handicapp???????

Hi all i've been playing for a year now and i'm trying to work out how to work out my handicapp. I don't belong to a club yet but play several different local courses to me. i have played 3 times this year shooting 86,85 and 80 at 2 different courses, i can also go back up into the 90's if i have a bad round. I'm due to play a society in 8 weeks time but not sure what i should play off?? My skycaddie tracking stats is telling me 19.3 i presume that is over the last year??? i havent put all my scores onto this system as i thought the caddie was doing a correct job for me. Just for the record my last years rounds were 95,89,95,98,98,89,84,83,80,93,96,97,93,88,93,28,96,94,93,87,94,93,96,86,85,80!!!

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

thanks shane

Hi Shane, welcome to the world of golf.

Only you will know what standard you are playing to and looking at your last three rounds then I don't feel that you would be cheating anybody playing of 14.5. I am sure you would not wish to win by having a handicap that would give you the victory.

Unfortunately you will find that the winner will be well under his handicap, but you will just have to learn to accept that there are players around who are what we used to call Pot Hunters and winning is the only thing on their minds and they achieve this by cheating.

Get yourself into a proper Golf club where handicaps are regulary checked.

Does the Golfshake handicap card have any credence if you want to play a particular course?  I have entered all (almost) my scores for the last three years and have a handicap of 21.  Recently joined Hurtmore (Surrey) and went through the process of obtaining a club (CONGU) handicap of 25, based on the best of 3 rounds against the course SSS (Standard Scratch Score) last Nov./Dec.  I would like to think that my Golfshake handicap is more accurate, but rules is rules.

Sorry, sent twice.

Mike, when you join a club without declaring a handicap, the system used is that which you have experienced. Unfortunately you wont be able to do much about that apart from play well in club competitions to get it down. What I would suggest is when playing off yellows with mates and societies is score to the golfshake handicap and use the CONGU handicap to your advantage until you get it down.

Shane, if there particular rounds you missed out were the 2 80s, 83 & 84 then thats where the 4/5 shots have been missed out I reckon. Its the start of the year, pick one handicap and one tracking for the year and stick to it to save confusion

Mike, you're doing nothing untowards by using your club handicap though if you play in a regular society and do well then they'll pull you. It's really down to yourself. To be ultra fair you could use your lowest handicap at all times. I feel there are three types of golfers. The fair ones, the bandits (who go out of their way to keep their handicap as high as possible which includes not submitting cards and purposely throwing shots away in any particular comp where they feel they have no chance of winning and the 'vanity' handicappers, who go out of their way to get keep their handicaps as low as possible which includes not submitting cards. I only have a problem with the bandits. They think it's a bit of a laugh but it does wear thin.

 Hi Shane, CONGU is the easiext way to look at how to adjust your handicap & how handicaps are calculated.  Golfshake use the same system, but it is nice to understand how the figures etc are calculated.

http://www.handicapmaster.org/downloads/download.php 

The link I have posted will allow you to download their software.

There are also instructions for calculating your handicap including buffer zones etc at the CONGU website..

It is relatively straight forwardd using your actual score against the standard scratch score for the course.  No hole score can be more than a double bogey.  Adjust your actual score to no more than a double bogey on each hole.  this is the adjusted score.  Then the standard scratch score minus your adjusted score.  The difference if below your playing handicap will be deducted from your original handicap thus giving your new handicap.  there is a Buffer Zone in your case 0.3 which basically is the cut against your original handicap. For each shot below SSS there would be a 0.3 cut.  Unfortunately you can only go up bt 0.1 at most each round.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

David

http://www.mygolfexperience.com/golf/uk/golf-handicap.asp

Hi Shane check out link above!