POLL: What Is Your Average Hcp?

[gaussman1]

From April to October last year my range was high of 1.6 early in the year to a low of +0.8 near the end of the season. That's a pretty normal range for me. I do stat tracking as well and through all rounds at all courses my scoring average was 76.8 which is really revealing to anyone who thinks "scratch" golfers shoot par or better all the time. Because the handicap system throws away the worst half of your scores your index should always be significantly lower than your average. They're only counting your best half after all, and then only .96 of that. The guys who average around par or better are legit +4s and +5s. Most scratch golfers really don't look like much of anything special, they just scrape it around, avoid big numbers and make lots of pars. In fact the eye test between a 0-1 and a 4-5 is hard to detect much difference. A 0-1 and a +4-5 look like very different players to me. Sadly I'm in the group that scrapes it around and doesn't look like much

[perseveringgolfer]

I'm assuming you are asking what average h/cap we played to in comps over the year and not what actual handicap we have, or had, or expect to have?

As it takes forever to go up (10 rounds per stroke) I can only guess that I was playing to about a 10-12 handicap last year based on my scores, even though I'm a 7 that used to be a consistent 4-5. It's taken nearly 2 seasons to go from 5 to 7.

This year however will be a different story..............

 

"I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody" 

 

/extra point for anyone who knows this quote- no googling!

[sp0rtsfan86]

Officially I think I'm around a 12. Unofficially, I walked off the course a lot last year after 10-13 holes and shooting around 95...effectively sandbagging myself. My guess is I'm somewhere around 15 right now especially after a fully 6 month layoff but hopefully after a job switch and more free time should be able to get back down around the 10-12 mark which would be my lowest. 

[tony@CIC]

It would be interesting to overlay an age graph over the index or handicap. I would assume that there is some correlation between the two.


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[Kenny B]

11 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

It would be interesting to overlay an age graph over the index or handicap. I would assume that there is some correlation between the two.
 

Yes, It would be interesting, but from what I know about the regulars here, I don't think there is a correlation.

[GB13]

11 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

It would be interesting to overlay an age graph over the index or handicap. I would assume that there is some correlation between the two.


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Personally, I think the more interesting overlay would be, At what age did you start golfing? I believe there would be much more of a correlation between those two numbers. 

[Mr. 82]

On 2/24/2019 at 4:49 PM, SteddyGolf said:

I finished the season at a .9 HCP. It’s important to note I normally play from the men’s (White) tees. If I were to move back to the Championship Tees (Blue) my HCP would most likely go up to between 6 to 8.

 

 

 

 

 

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Interesting.  I find that my lowest scores are on courses around 6,200 yards or less. The shorter the course, the better my score is.  However, when I play those forward tees on short courses, the slope and rating  should account for the shorter distance.  For instance, a course around 6,000 yards that I normally play has a rating around 68.  Move back a tee and it goes to 70 or so.

My question seems to wonder if the shorter distance is accounted for in slope and rating from whatever tees you are playing?  I realize that you will score lower because you probably have a wedge into most par 4s, and have a realistic shot at eagle or birdie on par 5s, but the slope and rating should balance all of this out, shouldn't it?

[Mr. 82]

I find it somewhat interesting that more people here are saying that they are a 4-6 handicap.  This is an incredibly talented group of golfers on this website, because I'm told that the "average" golfer has a hard time breaking 100, and less than (what is the percentage?) 1% of all golfers have ever broken 80?

And for the record, my index was at an all time low of 3.8 last year, mostly because I shot 73 three times in a four month span, and then reality set in and I sucked my way back up to a 6 something index.  I'm currently stuck at a 5.3 index based on not having played a round for handicap purposes only twice since December.

[GB13]

2 minutes ago, GSwag said:

I find it somewhat interesting that more people here are saying that they are a 4-6 handicap.  This is an incredibly talented group of golfers on this website, because I'm told that the "average" golfer has a hard time breaking 100, and less than (what is the percentage?) 1% of all golfers have ever broken 80?

