Golf Handicaps of 28 or more for men

Hibrasil

A golfing friend tells me that the golf club of which he is a member (no names at the moment) has given some members (men - not ladies) handicaps of 36. I know that the maximum CONGU (GUI) handicap for men is 28.
I am wondering if this is an isolated case or are there clubs where a similar practice exists.

spacecoyote

Are they allocating them for a non qualifying competition, some sort of internal league comp or something like that, but their GUI will be 28?

ForeRight

I played in a match play against a man of 36 before.

He had a medical reason for the handicap and it was very fair.

Hibrasil

My understanding is that a list of the members with 36 handicaps was put on the notice board a few months ago. In discussion he mentioned that their GUI handicaps are 28.0 - but the 36 handicap is for all club competitions except opens / semi-opens. My feeling is that it's against all rules as two years ago a member playing with a 36 handicap won a monthly medal.

Hibrasil

ForeRight wrote: »

I played in a match play against a man of 36 before.

He had a medical reason for the handicap and it was very fair.

There is provision for handicaps of 28 or more for people with diabilities - specific criteria involved.

ForeRight

Hibrasil wrote: »

There is provision for handicaps of 28 or more for people with diabilities - specific criteria involved.

Yep. That's what I was told and I accepted that no problem. It was a fair handicap and the lad struggled around but fair dues to him he best me on the 18th.

Seve OB

Hibrasil wrote: »

My understanding is that a list of the members with 36 handicaps was put on the notice board a few months ago. In discussion he mentioned that their GUI handicaps are 28.0 - but the 36 handicap is for all club competitions except opens / semi-opens. My feeling is that it's against all rules as two years ago a member playing with a 36 handicap won a monthly medal.

so maybe he had drifted to 28 & was going around shooting 25 points or so in most of his rounds and got enough .1's back to give him a handicap of 40, but it got capped at 36. He then played a great round, which happened to be in a medal, so fair play to him.

he obviously got the 36 handicap, because his golf deserved it! sounds like a bit of sour grapes to me. by any chance did you come second?

eoghan104

I don't see any reason why a club shouldn't be able to give an internal handicap to a man of more than 28. It is obviously being done in the right spirit and not for bandit stuff. So what if one wins a medal off 36? fair dues to him and he gets cut accordingly.

Hibrasil

Seve OB wrote: »

so maybe he had drifted to 28 & was going around shooting 25 points or so in most of his rounds and got enough .1's back to give him a handicap of 40, but it got capped at 36. He then played a great round, which happened to be in a medal, so fair play to him.

he obviously got the 36 handicap, because his golf deserved it! sounds like a bit of sour grapes to me. by any chance did you come second?

The answer is no - I did not come second and it is not a case of sour grapes - i am not in the golf club! Do you know and understand the CONGU Rules.

charlieIRL

Hibrasil wrote: »

The answer is no - I did not come second and it is not a case of sour grapes - i am not in the golf club! Do you know and understand the CONGU Rules.

Relax

Hibrasil

My purpose in starting the thread is to discover if the practice of "male golfers having local handicaps of greater than 28" is widespread.

My understanding is that under the CONGU handicap rules a golfer may only have one handicap - which he plays to either in his own club or in any other club that he visits.

Milkers

If the laughable myth that handicaps are a great way for people of differing abilities to "compete" with each other was debunked the world would be a happier place. Grandest delusion in the world of sport. Handicaps are simply a measure of how ****e we all are at golf.

PARlance

I wouldn't be impressed if my club started bending the rules and gave (able bodied) men hc's greater than 28....
Who won the medal lads? Paddy did with an incredible net 69, 105 of his finest .... sorry but that would be too much to handle.
If people can't play to within the limits of the congu rules then they shouldn't be let near a prize.

Seve OB

PARlance wrote: »

I wouldn't be impressed if my club started bending the rules and gave (able bodied) men hc's greater than 28....
Who won the medal lads? Paddy did with an incredible net 69, 105 of his finest .... sorry but that would be too much to handle.
If people can't play to within the limits of the congu rules then they shouldn't be let near a prize.

But what if you weren't an able bodied man? What if you were an aul lad who could hit the ball 100 or so yards on a good day? Regular rounds of 110+ and a handicap of 36 just about enough to keep you interested in playing the game.

Or even if you weren't such an aul lad but maybe a younger fella with physical limitations.

Or a Charles Barkley? Ie.... Just pure sh1t.

