Bandit stories

Santa is never going fit down your chimney Fix with that wish list.

GreeBo wrote: »

I know a guy who had 36 points for 14 holes off 9, pro rata thats over 46 points.



Why does it have to stop, its the same for everyone?
Why not make the hole smaller too?

Because its helping those who have a fault in their game. You hit a fairway, you get to place, you miss you suffer. Apart from drops plugging why allow placing in rough ?

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Is funny he targeted a non event. I was shocked at first then laughed out loud at that score.

I guess a turkey is important for the missus. :mad::P:D

He would be off 9 overnight with me if that was qualifying.
OK in summer conditions, he may have got 46 /47.

I'd have him at 14 then. Again i'm not giving him the full cut I want to.

Why people think you are entitled to a few prizes on way down is just not in my thinking, that is not the way the handicap system was ever meant to be.

You have to think that every golfer should have a chance every time we all start a competition. I want the number of guys out there carrying shots to be in a reasonable distribution. we have had lads on here tel us and actually admit they are carrying shots - it has now almost become an Irish cultural sort of - " I do be needing to be competitive"

I'll have you competitive - once and then you can still win , but we can all catch you now buddy.

I want that guy to stay competitive - but next time I play him , could be in an open I have the round of my life, I'll have a "chance" of catching him.

I don't like golf - if I have the round of my life - lose because a guy is carrying shots - I'd rather no handicap system if that is the game we are at.

"Ahhh sure he is be deserving a few prizes" --- **** off. I want to play the lad in a game of golf. I want to beat him. I don't want to be up against a lad who has a 43 in him after a 48. I've driven from Dublin to west cork or whatever to take on everyone.

The game would be far more fun. Bandits would be brought back to field - or have one win in them.

My argument is your best round is important indicator of your ability. I'm not suggesting we adjust that individual to an area they can't win - they are going to an area we can all win.

I'd even let lads have 41s if 40 was too harsh.

Jaysus fix, breathe man !!

Nobody is entitled to prizes on the way down, but it's the nature of the game that there's always a time lag with handicap catching up with new ability.
Say this guy who shot the 51pts (ok in fairness it's a mad score), but say he's a junior. It's not at all unusual for juniors on the way down to shoot crazy scores similar to that. They pick up a few prizes on they way down and typically are just as likely to shoot these scores in a meaningless singles as they are in the Captains prize. It's just the nature of the system and fast improver sat golf. You can't compartment the system and say it's for people who have already found their level, it's like the argument that players in the Metro should be off 9 on the day rather than lowest handicap the previous year, it's just because the competition regulars don't like being drawn against an improver on the way down.

Most people can play a few shots better than their handicap, they're not intentionally carrying shots, it's just that golf is hard to play well and human inconsistencies mean you'll have way more bad rounds (and therefore 0.1s) than good ones. It's supposed to be current, not "best" IMO.

Using the best round as a guide for handicapping doesn't make sense to me at all tbh. We had a guy who was actually "refunded" shots he lost through the ESR last year by the GUI. He went from something like 14 to 6, the world and it's mother knew he's no more a bandit than the man on the moon, and it was obviously a case where the additional cuts were wrong. Think he's back up to 10 now and I'd say hasn't played to it and is pretty unlikely to anytime soon. He had two great rounds (nothing crazy only maybe 41/42pts) about six months apart but he hadn't enough rounds played between them to negate the first one. He didn't even know there was such a thing as ESR.

I have to say I reckon the current system is fairly good. Bandits will always find a way around it and then your just penalising 90% of genuine guys who just happen play a good round every once in a while. As the old saying goes "hard cases make bad law"

Messing with the current handicap system won't solve the issue of guys minding handicaps for am ams, club majors, the winter turkey shoot and inter club. Given time it will just deflate the handicaps and the scoring of the real golfers making it easier for the bandits to come up for air on the big occasions and take home the prizes with 39/40 points.

I'm not sure what the answer is but changing the current congu system isn't it IMO.

Keano wrote: »

So bandits are in the minority and we need to punish the majority to fix it. Let them have it. I play golf with enough honest folk so I'm not going to worry about them.

Out of interest what percentage of the golfing population do people think are bandits...

I'd guess
4% bandits
8% Minders(upwards)
2% minders(downwards)
86% genuine

Keano wrote: »

I was thinking 90% genuine myself.

I was originally thinking that figure, but I reckon there are def more manipulators/minders than you think....

If u want to find bandits then the clare golf challenge is great place to find them. Same people getting to the final (if not winning) nearly every year, must of them members of prominent golf clubs.

alxmorgan wrote: »

I don't see mud as being an issue if you allow clean and drop.

Possibly an issue with people hitting out of rough alright. The thing is its not the same for everyone though as in a normal scenario people who hit fairways are rewarded whereas there is no real reward with placing. If anything hitting the rough can be an advantage as you can create a nice tee for yourself.

Not a big deal to me really it just seems heavily weighted towards the higher handicaps. Perhaps having people playing off a reduced handicap across the board when these conditions are in play would make more sense.

It's never going to be the same for everyone.
tbh most of the older people I see are straight down the middle, the lack of roll kills them.

Long and wild benefit most winter.

alxmorgan wrote: »

Ya possibly. I also think it suits players who struggle with proper contact off the ground. So those who struggle to hit down and through the ball. Teeing it up changes it completely for them.

Totally, most beginners love to tee it up in the rough, it often causes me havoc when I completely go under the ball, especially with the wedges.

Think i maybe a bandit was looking at my golfnet and gone from 12.2 to 13.5 this year of the 3 rounds where i got a cut i scratched the last hole in 2 of the rounds a par on both would have me off a handicap of 11.7.
Basically 2 poor holes have me off 14 instead of 12. Just shows how easy it is to keep the handicap high.

Wombatman wrote: »

Local handicap secretaries\committees have as much responsibility as the GUI.
Cutting a shot or two for a non qualifying club competition win\place would be a great local rule in most clubs.

Agreed 100%
But would this lead to a lot of nasty letters being sent to the hcp secretary?

Don't most clubs do domestic or winter handicaps already though ? Where you lose say two shots for a win etc, and then when the season kicks off again in the spring you revert to your "normal" handicap ? Seems a lot fairer than cutting someone's real handicap based on shortened course, placing etc. ?