And for the record, my index was at an all time low of 3.8 last year, mostly because I shot 73 three times in a four month span, and then reality set in and I sucked my way back up to a 6 something index.  I'm currently stuck at a 5.3 index based on not having played a round for handicap purposes only twice since December.

The average golfer doesn't frequent forums. We have to be an extremely addicted bunch to be on a forum, and most likely play/practice much more than an "average" golfer. 

[robertson153]

The average golfer doesn't frequent forums. We have to be an extremely addicted bunch to be on a forum, and most likely play/practice much more than an "average" golfer. 

I agree. I’ve only seen maybe 2-3 at my club that can’t break 100. With that said, I’m sitting at 11.5 and at the bottom end of most at my club. For the most part I feel like we’re avid golfers, no the 2-3 times a year that I feel like balloon the “average”


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[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, GSwag said:

Interesting.  I find that my lowest scores are on courses around 6,200 yards or less. The shorter the course, the better my score is.  However, when I play those forward tees on short courses, the slope and rating  should account for the shorter distance.  For instance, a course around 6,000 yards that I normally play has a rating around 68.  Move back a tee and it goes to 70 or so.

My question seems to wonder if the shorter distance is accounted for in slope and rating from whatever tees you are playing?  I realize that you will score lower because you probably have a wedge into most par 4s, and have a realistic shot at eagle or birdie on par 5s, but the slope and rating should balance all of this out, shouldn't it?

Yes, it should balance out.  The rating process is the same for all tees for the scratch golfer and bogey golfer.  For men the criteria are a 250y drive and 220y second shot for the scratch golfer, and a 200y drive and 170y second shot for the bogey golfer.  The rating committee considers all obstacles that are within these ranges from each set of tees.

As an example, a bunker in the landing area from one set of tees may not be considered from a forward tee because  the golfer is expected to carry it.  From the same tees a bunker may be in play for the scratch golfer but not the bogey golfer and vice versa depending on the tees played.

[SteddyGolf]

Interesting.  I find that my lowest scores are on courses around 6,200 yards or less. The shorter the course, the better my score is.  However, when I play those forward tees on short courses, the slope and rating  should account for the shorter distance.  For instance, a course around 6,000 yards that I normally play has a rating around 68.  Move back a tee and it goes to 70 or so.
My question seems to wonder if the shorter distance is accounted for in slope and rating from whatever tees you are playing?  I realize that you will score lower because you probably have a wedge into most par 4s, and have a realistic shot at eagle or birdie on par 5s, but the slope and rating should balance all of this out, shouldn't it?

Since handicap is based on potential rather than average my potential from the White Tees is significantly higher than from the Blues and Blacks. I’ve gone pretty low on the shorter courses even when the increased number of hazards ensures the slope and rating remains high. My biggest gap is from 180 to 200. On longer courses this distance seems to be the norm into the green for me.


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[tony@CIC]

10 hours ago, GB13 said:

Personally, I think the more interesting overlay would be, At what age did you start golfing? I believe there would be much more of a correlation between those two numbers. 

That would be fascinating. How would you design the graph? 

[GB13]

2 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

That would be fascinating. How would you design the graph? 

I'm not sure how to put it into a graph, but I'd compile the data into a T chart with the 7 or 8 age categories on the left side, with all of the response to the right side. Then I'd average all of those responses from a certain age to give an age group average. As I'm typing this, it sound similar to a stem and leaf graph. I'm sure it could be done prettier, but it would give you the data. 

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

A few observations on the above.

1. Jmike-- you complain about inconsistency in that your HC varies from .6 to 1.2.  In the past 6 months, mine has gone from 13.3 to 15.2 and back down to 13.8. Over two years, high 15.8 and low 12.3.  Up and down.  I'd love your inconsistency.

2. White tees versus Blues or others.  SHOULD NOT make a difference!  I run a twice a week group that has now grown to 50 plus, with 4 to 5 foursomes every time.  Many (we skew older) have recently opted to move up to the blended regular/forward tees and have discovered the joys of hitting irons into many par fours (once a few guys started doing it, the "stigma" disappeared).  Guess what, their indices have changed very, very little.  The slope/course rating differentials have proven to be pretty accurate in adjusting for the distance, difficulty differences.

