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**mensforyouthis** · 04-11-2009, 10:21 AM

Just don't buy in to the handicap system is all I was saying...

How can you really say that if you have never tried it? I don't mind someone discussing the pros or cons of something that they have actual experience with, but to just make a bald statement like this without ever being involved with it just strikes me as uninformed.

I've carried a USGA handicap for 21 years now, and I buy into the system 100%. The only time the system fails is when the human side of the equation fails, not the system itself. There are a few unscrupulous players who try to abuse the system, and contrary to the amount of discussion they are a tiny minority. A well run club can keep them at bay by simply having an active and diligent handicap committee. My club, with a membership of up to 250 players, has virtually no problem with such players because we simply don't stand for it. As a result, application of handicaps in our tournaments works very well and keeps the flights very competitive, matches are almost always closely contested.

In a properly run club the USGA handicap system works. If it isn't working then you aren't using it correctly or you aren't policing your membership well enough.

Almost every player I have ever played with has never shot that score they were "supposed" to shoot.

You aren't supposed to shoot at or better than your handicap more often than 20% to 25% of the time if you carry a legitimate index. That is the way the system is set up. It measures your scoring potential, not your scoring average. Your average can easily be 3 or 4 strokes higher than your handicap, and shooting 3 or 4 strokes higher than your average on a day when your game is not quite there is easy to do. That would put you anywhere from 6 to 8 strokes above your handicap on a normal bad day... on a really terrible day who knows?

Having fun and keeping score/a handicap are not mutually exclusive.

Hear, hear. No matter what Craig says, if he isn't tracking (or even keeping) scores, then he really can't know how his game is doing in any but the broadest sense. I've had days when my game felt bad but the score was good, and days when just the opposite happened. If I didn't keep score, I'd never have known. I don't track stats except for putts.... it's too depressing. I don't think I've ever played a round of golf where I hit 50% GIR, yet I've shot as low as 1 over par, and shoot several rounds in the 70's each year. I even played a round this year where I was 3 under through 11 holes. I couldn't say that if I hadn't been keeping score, because I finished at +4. Tells me that I need to work on my end game....

04-11-2009, 10:21 AM	#27
mensforyouthis Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 471 Senior Member	Just don't buy in to the handicap system is all I was saying... How can you really say that if you have never tried it? I don't mind someone discussing the pros or cons of something that they have actual experience with, but to just make a bald statement like this without ever being involved with it just strikes me as uninformed. I've carried a USGA handicap for 21 years now, and I buy into the system 100%. The only time the system fails is when the human side of the equation fails, not the system itself. There are a few unscrupulous players who try to abuse the system, and contrary to the amount of discussion they are a tiny minority. A well run club can keep them at bay by simply having an active and diligent handicap committee. My club, with a membership of up to 250 players, has virtually no problem with such players because we simply don't stand for it. As a result, application of handicaps in our tournaments works very well and keeps the flights very competitive, matches are almost always closely contested. In a properly run club the USGA handicap system works. If it isn't working then you aren't using it correctly or you aren't policing your membership well enough. Almost every player I have ever played with has never shot that score they were "supposed" to shoot. You aren't supposed to shoot at or better than your handicap more often than 20% to 25% of the time if you carry a legitimate index. That is the way the system is set up. It measures your scoring potential, not your scoring average. Your average can easily be 3 or 4 strokes higher than your handicap, and shooting 3 or 4 strokes higher than your average on a day when your game is not quite there is easy to do. That would put you anywhere from 6 to 8 strokes above your handicap on a normal bad day... on a really terrible day who knows? Having fun and keeping score/a handicap are not mutually exclusive. Hear, hear. No matter what Craig says, if he isn't tracking (or even keeping) scores, then he really can't know how his game is doing in any but the broadest sense. I've had days when my game felt bad but the score was good, and days when just the opposite happened. If I didn't keep score, I'd never have known. I don't track stats except for putts.... it's too depressing. I don't think I've ever played a round of golf where I hit 50% GIR, yet I've shot as low as 1 over par, and shoot several rounds in the 70's each year. I even played a round this year where I was 3 under through 11 holes. I couldn't say that if I hadn't been keeping score, because I finished at +4. Tells me that I need to work on my end game....
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