Handicap Validation is Open

[Mike Sigmon]

Good luck with that Harry lol last year I played really good 3 days with a 3.4 handicap but played really bad the 4th day and now my index for this year seems is going to be based on what happen a year ago. Makes no difference that I have had some shoulder surgery and haven’t played good at all after not being able to play for 6 months now that I’ve been playing for the last 2 months seems that it really didn’t matter anyway being my index is being figured from scores shot over a year ago. makes no sense at all to me it’s like no need to put any of your scores in we not going to use them !!

[JOHN HERNDON]

This is my concern as well. It is extremely easy for your handicap to go down with a solid round but a few bad rounds seem to go unnoticed and accounted for. I’ve played some really good rounds but also thrown in some mid to high 80s rounds as well. None accounted for or used. Why have them if they’re not used. I went in with a 3.9 last year and played in the top flight. My game was slipping then and on GHIN it was actually around 6.5 but they used my last registered for the World Am and the last registered index was 2019. This year I’m going in with a 5.4 and I still think that’s too low. Last year, in my first year there with no idea what was needed mentally, I missed 3 fairways in the first 2 days and shot 80 and 84. I couldn’t hit a shot inside 100 yards and then my mind melted down. I’m hoping for better results this year. I’m excited either way because last year was an absolute blast for the entire week. I keep updating hoping the course assignments are ready! Such an exciting 5 minutes. Good luck to everyone this year.

[Scott T. – World Am]

Harry – do you have anything productive / not sarcastic to add to any threads on the BB?

John – that’s how the whole system is set up. Throw out bad rounds. Count good ones. It’s not an average. This is why you are not supposed to play to or beat your handicap often. Not trying to call you out just clarifying a common misconception.

Down to 364 players left to submit indexes.

[JOHN HERNDON]

My take is Harry is a former winner of the event and a $600 gift card so he feels the need to be a legend on the board. Thanks for the heads up, Scott. I didn’t take it as a shot at all. Right now, you are everyone’s life line! We are watching you watching us! Get those handicaps in, people. We want our courses.

[Harry (The Hack) Radley]

It’s OK I’m a graduate of the Lattrall University with a deploma in Lephanomics

[Chandler Wells]

My 5th year this year, and I have wrestled with the handicap system for the last 10-12 years since my game has become relevant…Yes, when I play my home course I shoot anywhere from 71-84 and I play there 75% of my yearly rounds. The other 25% of my rounds are a variety of courses and I shoot 80-90. I always play the 1st tee boxes above 6,000 yards and always count them all. My current index is 7.1, and my WA low index is 6.6 from a couple of low rounds earlier this June…In my previous 4 years at the WA, my index is recorded as a 12+. I have always been curious why the WA committee doesn’t recognize the difference from a 6.6 in altitude of Pennsylvania 7 months a year (We can’t enter any scores late fall-early spring) to playing 4 rounds in 100% different conditions in Myrtle, sea level, heat, Bermuda rough, to name a few.

This is not a bitch. As long as they keep the value and cost reasonable I will continue to come and play because I enjoy the people and the getaway more than anything. I have never been competitive in my flight because the conditions to me are so much different. Don’t think I don’t try either, but after shooting 85 Monday, I’m playing for skins! LOL

[Scott T. – World Am]

Chandler – It’s not the WA who isn’t recognizing it. It’s the USGA. Toss out the bad rounds, always. Simplest way I can address the PA vs. MB topic is that a handicap is similar to a credit score in that it is universally known. It doesn’t matter what factors went into it, you can take that number anywhere and a bank will know the interest rate (or strokes) to give you based on it.

Currency may be a better example. You take your $100 US and travel to Italy where they give you $90 Euros to exchange it. It feels different because you’re in a foreign country and the quantities are different. But it’s actually the exact same amount of money.

The differences in playing conditions are perceived difficulty, not actual difficulty.

[Lindy Sullivan]

Handicap is the same for everyone, add 5-7 yards for sea level and have some fun!!

How many still haven’t verified?

[Jesse Schmidt]

Thanks for the updates and clarifications Scott, they are both informative and interesting to passive observers!

[Chandler Wells]

@Scott T…
I totally get it, and again it wasn’t a bitch or a misunderstanding. For whatever reason I never sniff my handicap in the WA (except this year now that I said it!…LOL).
I will continue to come down like I said if the value stays ideal in my eyes as I 100% enjoy the entire week and the guys, and playing terrible golf! HAHA

Let’s get these other Yahoo’s registered so I can see my courses and figure how many balls I need!

[Harry (The Hack) Radley]

I have no complaints the way the WA does the handicapping system. A lot of my comments is in jest and should not be taken seriously. It is fair across-the-board to everyone and they do a great job. My pet peave is with the way they enter handicaps at at my home state. The WHS has a provision to alter the rating for difficulty of the course but nowhere is that hardly ever used. For example every Monday we all have a tournament of 200 plus players on the best country clubs in the state. Because they don’t want 200 players chopping up their members tees they moved them forward to the senior tees making the course a lot easier. But then the scores are entered as though we have played the members tee making it a lot harder and skewing your handicap incorrectly. If you play only these tournaments they say it doesn’t affect you but your handicap will drop point .8 across-the-board. That is well and good if you are only play there but if you come to the WAM that .8 for 4 days could mean 5 to 6 strokes differene. When questioned the handicap manager just stated that it would be too hard to adjust 200 individual scores. A perfect example of this was last year we played a tournament with where the tee markers were moved extremely extremely extremely forward I had a 3 under round and end up running 8th over the field there was 37 even par rounds and out of the 214 players there was 173 that played to their handicap. This is not possible on a normal day. I suppose what I’m trying to get across is if the WHS has a set of rules and guidelines why is it that no one follows them to the letter of the law and use the excuse oh it is too hard to adjust every individual card. It isn’t that your job as a handicap manager to do it correctly.

[Tony Robison]

Harry

The issue is with your coordinator not the WHS. You can solve the problem by not participating in an event that you say inordinately affects your index. That’s your decision, accept and stop whining

[Jesse Schmidt]

Every situation, issue or gripe mentioned in this thread is specifically addressed here:
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/world-handicap-system/world-handicap-system-usga-golf-faqs.html

[Maci Wilson]

This handicap system has rented a lot of space, in a lot of heads for a long time. You guys are over thinking this handicap thing. Why waste time on this message board with something none of us have control over? If you love to compete, show up, try your very best, don’t worry about who’s getting what or what you’re getting, just play golf and let the chips fall as they may. I myself am a 7.5. I would love to win my flight, came close 2 years ago. Once I hit that first tee shot, I put my head down, blinders on and just play golf. If it’s my week, great! if not, thanks for the memories and see you next year. Good luck to all!

[chris kogut]

Come on Scott!! Whats the number left now??? You know we want them sat like usual!!!

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