[Bwvapays]

Our handicap system when you enter 9 hole rounds it waits until you enter another 9 hole round and combines the two. In my case I usually only play quick 9 hole rounds.

I enter every score I play and right after the round I enter my 9 hole score. It is common for most players and even myself to shoot better just playing 9 holes. When I play a 38 yesterday and a 38 today it makes a 76 in the computer which is probably lower than I usually shoot.

How do you feel about entering 9 hole rounds. Do you think it is a sneaky or almost "unfair" way of lowering your handicap?

[sEe]

i usually play 9 as well but i think as you have to submit two cards its alrite as yours scores have to be consistent but im sure fatigue plays a part in 18 holes which you dont get in a 9 hole round.

[xyupi]

Our handicap system when you enter 9 hole rounds it waits until you enter another 9 hole round and combines the two. In my case I usually only play quick 9 hole rounds.

I enter every score I play and right after the round I enter my 9 hole score. It is common for most players and even myself to shoot better just playing 9 holes. When I play a 38 yesterday and a 38 today it makes a 76 in the computer which is probably lower than I usually shoot.

How do you feel about entering 9 hole rounds. Do you think it is a sneaky or almost "unfair" way of lowering your handicap?

Not unfair at all. The system has been this way for years. There will be a "C" that shows up for the combined scores.

[StethyEntinic]

Our handicap system when you enter 9 hole rounds it waits until you enter another 9 hole round and combines the two. In my case I usually only play quick 9 hole rounds.

I enter every score I play and right after the round I enter my 9 hole score. It is common for most players and even myself to shoot better just playing 9 holes. When I play a 38 yesterday and a 38 today it makes a 76 in the computer which is probably lower than I usually shoot.

How do you feel about entering 9 hole rounds. Do you think it is a sneaky or almost "unfair" way of lowering your handicap?

Dent, in some ways I agree with you. Its rare for me to shoot below 72 for 18 holes, but according to GHIN I have done it 3-4 times this year because of 9 hole rounds. It brought my index down to a full point after the last one. But I still enter every score regardless if it is 9 or 18.

[Sandra_18X]

It seem like cheating your index but that is how the system works. I've played a few 9's this season and shot fairly well during them. Thankfully they haven't affected my index too much. Have your "good" 9's affected your overall index?

[Trotoleterm]

we dont have the option of entering a 9 hole score.

plus we only have the option of playing official medal rounds to affect handicap. usually saturday, but we also have an optional medal on a tuesday and some sundays.

i always play better just turning up mid week and playing 9 holes so i suppose what you are saying is right, your handicap may be lower than if you entered 18 consistently, but at the same time, your handicap is representative of your capability, and you are capable of shooting the scores you have so i see nothing wrong with it.

[GohJHM9k]

Great question Dent! I have never entered my 9 hole score, but I am going to start. I think it would lower my HI by a pretty good bit.

[LeviBrawn]

Fairway Files suggests you either wait until you play another 9 hole round to enter both, or just enter a made up round based on your score from the one round. I'm not a big fan of the second option, but have done option #1. I just hate having those cards laying around waiting because I went and played another course or the same nine holes two or three times. I gotten to where if I only play nine I just don't enter it.

[cholleyhomeob]

it can definitely artificially lower your handicap. who hasnt gone out and torn up the front and fell apart on the back or vice versa? But in the long run it can only hurt you or your team if you play in tournaments, imagine losing by one stroke when you should have gotten two more.

i just dont enter 9 bole rounds for handicap, i enter them as practice rounds

[VQdeochratis]

My 9 hole scores, in the 3 leagues I'm in, are all pretty consistant at each course. Only one of those courses I will play a full 18 holes on, and the scores are the same, maybe a stroke or 2 higher, than my 9 hole scores. I think the system works, but I understand where you're coming from.

[limpoporanique]

IMO you should do it. You're handicap doesn't reflect your average score but rather your potential. So you've got the game to put up those scores, you just need to make it happen in back to back 9's

[xyupi]

I just don't really see the difference I guess. I average right around 39/40 when I just play 9 holes and in the lower 80's when I play 18. If I have a blowup hole with something like a 7 or 8, I normally only have one now and then and it will come whether or not I'm playing 9 or 18 holes. I'm just happy it doesn't happen often.

[NickGrass]

I usually wait and enter them as 18 hole scores once I have the 9 from the front and the 9 from the back to make sure the slope/rating, etc is correct

[Angeheade]

I would think it would even itself out. I know I've played all kinds of 18-hole rounds where I stunk it up on the first few holes, but got it together and had a much better score on the back. Let's say you're only playing 9 and you get an early double or a couple of bogeys in a row. You don't have a chance to make up for it on the back. Putting is often better on the back, too, because it may take you a few holes to get used to the speed of the greens.

[offinoNem]

I'm with you Dent, its kind of sneaky but its the way it is. I've never broken 80, but according to RCGA I have done it twice with 4 9 hole rounds and it really lowered my HC.

[Gosxjqum]

I usually wait and enter them as 18 hole scores once I have the 9 from the front and the 9 from the back to make sure the slope/rating, etc is correct

GHIN will automatically adjust the rating/slope dude..

For me, I definitely agree.. I have been playing 18 holes lately where one 9 flirts with par and the second 9 is far from it.. I don't think it's fun to put in 37s and 38s when I am averaging closer to 80 on 18, HOWEVER, it does represent my capabilities, and I think that's what handicaps are all about, aren't they?

[Sandra_18X]

Fairway Files suggests you either wait until you play another 9 hole round to enter both, or just enter a made up round based on your score from the one round. I'm not a big fan of the second option, but have done option #1. I just hate having those cards laying around waiting because I went and played another course or the same nine holes two or three times. I gotten to where if I only play nine I just don't enter it.

I wonder if there is a way to calculate a potential score on the "other 9" based on the handicap of each hole that you played via your first 9? If we could connect some type of easy mathematical problem it might be better than creating a fake back 9 score.

[desmond001]

I usually wait and enter them as 18 hole scores once I have the 9 from the front and the 9 from the back to make sure the slope/rating, etc is correct

This is the direction I was going to go. I know the courses I play I usually shoot better on one nine than the other nine. Can't you just play the front nine one day, and the back nine the next time? The course I play now I usually shoot mid to high 40s on the front and low to mid 40s on the back, and it's usually the same even if I play the back nine first. I think I have only had one round where I shot better on the front than I did on the back, and I shot terrible on the back.

[inhitoemits]

Well, my course doesn't divide it's slope and course rating between the 9 holes, so it would be impossible to have an 'accurate' handicap. While it may be 'cheating' of sorts to lower your handicap, I think it's only cheating yourself. If my handicap was lower because of 9 hole rounds, then I would probably have too low of a handicap during 18 hole tourneys and whatnot.

But as far as the premise of playing better over 9 holes than 18, yes, I totally agree. For me, its much easier to play 9, whether front or back, than 18. It's just easier to maintain my physical strength and mental strength for 9 holes.

[kHy87gPC]

If ghin allows it I wouldn't question it at all. I've never played front to back better or worse consistently enough to say it would matter.