Norfolk Enchants_

Hibrasil wrote: »

A golfing friend tells me that the golf club of which he is a member (no names at the moment) has given some members (men - not ladies) handicaps of 36. I know that the maximum CONGU (GUI) handicap for men is 28.
I am wondering if this is an isolated case or are there clubs where a similar practice exists.

Did they hand out skirts with those Handicaps too?.

FixdePitchmark

whatever about 28.

A medal was won in my place with a 95 gross.

Even that was a bit of a joke to be honest.

FixdePitchmark

Seve OB wrote: »

But what if you weren't an able bodied man? What if you were an aul lad who could hit the ball 100 or so yards on a good day? Regular rounds of 110+ and a handicap of 36 just about enough to keep you interested in playing the game.

Or even if you weren't such an aul lad but maybe a younger fella with physical limitations.

Or a Charles Barkley? Ie.... Just pure sh1t.

well there are enough senior comps at very low prices that would do.
I think there could be higher handicap in seniors.

Or just accept the reality you cant win like in every other sport.

Keano

Norfolk Enchants_ wrote: »

Did they hand out skirts with those Handicaps too?.

Less of that type of comments thanks. If you've nothing to add then do not post

HighLine

Seve OB wrote: »

But what if you weren't an able bodied man? What if you were an aul lad who could hit the ball 100 or so yards on a good day? Regular rounds of 110+ and a handicap of 36 just about enough to keep you interested in playing the game.

Or even if you weren't such an aul lad but maybe a younger fella with physical limitations.

Or a Charles Barkley? Ie.... Just pure sh1t.

But what entitlement has someone who is pure sh1t or not able bodied got to be competitive? Would other sports provide such compensation? Why can they not just play at a non-competitive level safe in the knowledge that they are simply not good enough or physically able to be competitive? And why am I asking so many questions? :D

digginz

Coming from other sport I never understood this system.

You should be winning your class of handicap and that's it.

There is nothing wrong with high handicap but you shouldn't be competing against single figures handicap as it's not the same level.


I'm a part time sh*te golfer with a 28 handicap and if I win a competition it won't feel like a win considering my handicap. Granted I would be delighted to get my handicap cut...

golfwallah

See Congu Unified Handicapping System (Uhs) here.

16.4 The maximum handicap that can be allotted is 28 for men and 36 for ladies. (Maximum Exact Handicap 28.0 [36.0]). The maximum Disability Golf Handicap, that may be allotted to a person with a recognised disability, is 54 (Maximum Exact Handicap 54.0 [54.0]).

The rules for handicaps for players with disabilities are covered in Appendix K of the UHS.

Panrich

digginz wrote: »

Coming from other sport I never understood this system.

You should be winning your class of handicap and that's it.

There is nothing wrong with high handicap but you shouldn't be competing against single figures handicap as it's not the same level.


I'm a part time sh*te golfer with a 28 handicap and if I win a competition it won't feel like a win considering my handicap. Granted I would be delighted to get my handicap cut...

I agree with this all day and that's from someone who has been playing a fair bit for the past two years and still cannot fully participate in the club because I'm too bad to go for a handicap.

If someone like me is happy to hack around in north of 100 shots, that's great but I don't see why the rules should be be extended to allow for my level of mediocrity.

A line has to be drawn somewhere and that line is at 28 for men. The difficulty for extending this out would be primarily in team competitions where someone like me who can still manage to play a lot of holes in double or less would add a lot to my teams score on a going day. A lot more than my ability would merit.

cremeegg

our society has a number of lads off 45... good value at that.

Dr_Colossus

cremeegg wrote: »

our society has a number of lads off 45... good value at that.

Wow, would they not be better off and find the day more enjoyable by doing some practice bu spending some time at a driving range for a few weeks before hand? Can't be easy for them or their playing partners with that kind of handicap.

Seve OB

HighLine wrote: »

But what entitlement has someone who is pure sh1t or not able bodied got to be competitive? Would other sports provide such compensation? Why can they not just play at a non-competitive level safe in the knowledge that they are simply not good enough or physically able to be competitive? And why am I asking so many questions? :D

Golf Handicaps are there for a reason, and that reason is to level the playing field as best as possible for the whole field. So if someone off 28 is entitled to compete against a 1 handicapper 30 years his junior, doesn't that make for a wonderful game that we can all have fun enjoying for a long time to come. What is the real difference in giving someone a handicap of 36 (if they genuinely deserve it)? Absolutely nothing, because the aim of giving them 36 is to once again, level the playing field.

