Advice on my handicap

Monster147

New poster. Since golf clubs reopened I’ve got to play a lot of golf and because of this I’ve got cut 6 shots. All of which has been at my home course.

I’ve played a few open singles at other courses but don’t seem to play as good when it’s not my local course. I’m just wondering would I be better off to not play comps as much in my home course and possibly getting more cuts and instead go play open singles in different courses and try reduce it this way.

I feel my handicap is probably lower than my golfing ability by a couple of shots. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

mighty magpie

You shot scores to reduce your handicap by 6 shots. You have beat your handicap at least twice so why do you think it is too low?

What's your current handicap and best score to par since lockdown lifted?

gypsy79

Monster147 wrote: »

New poster. Since golf clubs reopened I’ve got to play a lot of golf and because of this I’ve got cut 6 shots. All of which has been at my home course.

I’ve played a few open singles at other courses but don’t seem to play as good when it’s not my local course. I’m just wondering would I be better off to not play comps as much in my home course and possibly getting more cuts and instead go play open singles in different courses and try reduce it this way.

I feel my handicap is probably lower than my golfing ability by a couple of shots. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Happened to me before. Had too massive scores on (away) links courses and got cut by 5 total I think to 14

Took me a few years to get back up. But I was never a million miles away and was still getting to buffer and occassionally 36 points. Luckily I got 2 back before the 1 shot rule came in


On the way back down and at risk of another ESR but will happily take it. It is a game against yourself for me in the most part!

Monster147

mighty magpie wrote: »

You shot scores to reduce your handicap by 6 shots. You have beat your handicap at least twice so why do you think it is too low?

What's your current handicap and best score to par since lockdown lifted?

I’ve only being shooting scores to reduce it around my home course..

My handicap is 12, I think this is a fair handicap for my home course but I dunno if I’d ever beat that on a different course. I had 42 points off 17 a couple of weeks ago.

Monster147

gypsy79 wrote: »

Happened to me before. Had too massive scores on (away) links courses and got cut by 5 total I think to 14

Took me a few years to get back up. But I was never a million miles away and was still getting to buffer and occassionally 36 points. Luckily I got 2 back before the 1 shot rule came in


On the way back down and at risk of another ESR but will happily take it. It is a game against yourself for me in the most part!

I wouldn’t mind if I got cut on away courses it’s that I’m not at all competitive on away courses is my biggest problem.

mighty magpie

And what followed the 42 points?
Sounds like you had another big round then maybe an exceptional scoring reduction?

maddness

You’re handicap is probably about right, enjoy being a 12 and not a 17

Monster147

mighty magpie wrote: »

And what followed the 42 points?
Sounds like you had another big round then maybe an exceptional scoring reduction?

I got a 1 shot ESR, not complaining about it as it was deserved. I shot 37+ 5 times including the 42 but it’s that I played a few open singles at different courses at was only barely breaking 30 points and really struggling.

What I’m wondering is should I stop playing singles at my home course and potentially getting further cuts and instead play more open singles and try improve this way?

Monster147

maddness wrote: »

You’re handicap is probably about right, enjoy being a 12 and not a 17

Don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled I’m 12 but I’d like to be able to play off 12 on most courses and not just my home one!

finglashoop

Monster147 wrote: »

Don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled I’m 12 but I’d like to be able to play off 12 on most courses and not just my home one!

Is it just because you know your own course better.

If the away opens are on the same few courses you will get a feel for them as well over time

dan_ep82

Depends on the course really. If your home course is the European ( a tough course for example) then it's a case of just playing away more to bring your skills over.

However, if your home course is an easy course and your struggling to bring it to a tougher course that's just natural.

The new way of judging course difficulty will even this out I'd imagine.

gypsy79

Monster147 wrote: »

Don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled I’m 12 but I’d like to be able to play off 12 on most courses and not just my home one!

What is your home course? What is its rating and slope?

spacecoyote

Why would you expect to beat your handicap easily on a course you've never played before.

It absolutely happens sometimes, but its not unreasonable to expect you shoot worse than your handicap at an away course.

It doesn't mean your handicap is wrong, it just means you haven't played as well as you can on that day

Monster147

gypsy79 wrote: »

What is your home course? What is its rating and slope?

Nenagh. I’m not sure if it’s rating/slope to be honest

Monster147

spacecoyote wrote: »

Why would you expect to beat your handicap easily on a course you've never played before.

It absolutely happens sometimes, but its not unreasonable to expect you shoot worse than your handicap at an away course.

It doesn't mean your handicap is wrong, it just means you haven't played as well as you can on that day

It’s not that expect to play every time and beat my handicap. I think I’ve played 7 comps at home course and got cut for 6 of them and had 35 for the other round. I’ve played 5 comps at away courses and the best I scored was 32 I think. I feel it’s a bit more than not playing as well as I could on them days, but I don’t know.

PARlance

Monster147 wrote: »

It’s not that expect to play every time and beat my handicap. I think I’ve played 7 comps at home course and got cut for 6 of them and had 35 for the other round. I’ve played 5 comps at away courses and the best I scored was 32 I think. I feel it’s a bit more than not playing as well as I could on them days, but I don’t know.

