Do you play to your handicap?

There is always much debate about banditry and handicaps, especially in the bar after a game when someone has returned 40+ points. I recently saw the following on my club's website...

Spread of Scoring Players with lower Handicaps will typically play to a narrower range of scores than players with high Handicaps, whose results will have a wider spread.

For players with CONGU Handicaps, research has shown that a Category 1 player will typically play to an average of 2 shots above their Handicap, whereas a Category 4 player will average 5 or 6 shots above their Handicap.

A rough and ready rule is to take one quarter of your Handicap and add 1.5. This would be your target average score over Handicap. Thus a 28 handicapper would be expected to average 8.5 shots above their Handicap. For a 4 handicapper it would be 2.5.

How do you compare to this rule of thumb? I must admit I am returning scores on average better than this says I should be. Is my handicap too high then?

Interested in any thoughts...

Your handicap should only be played too 3 or 4 times a year (maybe less). It is not something you should play to all the time. I am off 10 (club, not GS) and will often not play to it, but when my game is "on" I know I can beat it.

As for your rule of thumb...it means I should, in theory, aim to play to 14 every time...which probably sounds about right. I just get very downbeat if I do as I know I can play better

It cannot be a number of times, it has to be a proportion of the number of qualifiers played. You would not expect a player playing 100 qualifiers to only play to handicap on 3 occasions| An accepted rough and ready figure is for a Cat3 player to play to buffer or better in 1/3 of qualifiers played.

Well according to GS I have hit 36 or better in 47 out of 170 rounds, so 1 in 4, which seems excessive. Problem is my home course SSS is three under par off the yellows, so I have to score 39 or better to get cut - it's a tight course but not at all long at only 5800 yards, so if you're playing straight you can score well (and if you're not...well, I've struggled to stay under 100 a couple of times recently on very 'off' days!).

In 12 rounds this year I've averaged 31.25pts, for some reason 2012 reports don't seem to be working, but that figure is very slightly higher than your rule of thumb (which would have me making 30.25 average). My 2011 figures are much higher at 34.5pts average, but my handicap dropped five shots over that year so not an accurate picture.

I was told many years ago that you should aim to play to your handicap once every 4 rounds, if you are playing regularly.

However I think this would vary a lot between summer and winter rules.

Also depends on your current game, if you are a settled golfer who has had a similar handicap for a while then you will probably play to it a lot less.

Whereas someone who is improving, maybe taking lessons would expect to play to it a lot more until their game levels out.

It's certainly interesting. I must admit, my game has been steadily improving over the last 2-3 years so my scoring is probably higher than it "should" be. I still can't get over the thought that I am disappointed if I don't get anywhere near 36 points. Below 30 to me feels like a disaster.

The only times I,ve played to my handicap or better on my home course is in winter times, I find my course of over 7000 yards to be too difficult in summer

One of the reasons for asking is that I run a society at my work. We occasionally get "complaints" that certain players' handicaps are too high. The rule of thumb mentioned above seems, to me, a little extreme.

Does anyone know any other guideline or better still, official CONGU guidelines that I can apply for an annual handicap review?

I think it's down to competition. If I'm playing a friendly round or by myself, I often score better than if I play in a competition.

I've always put this down to a lack of pressure and whether I'm playing from the yellows or competition whites.

I record all my scores on here and it gives a handicap of 19 but if I just count eligable cards, i.e. comps, my club handicap of 23 is actually lower than I shoot in comps.

Chris, is the 2012 report error via the Virtual Leaderboard system or just the Career Stats page ??

Let me know and I'll fix.

Hey Darren,

It's when I go (from homepage) 'My Game', select 'Analyse My Game', then 'Yearly Analysis' under 'Reports, Compare, Data'. Then either selecting '2012 Report' tab or trying to change the drop-down year option just keeps opening 2013 rather than 2012.

