par 70, SSS 68 open field afair - blast it 30 degrees off line but never mind because you're just on the next fairway...
So, the option of building a handicap based on games played at a variety of courses is likely to give a fairer indication of your 'general' playing ability as opposed to how well you play your own specific course.
Anyway, no more for me for now 'cos, ash cloud permitting, I'm off for a week.
Have fun golfing.
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Carol Bellis
Handicap: 36
Kent
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 76
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A quick query for Peter Hayes re his posting.
I agree that you should have only one playing handicap, but in theory, putting in a card from another course that you've played is an 'adjustment' in itself. eg. I played in a competition at a much easier course than my own - I had assumed it was a friendly, but was told at the end that it was actually a qualifier. my gross score was considerably lower than my handicap warranted, and the away club insisted that I gave it to our club handicap secretary. This didn't particularly upset me, but it then gave me a handicap at my own club that I found difficult to play to for a few months. However, my club won't accept away cards that have scores higher than my handicap.
I would really appreciate an explanation of this seemingly double standard please Peter.
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peter hayes
Handicap: 36
Ireland
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Carol B,
all qualifying cards should be accepted,good or bad.The good ones to decrease your handicap and the bad ones to increase your handicap.This is the essence of a CONGU handicap.Basically if you have a score that is better than the CSS(competition standard scratch)your handicap is reduced.If your score is say 4 stokes better you will be reduced by .8 . If the opposite is the case you should be getting .1 added to your handicap.Have a look online ,type in CONGU and have a good read on all the rules and regulations.
rgds
peter hayes
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TSG
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