I would just keep doing what your doing. Your HC isn't too low for your home course and the Opens will probably make you a better golfer overall. It's good to get out there and play different courses... it's not unusual to score worse on unfamiliar courses. If you're playing them regularly you should see the scores improve.

Golf is my Game

Monster147 wrote: »

I’m just wondering would I be better off to not play comps as much in my home course and possibly getting more cuts and instead go play open singles in different courses and try reduce it this way.

Thats handicap manipulation which is cheating not that people would catch you at it but just because you could get away with it doesnt mean its OK to do, though I guess it depends on your own morals and that. It would be like carrying a spare ball in your pocket that you could drop if looking for your ball to 'find' it in a nice place. Deliberately fixing the result like.

Monster147

Golf is my Game wrote: »

Thats handicap manipulation which is cheating not that people would catch you at it but just because you could get away with it doesnt mean its OK to do, though I guess it depends on your own morals and that. It would be like carrying a spare ball in your pocket that you could drop if looking for your ball to 'find' it in a nice place. Deliberately fixing the result like.

I’m trying to get my handicap down as much as possible but it’s demoralising knowing going to an away singles that I’m basically paying to receive a .1

mike12

Not many golfers would expect to beat handicap on an away course.

I really want to say something about Nenagh and classic scores 😀😀

The average for most golfers to be in the buffer zone is 1 out of every 3 to 4 rounds played -- that is actually playing to your handicap! Anything significantly better and your handicap is probably higher than it should be and warrants review.

maddness

Monster147 wrote: »

Don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled I’m 12 but I’d like to be able to play off 12 on most courses and not just my home one!

I always play better on other courses than my own!

maddness

Monster147 wrote: »

I’m trying to get my handicap down as much as possible but it’s demoralising knowing going to an away singles that I’m basically paying to receive a .1

As are 99.9% of amateur players.

New system coming in in November will mean your handicap can rise and fall mich more than the current 1 shot a year.

finglashoop

Monster147 wrote: »

I’m trying to get my handicap down as much as possible but it’s demoralising knowing going to an away singles that I’m basically paying to receive a .1

The cuts on your own course will outweigh the .1s for away courses. I wouldnt get too down about it as id say it is the same for most people

I dont think ive ever played to my handicap on an away course in a conpetition although i wouldnt play too often as i joined the course closest to home to fit around work/life.

CalamariFritti

Its the quite common misunderstanding of the CONGU handicapping system I think. People think their handicap is 'right' when they are able to shoot 36 points on an 'OK' day. But thats not how it works. If you're able to do that your handicap is too high. Statistically for a cat 2/3 golfer in CONGU you shoot 36 or above about 1 round in 7. This has been discussed many times here over the years.

Also you know your home course like the back of your hand. You know the best spot for each shot. You know the break on many of the putts you get. Etc.

slave1

Nenagh has super run on the ball, other courses you may be getting caught on length with less run out.
CalamariFritti's point covers it though, it's maths

MarcusP12

OP, have you reflected back on your disappointing rounds on other course to see where you leaked the shots that maybe you don't on your home course?

Just a suggestion but do you need to maybe work on course management for these open competitions? When you play your own course as often as you do, you know the risk reward shots and how to play each hole to give yourself the best chance of a good score. But for courses you don't know, you don't have that luxury. Are you taking on shots that you can't get away with on these unfamiliar courses and whereby you should be playing more conservatively when perhaps you don't know what the outcome of a missed fairway could be? Are you spending enough time on the practice green to try to learn the speeds of the green? Would it be worth doing a bit of research on the course before you play, i.e. check out to see do they do flyby's of the holes on their website to get a feel for the place rather than landing cold?

As others have alluded to, maybe its just that you find your home course easier than the other courses and that's just the way it is until your overall competence improves over time. When i was a kid playing in inter club competitions, when i maxed out on my handicap and found myself struggling on my home course, i used to still shoot high 30s on other "easier" courses compared to the low 30's i was shooting on my home course. So it can work in reverse.

Also as alluded to by others, i would not go down the route of "protecting" your handicap so that you can feel good about your score on the other courses. You're only fooling yourself and would be seriously frowned upon at home. If you're playing in open competitions and artificially protecting your handicap to be more competitive, then you can dress that up any way you like but the reality is that you are giving yourself a better chance of shooting a good score which by extension getting in the mix for prizes and thats where the problem is.

Also bear in mind, your handicap is the only bench mark for how good you are to others. Its a badge of honour. No one ever says "I'm only off 20 (nothing wrong with being off 20 btw) but i shot 38 points in my last open"....there's nothing wrong in anyone's handicap however high or low it is but the objective is to have as low a handicap as you can so why would anyone hold off on that unless it is for winning prizes, etc. I do get the crippling affect of a higher handicap than you can play off but that should only ever be an issue at your home course......

willabur

I think you need to manage you expectations. 32 points is not a bad score. I would say that your average score on your home course should be in or around the buffer with a good round (36 pts+) every 5 or 6 rounds. If you are doing better than that then your handicap will come down