How long before you shot 36pts?

ClutchIt

How long after taking up golf did you shoot your handicap? The magical 36pts.
I'm 4 years in now and still haven't!!!
My record is 34. I've beaten my handicap when the course was in winter conditions, just 12 holes open. Got a few lessons last year, so I'm confident I'll hit it this year when we get back. I love golf.

DuckSlice

If its taken that long then I would think you have the wrong handicap. its a long time ago since i got my first handicap, but i shot my handicap id definitely within the first year.

Stick at it and you will get there. Keep entering comps and your handicap will get to the correct level and you will start improving.

slave1

For me the key was take distance back and stop losing balls, a lot ball is essentially -2pts, very hard to make that up

Wichita Lineman

I started playing properly in March 2002 off 18 and I definitely wasnt an 18 handicapper back then as I'd only played a handful of times.
My first 36pts, actually it was 37pts (off 19) came in May 2003. Stick with it, under the new WHS I believe there will be more scope for your handicap to adjust to your playing skills and you will hit the 36pts soon enough.

blue note

I started at 12 years old with a junior handicap of 36. Pretty sure I didn't hit 36 points that first summer, so I reckon it was a little over a year before I got there.

Jimbee

If your playing golf 4 years lessons etc. There are a couple of things you need to identify.
Is your problem area off the tee, iron play, or short game and putting. Break it down into simple areas.
If it's a particular area you may need to manage it, play the shot that is the least stressful and keeps you in play.
Look at Jorden Spieth last weekend his swing is all over the place off balance etc., he still manage to get into contention. So better decision making can have a big impact.

ClutchIt

Ya it's shocking I still haven't broke it. My short game is killing me. I'm really confident I will be able to regularly break 36 this year and get to a more respectable HC.

chalky_ie

It took me years as well, I was just given 18 having not played golf before, I think it was 2/3 years before I shot my handicap, which had risen to 20.

willabur

ClutchIt wrote: »

Ya it's shocking I still haven't broke it. My short game is killing me. I'm really confident I will be able to regularly break 36 this year and get to a more respectable HC.

Probably took me a good while to break it. It's a tricky question to answer because I played golf casually for years before I joined as a member so they stuck me in at 12. Could always shoot the lights out in practice but with an actual card in my hand it was an achievement to stay in the buffer.

Without knowing your handicap I would advise you to adjust your expectations. If you have a handicap of 18 then look to play bogey golf even if that means laying up on a par 4. There is probably a club that is killing you, take it out of the bag completely. If it's the short game then it's likely a wedge. Use an 8 iron or better again use a putter. Last thing I'd say is practice your putting, cut down on 3 putts and you'll be in a good place

Bill Ponderosa

Probably given the wrong handicap from the start and under the old system you were screwed.

Thankfully the new system is alot better and you should see your handicap adjust to your playing ability. You should be roughly hitting 36 points every 8 - 10 rounds.

OEP

Bill Ponderosa wrote: »

Probably given the wrong handicap from the start and under the old system you were screwed.

Thankfully the new system is alot better and you should see your handicap adjust to your playing ability. You should be roughly hitting 36 points every 8 - 10 rounds.

Is that 36 points every 8 - 10 rounds with the new handicap system?

dan_ep82

Took me a long time to do it in a competition. Could play well in a casual then crumble in a comp.

What HC do you have now? Advice would differ on what it is and how close to it your getting.

If you were given scratch and you can play to a 5 the advice would be wildly different than if you were 25HC and you play to a 30HC

Try not to get too wound up on what's a "respectable handicap", the lower you go the lower your expectations of that go aswell

ClutchIt

They gave me 17.5 starting, gone out to 21 now. I break 30 a lot and I know I'm improving so I'm happy enough
Just curious how long it took others, and think it's an interesting discussion.

NotCarrotRidge

I took up golf casually when I was 40, almost 9 years ago. I joined a club as a summer member a year later and was given a laughable handicap of 17. I would have struggled to break 140 at the time. I stayed for that summer and joined my local club two years later. My old handicap of 17 was transferred and it had the effect of making me never enter competitions. I was embarrassed by my lack of ability and who wants to turn in a score in single figures? I would only enter a competition if playing with my friends, and that was rare.

I've improved gradually and last summer I scored 35 in an away competition. I missed a 6in putt on the last because I was rushing to finish (I was on holiday and herself was waiting for me beside the green because we had a dinner reservation), so I played well enough for 36. It took 8 years to get there. You're doing grand!

youcancallmeal

etxp wrote: »

If its taken that long then I would think you have the wrong handicap.