My stats don't appear on the virtual leaderboard either in the blue bar at the bottom or when filtering in a way to make sure I should appear (ie. by more than 10 rounds this year in handicap range 16-19 there's only one player, and it ain't me!). Is it because I haven't paid you any money?!

I'll look shortly.

There was an issue with the virtual leaderboard stats for 2013 which I fixed but when I ran the maintenance at 4pm I slowly caused the site to grind to a halt :p

I'm getting the site back running again first and will then look at your data plus fix the 2013 VLB. I'll also move this query to our support system.

I played 24 comps at my club last year out 90+ rounds of golf. I only handicap track the qualifying rounds.

Out of the 24 rounds, 11 were over handicap outside my buffer zone,7 were within my buffer zone, 1 was on handicap and 5 rounds below handicap. Average of 33 points with the lowest score 24 and the highest 41.

Part of the CONGU system is that once a year a review of handicaps on all players is done. This is to check to see if people's handicaps should be changed regardless of the handicap being calculated by scores.

An example is we have a lady member who has never managed to get below 36. She only plays half a dozen times a year as she works. However, she is naturally talented, has great hand/eye coordination and although she will have horrendous holes she is capable of a par or even a birdie on any hole. After review her handicap was pulled a shot.

We have another lady who went up a shot.

When my husband first started playing again after 16 years was put on a 9 handicap despite his 3 cards saying he should have been on a 14. The handicap committee decided this after advisement from playing partners and the club Pro. After about 3 months they then docked him a further 2 shots in addition to the drops he had from putting in good scores. He didn't complain as he knew he was improving faster than the handicap calculations could handle.

Every club has to have a handicap secretary and handicap committee which is there to review everyone's handicap throughout the year and can in extreme circumstances amend anyone's handicap.

Does golfshake do this too?

Judy

I would be interested to know the reasons stated by your handicap committee for reducing the lady's handicap. Was it purely on the subjective basis of naturally talented etc. or were there competition results justifying it?

It starts off with a computer program. The CONGU system has an algorithm you run at the end of the season which reviews all results for all players and highlights any players which it thinks should be reviewed and suggests what the change should be. The handicap committee then sit down and discuss it in human terms rather than a computer. The reason the lady in question got pulled is she pars a lot of holes in every round, she just can't keep it up for a full round. They were also aware of some of the results from her social golf rounds which don't go into the computer. The discussion was then, if we pull her, will it be in her best interest and make it fair on her and other players. A lot is discussed and in that case it was deemed fair to pull her one shot. The lady in question is delighted and it has spurred her on to play more often and hopefully she will come down further this year.

The lady who had a shot added to her handicap had suffered from injuries and was going out 0.1 every round but she had no chance of playing to her current handicap in her current state of health - so she was given an extra shot. Obviously when her health improves she may get reviewed and that shot disappears very quickly!

The reason I was asking about golfshake is the first part of the process is a computer program and although they couldn't realistically do the human bit of the review, they could use the program to further adjust handicaps.

Interesting point there, Judy in respect of the number of pars this lady member of yours is able to produce. This, should indeed be reflected in her handicap, even though our Handicap and rules man DH will disagree.

I have always felt that handicaps should be based on the number of pars and birdies that a player makes with nothing over a bogey ever being considered. Yes, it would lower the overall handicaps quite considerable but would also level out the field in a much fairer way than the present system.

You are fortunate that, as a lady, you get to play a much shorter course than the men and usually to a higher SSS as well. This does not make it a fair competition when playing in the same comp as a man which is what happens at my club.

With my poor physical ability I still have to play a course that is completely out of range of my capabilities, yet ladies get a start because of their supposedly lack of physical abilities in comparison to a man.

Ha ha, I think I get your point John but I'm sure that will inflame some ladies!!

Interesting re the lady who had her handicap increased due to injuries. From the guidance that I have read, temporary injuries do not justify an increase. Permanent physical impairments can justify an increase e.g. onset of arthritis.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the discussion. I recently found some CONGU guidlines from 2008 which, I believe, are still valid. Here's the link...

