Random Golf Thoughts

Sounds like a score of a regular champagne scramble.

But aren't handicaps there to make things equal? Then why should the lower guy win?

You're right that it doesn't make sense, but you need some way to decide it that's fair to everyone and this way isn't bad. A coin toss I suspect would be slightly better, but it wouldn't feel right.

Just giving it to the lower handicap would be awful. As a mid handicapper this would sometimes be in my favour, sometimes not. But it's not a way I'd be happy to win or lose.

Exactly, the 9 HC is the better golfer or is at that moment in time and I think that should be the tiebreaker.

Say a 5HC breaks par to shoot 42 points and a 28 handicapper chips a bit better and has 6 bogies and 12 doubles to shoot 42, I think the 5HC has played significantly better relative to their own skill level than the 28 who has played for him what would be nicely, not a career day or anything.

Think there's a far bigger conversation point there than just the countback scenario?

A guy shooting level par and a guy shooting mid 90s, both returning 42 points, aren't at the same level and shouldn't be in the running for the same prize/recognition imo.

Thankfully our club has brought back categories. Really good rounds of golf shouldn't be getting lost in really good rounds of handicap golf (I'm in no danger of doing either fwiw).

In average the lower you are the harder you've worked at it. But there are plenty of guys who are annoyingly talented who can be single figures without doing any more than playing most weekends. And plenty more who practice and get lessons and will never be better than mid teens.

Category prizes are a good idea if you've enough numbers. A gross prize is a good idea too. But using handicap as a tiebreaker - it just doesn't give people an equal chance.

The logic of deciding a winner based on last 9, 6, 3 holes etc is that it gives the nod to the person playing best over the last holes and thereby "likely", if continued, to produce the better score. I know that is not certain but seems to me it is a reasonable basis to make the decision.