This is it, I got my first handicap a few years ago, 25. Took me a lesson and 4 rounds before I beat it. Went steadily down to 17 since then

Bill Ponderosa

OEP wrote: »

Is that 36 points every 8 - 10 rounds with the new handicap system?

Yeah, I'd say so, although I haven't had 36 points in nearly 3 years so thank god for the WHS.

L.O.F.T

ClutchIt wrote: »

My short game is killing me. I'm really confident I will be able to regularly break 36 this year and get to a more respectable HC.

If you can dedicate time to this aspect of your game, you'll improve. My advice, and only an opinion, would be to perfect your short game using just your PW, get the ball rolling at the hole on short around the green shots. If you have a garden or even a range close by you can practice the pitch shot, working on a solid strike and consistently flighting the ball the same distance over and over, with the ideal of the ball running at the hole. Your comfort level will increase and after some time you'll get very close to getting up and down for a point or even two points.
Pitching it close in turn takes pressure off the putting. The road to improvement takes practice, but break down the parts you'd like to improve into smaller parts so the whole challenge of improving does not feel overwhelming.
Don't put pressure on yourself to shoot a good score, enjoy the company and look forward to the round, the good golf will come when you are most relaxed and enjoying yourself. Best of luck.

gypsy79

I did in my first round after getting handicap

But it was a long while until I broke it. My best round was 18 over in my 3 rounds. I was given 17 and shot 17 over next round

I have heard it said that you would hit it one in 4. I go on runs. I once had 6 36 points in row

willabur

It would be interesting if everyone posted their scoring graph from their Golf Ireland portal.

I have beaten my current handicap 3 times in my last 20 rounds. About 5 rounds in the buffer and the rest were blowouts

gypsy79

I also have beaten mine 3 times!!

And two of them fall off in next three rounds. In fact all three of them are counting rounds

slave1

I beat my handicap twice last year! I need heat for my back

OEP

I'm on the way down and CSS on my course is usually 37 points so as a cat 2 golfer I need to be shooting my handicap

L.O.F.T

slave1 wrote: »

I beat my handicap twice last year! I need heat for my back

I've to get up early, stretch, eat and hit about 20 balls! I wish i was in my 20's again. roll out of bed, car, 1st tee, level 2's! 5er!

tyivpc5qjx0f2b

L.O.F.T wrote: »

I've to get up early, stretch, eat and hit about 20 balls! I wish i was in my 20's again. roll out of bed, car, 1st tee, level 2's! 5er!

I have a similar routine, everyone should irrespective of age. If given the choice between arriving a little early to hit a couple of balls/putting or using that time to stretch for a few mins I’d pick the latter every time.

On the OP’s original question, I’d be pretty mercurial so when I started out I struggled to get close to 30 pts then had 2 weeks in a row of breaking 40.

This has generally been my MO in recent years, you’ll be fine, it sounds like your handicap may be a little high but I’m sure under the new system it’ll come right.

The_Kew_Tour

Took me 15 months to break 36 points when I started playing as student in mens comps. Got 42 points and came 2nd

Rikand

Took me 4 years to hit 36 points from when i started playing. You'll be grand

gypsy79

Another question is when will I shoot 36 points on a Boards outing. I always save my worst golf for those outings?

spacecoyote

gypsy79 wrote: »

Another question is when will I shoot 36 points on a Boards outing. I always save my worst golf for those outings?

My only round that broke 36 points last year was our round in Gowran Park.

I had hit 36 points within a year of joining a club, had my first cut some time in the last 3 months of my first full year.

I started with a handicap of 21, got to 21.4 at my highest, spent a large portion of the year playing in the buffer (was cat 4 at that point so had a 4 point cushion)

If you're at a higher handicap one thing to focus on (which worked for me anyway) was to try aim to have a par putt on each hole. So you dont need to panic about GIR or take on the unnecessary murscle shot. If you give yourself a putt for par on every hole, and your handicap is 18 or higher, then 18 2-putts from that point is 36 points.

So if you sneak the odd 1-putt you have a cushion for the odd double bogey too.

Worked for me for a few years and dropped from 21 to 13 over about my first 3 years (without playing an enormous amount of golf). Obviously I'm not advocating for laying up even you can take on a GIR, its just a mindset that takes some pressure off if you miss a green

Neewollah

I would have got my 1st adult handicap at around 15/16 years of age of 18. Think I remember being insulted by it thinking I was better than I was!!! Ended up going out to 19 so In fairness they were spot on. Junior Golf was a different game altogether.

