Handicap verification

[Mike Sterner]

This is my 17th World Am and I have always wondered why we need the August 15th handicap update instead of the August 1st one? Would it make that big a difference? If the assignments were known we could have easier time making plans for practice rounds.

[Ryan Stratulate]

International handicaps are due Aug 4, so my guess its to give the committee time to get us foreigners organized first before starting on the rest of the field

[Rick Kimbrell]

My answer to why the 15th handicap instead of the 1st…you should be playing to your most recent handicap. You handicap is based upon your 20 most recent scores. Do you know how easy it is to roll off almost all (if not actually every one) of those 20 scores that appeared on the August 1st handicap? Very easy if you are playing almost every day and many people are. So, yep, it could make a big difference.
Case in point, from July 1st to July 15th, my handicap index dropped 1.4 points.
Mike, if you have been playing for 17 years, do you really only book your practice rounds on the courses you draw in the tournament? We have begun booking our practice round courses with no real thought about what courses we may draw for the tournament. Our goal for coming to MB for the WA is to play as much golf as we can in the 10 days we will be there.

[Ron Peacock]

In a lot of cases (like mine) they WILL NOT be using the most current handicap. Since they will be using the lowest handicap index within the last 12 months they will be using a handicap of mine from last fall. Since that time I tore the meniscus in my right knee, basically played on one leg until the end of the year, had surgery in January and didn’t touch a club for two months. Didn’t get to play or practice much during the winter and early spring, because of weather. Since then I’ve been able to play and more importantly practice and my game is coming back, however my current handicap is still more than a stroke higher than it was at the lowest point the last 12 months. I’m sure I am not the only one affected by this new policy.

[Tom McGeehan]

Ron, you are correct, I believe when you use the lowest handicap index of the past twelve months, many things occur during that period of time that can negatively impact where you stand at tournament time. That being said, I have played in this tournament for 29 years. One thing for sure, many people practice and play a lot leading up to this tournament and too many folks shoot much better than their current handicap. If there current handicap is higher than their lowest in the past twelve months, they will say, “well I have really been practicing, and it is just now paying off. That is eliminated by this approach. However, those who have suffered injuries, are further handicapped by this rule. It is all about timing, if one has not fully recovered, then they will hopefully enjoy the golf, people, and the total experience of playing in the World Am. We all want to win, I will be 73 on 11/1/17. As I age, the course gets longer and the memory gets shorter. What I still remember after 29 years of this event, is it is more about the experiences than about winning.
Good luck to you, and by the way, my lowest index in the past 12 months is 4.1. How do you think I will do this year?

[Brian Caudle]

…And then there are the military guys/gals who are deployed for the better part of the year.

[Ron Peacock]

Thanks for the encouragement Tom, actually my situation is not as bad as I was thinking, I didn’t check my update on the 1st of the month before I posted earlier, my index dropped form 10.5 to 9.3 with my 12 month best at 8.4. Noted your age and handicap, I turned 75 in June so there’s a good chance we may be in the same flight. As far as how you will do this year, at this point your chances are as good as anyone else’s. Good luck.

[Rick Kimbrell]

My wording was somewhat incorrect. I apologize for that. What I meant to say was IF your most recent handicap as of August 15th is your lowest of the year…you should be playing to that. I would think the last thing anyone would want to have happen is to come into the WA playing much better than their lowest handicap of the year indicates and end up getting DQ’d.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Rick Kimbrell.

[Rick Kimbrell]

Tom and Ron…we can’t say we are in the 70 Till Death bracket any more. 🙂

[Ron Peacock]

Rick, did they get enough players for an 80+ bracket?

[Daniel Rousseau]

Hi guys from montreal canada about the lowest handicap of the year on less a misread they only ask for my current handicap nothing about the lowest this year,scott if i’m wrong let me know so i can correct it,can’t wait for course assignment,also i think why you guys send your handicap on the 15 is cause you get adjusted on every 15 of the mouth ,compare to us each time
we post a score it is adjusted just a guest

[Rick Kimbrell]

Ron, I really do not know. Apparently there was enough of a request from players 80 and over to have their own bracket that one was created this year. We only had 10 flights in the 70 and over bracket last year. I would imagine if they do have the 80 and over, the handicap spread for those of us in the 70 and over is going to be quite big in each flight.

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