CONGU Annual Review PDF

This gives a formula for calculating target differential against the "perfect" player. It also states that the "median" of players' scores should be used rather than the "mean" which does make a difference with some of my society's players.

There is also a useful presentation published...

EGU Handicap Seminar Presentation

The original reason for asking was to find a fair way to review my society's handicaps. I think I have found it and will press on to make myself unpopular by adjusting a few players' handicaps.

Having this formula programmed into Golfshake would be useful, although I have added it to my Access database now. I would not want Golfshake to apply annual review cuts automatically though - CONGU stresses strongly that their formula simply highlights golfers who may need a cut - common sense and human analysis of all factors should be taken into account.

Ha ha, I think I get your point John but I'm sure that will inflame some ladies!!

Interesting re the lady who had her handicap increased due to injuries. From the guidance that I have read, temporary injuries do not justify an increase. Permanent physical impairments can justify an increase e.g. onset of arthritis.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the discussion. I recently found some CONGU guidlines from 2008 which, I believe, are still valid. Here's the link...

CONGU Annual Review PDF

This gives a formula for calculating target differential against the "perfect" player. It also states that the "median" of players' scores should be used rather than the "mean" which does make a difference with some of my society's players.

There is also a useful presentation published...

EGU Handicap Seminar Presentation

The original reason for asking was to find a fair way to review my society's handicaps. I think I have found it and will press on to make myself unpopular by adjusting a few players' handicaps.

Having this formula programmed into Golfshake would be useful, although I have added it to my Access database now. I would not want Golfshake to apply annual review cuts automatically though - CONGU stresses strongly that their formula simply highlights golfers who may need a cut - common sense and human analysis of all factors should be taken into account.

John - you point is perfectly valid and at Moortown we have a solution. About 4 years ago they opened the 'Centenary' green tee course. It is shorter than even the ladies course and it is for juniors, beginners and seniors. It is a measured course with it's own SSS and counts for handicap. Until this year competitions have been held off a specific tee but starting this year, for some competitions, Ladies will be able to choose which course to play off, the red tees or the greens for the same competition. Should it be a success then I am sure the men will also have a choice of tees for some of their competitions. The standard scratch is a few shots lower on the green course but with your excellent short game I think you would find it a fairer contest than always playing off yellow, white or blue/black tees.

Judy, thanks for the response. My new club also has Green tees which were put down for Veterans but it seems that no one plays from them, so I am back on the whites with the rest of the big hitters. The well worn argument that I get the shots to compensate is completely missing the point as the high handicappers seem to be able to propel the ball a very long way from the tee, just that after that they are not always straight, but like your lady member you mentioned seem to have no trouble managing to shoot half a dozen pars and the occasional birdie.

As mentioned before I play this new game now by using one of my playing partners drive and also playing off the handicap of that person. It is a much better way for me to play as then my relative straightness and distance control comes to the fore.

John - do you use the club2000/howdidIdo/BRS computer system to book tees/enter scores at your club? Apparently the new upgrade (due shortly) is the one which allows competitions to be played off different tees. When we get this to work I will let you know and if your club uses the same system then perhaps they will trial a few comps where you can play of different tees. Then you could play your own game.

I have no idea what system is in use, Judy, most of the time the computer is broken down.

A par was initially assessed on the length of a hole, a par 3 up to 250 yards, a par 4 up to 475 yards and anything over that was a par five. This initial system assumed that either 1 2 or 3 shots were necessary to reach the green and 2 putts were then allowed to make a par.

I am now unable to reach these greens in regulation. Modern design has seen the introduction of hazards to catch a straight shot, which was never the case in the old days, only wayward shots were penalised.

At 21 handicap, yes, I have enough shots but if I play a match against a younger 21 handicapper I find that I lose a lot of holes due to their abilities to make quite a few pars, so I don't play with the high handicappers, I play with all the good players and play off their drives. We then have a level playing field and everyone can enjoy the game, it is also good for them as they know that I will improve their short game.