I can't remember how long it took me to hit 36 points. All I know was it was shortly after I went out to 19 to maybe it took me a year. Think I had a big score because i went from 19 to 17 from that round.

From there I dropped very quickly over a 2 year period. I got to 16 and then went straight to 13, Think I had a serious captains prize score. Went then from 13 to 11 and then 11 to 9. Floating around 8/9 for a few years and then didn't play much over a 4 or 5 year period.

Back at it now the last 2 years and down to 6 now. Goal is to get to 3/4

As space coyote said, once I learned to manage the course and not to be wreckless my handicap fell rapidly

kev_s88

I first joined a club in Summer 2017 at the age of 29 and was given a handicap of 23. Had always played golf for fun, but hadn't had any formal lessons since i was about 15/16. I guess playing was always fun, and i know I had broken 36 a couple of times when i was in my early 20s, but pretty sure i was playing off 27 at that time (self appointed handicap).

It took me just over 2 years and 37 rounds of competition golf before I finally broke 36 points in 2019. In the following 9 months (before the country started to shut down) i did it a further 5 times, with 38 being my best. Every other round I never really troubled 30. I was playing awful golf at the time and it felt like pure luck everytime i had a good round, as i really didn't know what i was doing with my shots

I have since invested in some lessons, got fitted for Driver and Irons and its amazing the difference I saw (the lessons being the important part). Unfortunately i've only really played a couple of 9 hole and 12 hole rounds over Autumn and early Winter last year. The scoring wasn't spectacular but the golf felt so much better (silly mistakes costing me, not bad drives and lost balls from wayward shots). Really looking forward to getting back out now as confidence was really up coming into lockdown. Time to start driving down the 24 handicap that i'm stuck with

irish bloke

L.O.F.T wrote: »

If you can dedicate time to this aspect of your game, you'll improve. My advice, and only an opinion, would be to perfect your short game using just your PW, get the ball rolling at the hole on short around the green shots. If you have a garden or even a range close by you can practice the pitch shot, working on a solid strike and consistently flighting the ball the same distance over and over, with the ideal of the ball running at the hole. Your comfort level will increase and after some time you'll get very close to getting up and down for a point or even two points.
Pitching it close in turn takes pressure off the putting. The road to improvement takes practice, but break down the parts you'd like to improve into smaller parts so the whole challenge of improving does not feel overwhelming.
Don't put pressure on yourself to shoot a good score, enjoy the company and look forward to the round, the good golf will come when you are most relaxed and enjoying yourself. Best of luck.

Good advice on the pitching. My 2 cents is to use the same club for all pitches from 50 yds and in. So many golfers see a hazard or even the fringe of the green mid way between them and the hole and immediately think they need lob wedge.

Use a 50 degree for everything and if you have a lob wedge, ban it from your bag

tommyombomb

God feel bad about my golf now. Have a 19 handicap since i started last year and mid 20s is best i have gotten. Hopefully 2021 will be my year. Played my best golf just before last lockdown in December so hopefully it comes through this year.

Need a few lessons for my drive. Irons okish but cannot drive to save my life.

gypsy79

tommyombomb wrote: »

God feel bad about my golf now. Have a 19 handicap since i started last year and mid 20s is best i have gotten. Hopefully 2021 will be my year. Played my best golf just before last lockdown in December so hopefully it comes through this year.

Need a few lessons for my drive. Irons okish but cannot drive to save my life.

Did you not get quite a bump under whs??

seamie78

it took me 3 years, last year was the first time and once I did it became a regular thing. started at 25 went out to 28 now back at 25. hopefully it can continue when we get back out there. This will be your year

Frisbee

Got my handicap this summer of 23. Played an Open in Palmerstown the next day and shot 35 points, thought I was the bees knees. After that I had about 10 rounds of mid 20s at best, think there was a 17 in there. Then shot 39 points in Blessington Lakes, got cut to 21 and again after that every round since has been in the 20s. Handicap then moved to 17.2 under the new WHS, only managed three rounds in December, two in Corballis which were not good. Then a 13 hole non-qualifying comp in Blessington where I had 25 points after 13 so maybe I could have done it.

Long story short: Once in about 20 rounds.

blue note

Frisbee wrote: »

Got my handicap this summer of 23. Played an Open in Palmerstown the next day and shot 35 points, thought I was the bees knees. After that I had about 10 rounds of mid 20s at best, think there was a 17 in there.

You caught me off guard and when I was reading that. I was drinking water and reverse snorted it out of my nose!