3. Avid golfers versus skewing lower on HCs.  Our group consists of members of TPC Valley course at Sawgrass.  Most of our guys play minimum two times a week.  This is not a course for 'casual' golfers (slope 132 from the whites).  So, most of us are what I would consider "avid golfers".  Our HCs tend to match the poll numbers. (USGA Index)  5%1-3, 5% 4-6, 10% 7-9, 15% 10-12, 25% 13-15, 25% 16-18, 15% 19 plus.  Point being, mid-handicappers can be every bit as avid as lower HCs.

4.  I firmly agree with the theory that one's floor handicap is in large part dictated by whether or not one started to golf regularly as a child versus as an adult (superior athletes excluded).  I know of but one person who started to golf after the age of 25 who was able to get down to a single digit HC (and he was a fanatic).  I believe if you took up the game in your twenties or later,  your lowest HC is going to be 10 at best.  Age as the defining factor--not so much.  Our two 1 or 2 HCers are 60 plus.  2 of our sub-10 HCers are 70+ and still are among our longest players.

[hckymeyer]

This hasn't been mentioned yet, but it would be interesting for me to found out what percentage of your rounds you play at the same course.

Personally I live on a course and play 90% of my rounds here.  It's a decent track and from my tee's plays at 6653 yds with a slope of 127.  However after playing hundreds of rounds here there aren't too many surprises anymore.  I'd guess my handicap is lower due to playing at the same course all the time compared to a guy who plays 50 rounds at 50 different courses and most of them he hasn't seen before.

[Drumdog]

Right now my GHIN is 5.

It bounces around from 3.8 to 5.2.

[sp0rtsfan86]

On 2/28/2019 at 11:02 PM, hckymeyer said:

This hasn't been mentioned yet, but it would be interesting for me to found out what percentage of your rounds you play at the same course.

Personally I live on a course and play 90% of my rounds here.  It's a decent track and from my tee's plays at 6653 yds with a slope of 127.  However after playing hundreds of rounds here there aren't too many surprises anymore.  I'd guess my handicap is lower due to playing at the same course all the time compared to a guy who plays 50 rounds at 50 different courses and most of them he hasn't seen before.

I'm that guy that plays one course to death, but I never settled on a home course in North Dakota. Now that I've moved, I plan on settling in on a home course and playing that twice a week with maybe a round somewhere else the other time. My handicap tends to not travel well because I play the harder set of tees on a new course and there's definitely a bit of course knowledge that saves 2-3 strokes per nine, sometimes all on one hole. 

[JonMUSC08]

Its the SMALL things that are killing me right now. I'm a 14 HDCP but if i can eliminate all 3 putts and the 1 or 2 chilly dip chips around the green i'll easily score under 90 all the time.

[CarlH]

I was an 8 handicap for about 15 years.  Had some surgeries that kept me off the course for months at a time over the last 3 years.  As a result, somewhere along the line, coupled with getting older, I seemed to have lost my short game (or at least my confidence).  I'm working on it with my teaching pro and it's slowly coming back.  Add aging and loss of distance off the tee, and my handicap has drifted upwards and now I'm somewhere between 10-12 during the season.  Working hard to get it back down, but it's a slow process.  

[Kenny B]

7 minutes ago, CarlH said:

I was an 8 handicap for about 15 years.  Had some surgeries that kept me off the course for months at a time over the last 3 years.  As a result, somewhere along the line, coupled with getting older, I seemed to have lost my short game (or at least my confidence).  I'm working on it with my teaching pro and it's slowly coming back.  Add aging and loss of distance off the tee, and my handicap has drifted upwards and now I'm somewhere between 10-12 during the season.  Working hard to get it back down, but it's a slow process.  

Keep working on it.  I did the same thing after my knee replacement.  I joined a different club that had a better short game practice area (not perfect but adequate).  I also retired and had more time to spend on days I wasn't playing.  I went from a 9 to a 14 before surgery due to knee pain, then down to a low of 7.7.  I'm not sure if I can get back there, but I keep working on it.