Easy courses;good or bad for your game?

As a group we play many courses as we are spread over two counties.One particular course we all seem to score heavily on.It's short and open but good in bad weather conditions.After much debate and confusion the concensus is we should cut the sss by six shots from the quoted.First of all is this ethical?Secondly after being cut due to the heavy scoring we keep up with our new handicaps on other courses.Does this then figure that playing the course is good for our game?

you could say that people who play the same course week in week out know every nook and cran of it and may not be able to play on other courses when they do so,  in my opion the handicap would come down for them faster than if you play mixture of courses  but i am sure i am wrong on that 

I wouldnt say an easy course is bad for your game, it may make you a little over confident if you played it all the time and then tried another more challenging course. Im not a member of a club but im lucky enought to have a few good pay and play courses locally and a small golf club local to me that is only a nine hole par 30 course. Its very much a teaching centre that has memberships thus the course is short and more open. I use the range there every weekend and the last 3 saturdays ive managed to play the 9 holes. My handicap is 22 ( was once 14) and a couple of saturdays ago i played one of the members whose handicap is 14 (he very rarely plays elsewhere)  and i hit a 2 over 32and he hit a 38. He of course called me a bandit but when i play a full course as i put it i do play to my handicap. The highest ive hit there is a 38 and i had a 37 this weekend but  i know if i got a handicap from this club it wouldnt be my true handicap if that makes sense?

My freinds and I have the same situation. Sometimes the SSS just doesn't seem to reflect how easy or otherwise a course might be, and there's one particular course we play where you can almost hit it anywhere and still have a decent shot at the green.

A few weeks ago I shot a really good score (for me) there but was spraying the ball all over the place. However, I chipped and putted my way to a good score. At a tougher course I'd have probably shot something like 100 rather than the 82 I got, yet that wouldn't have been refelected in the two SSS's of the courses.

My understanding is that the SSS is based on how well a scratch golfer might play a course, but they would generally be hitting it straight. Maybe if SSS's were based on higher HC players then it would better reflect how tough or easy some courses truly are.

If you are playing a course just for fun that wouldn't impact your handicap would it? I thought your handicap was impacted by the CSS (competition standard scratch) which is calculated for each competition. So, no matter what the SSS is, if everyone plays well under their handicap the CSS would be lower than SSS and handicaps wouldn't drop as much.

CSS maximum of 1 lower than SSS.

I think you're looking at it the wrong way, If you play at lots of places and monitor your handicap on here i would just see it as an easy course, where your society know you will have to score well to win. The bigger issue is if you are a member at an easy course, you would tend to get a good handicap but not be able to play to it anywhere else and get annoyed with other courses.

When i play at easy courses I appreciate the score, but know that it is a bit artifical, It's like playing a football team who turn up with 8 players, you win 10-0 and most people only see the score, not that the opposition was weak, then wonder why you drew 0-0 the next week with another team!

I didn't know CSS could only fall 1 below SSS! You learn something new everyday!

I do agree about players who are members of easy courses finding it more difficult to play to their handicap at harder courses. When we have our invitation days the competition secretary invariably sets it to 3/4 handicap which I always think is a bit harsh. Our par 72 course has a SSS of 75 and to attempt the course as a visitor is difficult enough without having to try it from 3/4 handicap.

In answer to your question, it is good for your game. I have a mate, played off about 20 but had a very good short game. I went to his home course and it was a 9 hole around 2100yds par 33. He wasnt a big driver but was always around 50 yds from the greens on par 4s. So he got lots of chipping practice. So its good for your GAME. I have another mate who played on a 9 hole to a 7 handicap. He then played at my local 6000yd fairly tight course and couldnt break 100. So short courses are not good for your handicap unless the sss is also very low.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Thanks all.

We play about 8 courses through the year.The easy one at least puts a smile on our faces when we get our best ever score,which we quote when asked.We play at least once a week,only at weekends or twilights due to work commitments.

Would be nice to have a membership which covers multiply courses and maybe limited to one game a week at one of the courses.We are probably paying alot more over the year than a membership would be.But its nice to face different courses with different views.

We have comps between the 2 counties where our friendships are suspended for one day,and they are great fun!

I would have thought that  short east courses would not be bad for your game as its all practice. But I would think that longer courses would help you even more as you wont have a wedge or 9 iron for your second shot and you will have to use fairway woods and long irons for your approach shots. A longer course makes you out of necessity use all the clubs in the bag and your final score would be more a true reflection of your ability,

regards, Michael.