Someone who is crap of not able bodied has every much a right as anyone to be competitive.

Why should they have to go and find another sport?

Why are they not allowed play competitive golf?

Lets face it, someone playing off 28 is pretty crap at the game, but so what. it's a game, and why should they not be allowed to enjoy the game they love, which has been tailored to facilitate everybody as best as possible.

ronjo

I play in Slovakia and everyone starts here at 54.

Our Clubs Captains prize was stableford competition which everyone could enter. It was an awful awful windy day and I played my best round of season and came in with 37 points (I play off 12).
You play in order of handicap with lowest going out first and I was still winning when everyone up to about 25 was in.

Was second when everyone up to 36 was in and I ended up 7th or so I think.

digginz

Seve OB wrote: »

Golf Handicaps are there for a reason, and that reason is to level the playing field as best as possible for the whole field. So if someone off 28 is entitled to compete against a 1 handicapper 30 years his junior, doesn't that make for a wonderful game that we can all have fun enjoying for a long time to come. What is the real difference in giving someone a handicap of 36 (if they genuinely deserve it)? Absolutely nothing, because the aim of giving them 36 is to once again, level the playing field.

Someone who is crap of not able bodied has every much a right as anyone to be competitive.

Why should they have to go and find another sport?

Why are they not allowed play competitive golf?

Lets face it, someone playing off 28 is pretty crap at the game, but so what. it's a game, and why should they not be allowed to enjoy the game they love, which has been tailored to facilitate everybody as best as possible.

The handicap solution is great especially when you're starting in the sport.
In some countries you can have an handicap higher than 28 and there is nothing wrong with it. I just believe that you should only be competing within your class of handicap. The same stableford score between a 1 handicapper and a 28 handicapper is very different.

Hibrasil

golfwallah wrote: »

See Congu Unified Handicapping System (Uhs) here.



The rules for handicaps for players with disabilities are covered in Appendix K of the UHS.

The Rules of Golf and handicap limits are agreed - every club who is affiliated to the GUI has signed up to respecting those rules.

Can I remind posters that the thread is about whether clubs are ignoring the commitment that they made on affiliation to the GUI....and bringing the good name of amateur golf into disrepute by allowing members to play in club competitions with unofficial GUI handicaps.....against other members with official GUI handicaps.

PARlance

Hibrasil wrote: »

Can I remind posters that the thread is about whether clubs are ignoring the commitment that they made on affiliation to the GUI....and bringing the good name of amateur golf into disrepute by allowing members to play in club competitions with unofficial GUI handicaps.....against other members with official GUI handicaps.

Apart from your friends secret club, I've never heard it mentioned before.

Hibrasil

PARlance wrote: »

Apart from your friends secret club, I've never heard it mentioned before.

No offence...but my friends club is not secret in the conspiratorial sense.....the question really is "if you are a member of a golf club is there a similar practice in your club".

Thanks for your contributions.

golfwallah

Hibrasil wrote: »

No offence...but my friends club is not secret in the conspiratorial sense.....the question really is "if you are a member of a golf club is there a similar practice in your club".

Thanks for your contributions.

If what you say is true about your friend's club allowing golfers with unofficial handicaps compete in club competitions, the committee of that club are leaving the club open to disciplinary measures by the GUI (and possibly the ILGU).

It would be more appropriate to advise your friend to protest to his/her club committee to have this practice stopped. Otherwise the club could quite quickly find themselves and their members suspended from participation in competitions under the auspices of the GUI / CONGU.

There is no real point in trying to find out if other clubs are also "putting their hand in the fire". Even if others are doing it, which I very much doubt, it is no justification for your friend's club disregarding the rules.

Hibrasil

golfwallah wrote: »

If what you say is true about your friend's club allowing golfers with unofficial handicaps compete in club competitions, the committee of that club are leaving the club open to disciplinary measures by the GUI (and possibly the ILGU).

It would be more appropriate to advise your friend to protest to his/her club committee to have this practice stopped. Otherwise the club could quite quickly find themselves and their members suspended from participation in competitions under the auspices of the GUI / CONGU.

There is no real point in trying to find out if other clubs are also "putting their hand in the fire". Even if others are doing it, which I very much doubt, it is no justification for your friend's club disregarding the rules.

I gather this issue was raised at last year's AGM......promises of taking issue on board........and same situation continues......sheep in lambs clothing...I think....no guts....no courage to call a spade a spade.