The life and times of a bandit

My club handicap is official 20...the reason for the difference from this and my Golfshake one is that I have not put my really bad rounds in here and the fact that during comps my card goes in and I don't keep a copy of my rounds.....I would say that my GS handicap is a better reflection of my ability and as this site isn't my official club, I'm and I'm happy for it to reflect what I feel is my truer level

....during the winter our winter course was regraded from par 69 to 67 plus I played badly through the winter in comps and general play due to the very heavy ground up here.

as the weather has good better my game has come back and whilst my rounds have been ok...I have had periods within a round that were great. Yesterday I went from hole 1 to 12 only getting 10 stableford points!!! 13 to 18, I got 18 points!

This morning I was entered into another club comp.....hole 1....birdie...by hole 5 I was level par - by the end of the round I had posted an 80 (par 71).....I was thrilled - everything was normal apart from that my 100 yards and in was much better and I was sinking everything inside 5 feet. It was one of those days that just worked....and If I'm honest I wasted three shots that I really should have not.

But in the clubhouse I've never been met by such a questioning bunch of sods in all my life......they made it impossible for me to enjoy my day. I konw that I've always been straight in all my rounds so I'm not worried...but it is really difficult for a higher handicap player to face some of the 'in crowd' when we have a good day.

I fully understand that if you are a 12 or so h/c or below that you have less shots to play with and so it you have to play ALOT better to get the same net score as a high h/c who has a good day......but some of the bitterness was just childish

I will be out again tomorrow....and see if I can hack my way to my first sub 80.....;-)

regards

Bandito

I know how you feel.

I'm not a member anywhere, more of a journeyman golfer. I play where i'm told to play!

I have been getting stick for having a 27.8 handicap for the last few months, the grief i've just got for telling my mates i'm now at 26.3!

Its not like i ever win anything

This will undoubtably come up next weekend when i'm told i'm not playing like a 26er.

My comeback to them? Its a good job handicaps stop at 28!

Damo

(More of a hit and run than a bandit)

I had the same issue when I won a couple of comps last year.  My reply was to remind them of the previous 18 months of crap when I won nothing.  Enjoy it, take the handicap cut and move on.

Lewis

I once shot a 1 over par for the back nine at my local course which has a SSS 71 , the front nine wasn't that great i think it was 11 over but what I'm trying to say is anyone can have a purple patch at sometime and i wouldn't worry too much about what the others say. by the way have you entered your round on golfshake because you could be getting a severe cutting, snip! snip! snip!

Lewis,

It is just jealousy, everyone can have that good day.

A stock answer to these guys may be " I may be a Bandit today, but after the Competition Sec does his work, I won't be tomorrow".

TheLyth

Lyth, it may be jealousy on some peoples parts, but in the main these kind of scores are the bain of this game. The handicap system is totally flawed in my opinion and needs a thoprough overhaul.

Just take a look at the results from the Gtour at Wokefield park last Saturday and you will see exactly what I mean. This type of conmpetition attracts the pot hunters, especially when the main prize is a trip to Cyprus. If I honestly thought I had a chance then I would have participated, as it is a local course to me.

Two of the participants played with me on the Friday at my club and one of them was an incredible striker for his handicap and I really thought that he would walk it at Wokefield, but I am afraid it was not to be as there were bigger bandits than he was.

A player who can shoot nine pars is not an 18 handicap player in my book, and would be a tough opponent in matchplay, don't you think.

In the golden days a handicap was considered to be ones best effort under summer conditions, where those who put in bandit scores were treated ruthlessly by the system in whole number off their handicaps, now of course it takes ages to come down and even longer to go up.

I am of the opinion that when someone shoots these low rounds they have shown that they are capable of it and should be handicapped accordingly.

I feel, however, that we are approaching the handicap system all wrong. It would be far better if the number of pars and birdies were recorded and everything above a bogey was discarded. So, in a nutshell, if you can shoot nine pars then 9 handicap you are.

Have you ever asked yourself why we have a dearth of very low handicap players now, who, in my days would not have been in the same class. It is becasue the decimal system allows them to have nine bad rounds before their handicap goes up by one, yet one good round during that time can see them maintain it.

The byproduct of this is we now have many young players who honestly believe that they have it and are good enough to turn pro, yet none of them seem to be able to win on the amateur circuit, although many do not even attempt that.

My club has quite a few of these young players, the reason being the very high SSS which also helps them to maintain their handicaps.

Now, Lewis, having played with you and seen you play I really do believe that you would like to have a lower handicap but now you have shown that you are capable of shooting the low numbers, I would really hate to be on the end of that kind of performance whilst showing a handicap that really does not reflect your abilities.

lewis, handicaps were introduced in order that one could play against each other fairly, but unfortunately this has not worked out in practice.

A little story - When I was a member at Clevedon golf club we used to hold a monthly bogey competiton and as you well know there is no tougher opponent than the course itself and this competition was usually won with something like 1 up.

When I joined Sherfield Oaks they had never even heard of this type of competition, but the Captain(my friend Darren) introduced it into the calendar on a monthly basis also. Interestingly that the winning score at Sherfield was 8 Up with many others also finishing Up on bogey. To say I was staggered is an understatement.

Handicaps were max at 24, and with the 3/4 allowance no one received more than 18 shots. How on earth one is expected to give anyone 2 shots on a hole, I just cannot fathom. Stableford was7/8ths and the only full allowance was for a medal round.

You mention Hogan and Snead, and yes, I certainly do think that the modern breed would not be able to live with them. Look out for the DVD of their match at Houston Golf club by Shells wonderful world of golf. Over 7000 yards, yes even in those days, yet Hogan hit every green in regulation figures with persimmons and blades. It is a wonderful watch I can assure you.

A handiicap is meant to level the field, NOT give one an advantage.

Stephen,

You posted:-

I'm sure someone must have thought of this before, but when someone shoots well below their handicap in a comp, why not apply the resulting cut to their handicap retrospectively? If Lewis above shoots 81 off a 20 handicap today, and will get cut to 16 tomorrow, then he has shown himself to have in fact been a 16 handicap today, albeit unbeknowst to the handicap committee and maybe even to himself. So why not only allow him 16 shots, to put him net 7 under, rather than the 20 shots that would put him 11 under. 

I am sorry but although a good idea, it wouldn't work. Imagine the complaints when a guy posts the winning score and is then told he didn't win because he played TOO WELL!

JP,

I look at a Hcp as an aid to even things up, but the system used to control it is not perfect, but then no system would. Within a Club, low scores by high handicappers deter the low handicappers from playing (because they have no chance). Change to your idea and the good players will win, so the high handicappers (not so good players) will not enter because they have no chance. The idea of Golfers playing in DivisionsFlights in competitions is the only way most Clubs can operate in a worthwhile manner. But that is Golf, one day you shoot the lights out, the next you can't get the ball anywhere near where you want it to go, and take 10shots more. 

TheLyth

Stephen,

I have seen many Societies try to even things up with different handicapping systems and after a few months bin them.

Golf is full of two types, one group play to compete, the other just play for fun. There is room for both.

The main flaw in your suggestion would in my eyes play into a 'true Bandits' hands. Knowing the Target Score, they would post that everytime they went out and could keep there Hcp artificially high. Just like they have done for years when we had SSS only.

TheLyth