It's just so typical! I went back playing about a year and a half ago. First round I had a couple of pars, possibly even a birdie. I had a bit of a slice and obviously some wild shots, but easy fixes with a little practice. I wasn't concerned at all that I'd be able to get back to my level quickly. About a dozen rounds later I still had the dirty slice and was still horribly inconsistent!

It's a cruel game. It gives you hope and then tears you back down to reality!

L.O.F.T

tommyombomb wrote: »

God feel bad about my golf now. Have a 19 handicap since i started last year and mid 20s is best i have gotten. Hopefully 2021 will be my year. Played my best golf just before last lockdown in December so hopefully it comes through this year.

Need a few lessons for my drive. Irons okish but cannot drive to save my life.

No need to feel bad about your golf, good golf comes and goes, even for the best players. Enjoy the company during your round, most guys will be welcoming to someone who is struggling and will only encourage you, some wont but you wont play with those too often. That good golf you played before the last lockdown is a good omen for solid golf to come.

gapthunt

Considering you are only meant to get 36 points for 10% of your rounds, 36 points should not be achieved every round which seems to be the perception that seems to be the normal by majority of golfers, that they are playing average rather than playing well without the usual amount of bad shots.

willabur

gapthunt wrote: »

Considering you are only meant to get 36 points for 10% of your rounds.

where does this number come from?

spacecoyote

willabur wrote: »

where does this number come from?

Someone posted some numbers previously. I cant remember the exact details, but it wasnt far off that number. Dont want to post approximations but it was something in the range of

Match/Beat handicap 1/10
Buffer 4/10
Outside Buffer 5/10

I just plucked random numbers there to try jog someones memory so dont quote me on it

OEP

Should it be standard scratch as opposed to 36 points?

Kiith

Broke 36 a few times last year, but it was my first proper year back where i was able to play regular golf, so that would make sense.

Was a few months into playing the year before when i broke it for the time time, but i had played for a year or two as a juvenile, so it was a lot easier to pick back up. As others have said, just enjoy the game and company, and the scores will come.

elgstring

I shot 37 points in my very first competition, it then it took me over a year to play to my handicap again. I remember there were very few thoughts in my head that first competition, an absolute minefield of thoughts after it however (when will I turn pro etc.).

Concerned2

Took me about 3 years and a hell of a lot of practice to break 36 points playing off 18 and although I used to pull in 33 to 35 points regularly I only broke 36 points a couple of times.

Its such a frustrating game, I can remember many times I'd score 20+ points in the first 9 holes, one of my partners would pass a comment like "you'll be in the prizes" and suddenly my game would fall to pieces !

I started back playing last year after a 15 year hiatus with it being one of the few things open in lockdown last summer and played absolutely rubbish for most of the year (think I got a record low of 18 points with about 12 lots balls in 1 competition) , but I did manage to break 36 points out of the blue once. My handicap under the new system is 21 and I need every one of those shots !

GreeBo

https://golfingfocus.com/how-often-should-you-hit-your-golf-handicap-its-good-news/

Statistics show that the odds of the average golfer posting a net score lower than their handicap by only one stroke is 10:1 but what do they tell us about how often you should actually be playing to your golf handicap?

Golfers should hit their handicap or better 25% of the time and will on average score 3 strokes higher than their handicap according to research by the USGA handicap research team. This percentage increases as players improve and in stableford (31%) and par/bogey (44%) events compared to strokeplay.

Not sure what the underlying source is though!

GreeBo

Meanwhile I didn't play to my initial handicap (18) for 3-4 years.

gapthunt

willabur wrote: »

where does this number come from?

I have been quoted this number from different teaching professional's.

gypsy79

Mathematically 4 of your 20 scores are likely to be at or above your course handicap under WHS

So that is 1 in 5 or 20%. Given that most people didnt move that much under WHS then you could extrapolate that it was the case previously too

gypsy79

GreeBo wrote: »

Meanwhile I didn't play to my initial handicap (18) for 3-4 years.

I doubt you shot 19 under par in one of your 3 rounds. So your handicap given was incorrect

Thankfully that shouldn't happen under the new system. They could put an adjustment in but at least that is explicit

Edit: Actually scratch that I ignored slope.....so the percentage will differ depending on your course slope of mix there of in your 20 scores

GreeBo

gypsy79 wrote: »

I doubt you shot 19 under par in one of your 3 rounds. So your handicap given was incorrect

Huh?

gypsy79

GreeBo wrote: »

Huh?

To legitimately be given a handicap of 18 under the old system (on calculation only) then one of your 3 rounds would have needed to be 19 over par

Did I say under!! Doh

i am saying in is very unlikely you shot 19 over then didnt do 18 over for 3-4 years