Handicap Cant get mine down

bkeano

Just looking for somefeed back here.

I am currently a member of GC in Dublin and have a handicap of 23.1 . I am a member since 2010 where I joined I had a handicap of 19 from Druids heath. Over past 2.5 yrs its gradually gone up but I feel my game has improved as current course is 9 hole and very narrow so have improved my accuracy. Over last 8 to 10 weeks have scored between 31 & 35 pts but winning scores are higer around 38+ to 42/43 so am still 10pts off. Last week I played Dun Laoighaire and scored 39 and won my class in a charity event. on Wednesday this week played Powercourt in a Social outing and scored 40 and came second in my class. Can I give these Score cards to my club to get Handicap down? how is it I can score 38+ on what I call Championship course and only sub 34 on my own course.

slave1

I'm sure others will follow with perhaps more informed advice but I always hand back cards where I meet or better standard scratch on an away course in competition (society/charity/whatever) as this should adjust my handicap down (well actually, I have to adjust down immediately).
AFAIK there's no point in returning scores less than SS and my handicap will not be adjusted by my home club.
Open to correction...

ssbob

Hey mate, first of all you should hand in any noteable cards while playing for a society(ie. cards where you have scored better than your handicap), while you may not get cut from this, when they are looking at your general play they might consider you for a cut.

Why don't you play in some open competitions around the place to see if you can get cut that way.

I must admit when I read the thread I thought you were going to be giving out about not playing well enough:D That's me in a nutshell.

PRAF

bkeano wrote: »

Just looking for somefeed back here.

I am currently a member of GC in Dublin and have a handicap of 23.1 . I am a member since 2010 where I joined I had a handicap of 19 from Druids heath. Over past 2.5 yrs its gradually gone up but I feel my game has improved as current course is 9 hole and very narrow so have improved my accuracy. Over last 8 to 10 weeks have scored between 31 & 35 pts but winning scores are higer around 38+ to 42/43 so am still 10pts off. Last week I played Dun Laoighaire and scored 39 and won my class in a charity event. on Wednesday this week played Powercourt in a Social outing and scored 40 and came second in my class. Can I give these Score cards to my club to get Handicap down? how is it I can score 38+ on what I call Championship course and only sub 34 on my own course.

Where are you losing shots - you say your accuracy has improved. Presumably you are pretty good off the tee and off the fairway. Does that mean that you are losing shots on your short game? Best way to lower the handicap is to spend an hour or two on the short game whenever you get a chance.

BoardsMember

Is your course any good? If it is a badly designed or maintained course, perhaps it does not reward good shots, or penalises your typical bad shots more than other courses might.

newport2

Have you tried keeping stats on your game to narrow down where you're losing shots?

When I'm doing this I normally record:

Fairways hit

Greens in regulation

Putts
(from this and GIR you will know roughly no. of pitches/chips made)

Length of putt holed
(pro's do this and regard > 100ft per round as good. Good benchmark as number of putts can be misleading if you're missing GIR and chipping close)

on each hole.

Just 2 ticks and 2 numbers to write down with your score. Useful to compare over a number of rounds.

Wouldn't regard Dun Laoghire and Powerscourt as easy courses by any means, so if you're scoring well there you should be on your home course too.

ssbob

bkeano wrote: »

Our Course is very well maintained and design is good I think as its tight and Green can be tough. Would Def Say I need to Improve from about 120 yds in but dont we all. Off Tee I normally use 3 Wood and am pretty Straight. here was my score from last Sunday Stroke Comp:


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Not a bad score, looks to me though as if you are starting sluggish, I do this all the time and end up scratching the first, I am going to go out with a new mind set this week, I am going to get there 15 mins early to warm up and hit a few shots at the net.

Dr_Colossus

ssbob wrote: »

I am going to go out with a new mind set this week, I am going to get there 15 mins early to warm up and hit a few shots at the net.

Hardly what I'd call early but every little helps as nothing worse than running onto the first tee in a panic and blasting away.
If there's a practice range at your course I think it's beneficial to hit a number of 100 yard wedges followed by a few pitches and then as much time as you can spare on the putting green working on a few drills and developing a consistent stroke. A good and bad day is usually defined by how well you're chipping and putting on the day (bar obviously a disaster round where you're skying balls all over and out of the course.

Benny Cake

bkeano wrote: »

Our Course is very well maintained and design is good I think as its tight and Green can be tough. Would Def Say I need to Improve from about 120 yds in but dont we all. Off Tee I normally use 3 Wood and am pretty Straight. here was my score from last Sunday Stroke Comp:


Attachment not found.

FYI: Your name is visible on the image attached, maybe it doesnt bother you but you might want to take it down....

As regards you handicap, do you find yourself more nervous playing in qualifying competitons that in Society outings with your mates? This was something I struggled with for a while....

ssbob

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Hardly what I'd call early but every little helps as nothing worse than running onto the first tee in a panic and blasting away.
If there's a practice range at your course I think it's beneficial to hit a number of 100 yard wedges followed by a few pitches and then as much time as you can spare on the putting green working on a few drills and developing a consistent stroke. A good and bad day is usually defined by how well you're chipping and putting on the day (bar obviously a disaster round where you're skying balls all over and out of the course.

Meant to say 15 mins earlier, normally arrive about 30 mins before and get ready and signed in then spend about 15 mins on the putting green before I head out, no range in my course just two nets before the first tee, but anything is better than not doing it!

DEVOTION

Play a couple of opens on other courses. If that 40 was in a qualifying round then there's a good chance you would be cut for it. Just happened for me.