Your golf handicap......be honest. [Archive]

Frankee

06-20-2010, 11:29 AM

My brothers and I are going golfing with the old man this week. I am the weakest golfer in this foursome. (But I'm the best guitar player and that's a trade-off I'll take anyday.)

My Dad refers to me as a Bogey, which puts me at an 18 from the men's tees. He was a scratch player in his heyday. My brothers are way better than me too.....you should hear the trash-talk I have to endure.

What about you guys? What's your handicap? Do you tee off from the ladie's tees? Be honest.

offbeat

06-20-2010, 11:38 AM

I gave up on my golf score, and usually just write down my cart's mileage at every hole.

jimmyohio75

06-20-2010, 11:40 AM

I play to a 12. I've been trying for years to get into single digits but my duties as a father and husband prevent that from happening!!

ACfixer

06-20-2010, 11:46 AM

Bogey on a good day.

RhytmEarl

06-20-2010, 11:47 AM

I don't know if I even have one anymore. I used to be a 9 but I haven't played seriously in 10 years. All I've done is go to the company tournament every summer and maybe play one or two games other than that.

Last time I played (last summer) I shot 85. My putter was amazing. The rest of the game was pretty average.

I got burned out on golf. By the time I was a 9 I realised that to improve any more I'd have to spend hours and hours chipping and putting. I was never a natural golfer, I just worked really hard. So I just canned it. And around that time my dad passed away. Golf was the one thing we had in common and it was our way of connecting.

LHanson

06-20-2010, 12:44 PM

I don't have a real handicap, but I almost always shoot over 100. And I used to go to the range 2 or 3 times a week. I think my best score is 87- but that was on a pretty easy course. I play from the regular tees, not the pro or ladies.

enigma

06-20-2010, 12:49 PM

My GHIN says 14.8, but I've been playing in the low 90's.

jeffh

06-20-2010, 01:16 PM

7.0 Index, 8 hcp at my course

Seditious

06-20-2010, 01:23 PM

I had half days on Friday for 8 years at my last job and so I practiced every friday and played every Sunday. I had a 12 handicap at the time, and it was inching down every year.
The last 2 years I've played a total of 3 times, and my last round I shot a 91. :barf

TheGuildedAge

06-20-2010, 01:25 PM

The only time I played an 18 hole course I shot a 184. I had never golfed before, nor since.

wareagle

06-20-2010, 01:28 PM

about a 5... however havent played as much as used to so my more recent scores are about 8 or so...

nsureit

06-20-2010, 01:29 PM

I'm a scratch player. Every time I hit a drive, I scratch my head...

(8.8 USGA index)

Taylor 339

06-20-2010, 01:37 PM

As low as 9. Currently 12. Anytime I break 80, I'm pleased.

custom53

06-20-2010, 01:41 PM

Golf is easy... I shot a 66 yesterday...

But then I still had the back nine to play....

Taylor 339

06-20-2010, 01:45 PM

Golf is easy... I shot a 66 yesterday...

But then I still had the back nine to play....

I played with a guy yesterday who quit after 9. Your 66 beat him.

LHanson

06-20-2010, 01:46 PM

enigma

06-20-2010, 02:00 PM

Forgot to mention. I'm a GHIN 21 as a righty! 14.8 as a lefty.

Jerry Shaw

06-20-2010, 02:20 PM

I started golf 10 years ago. I amost broke 100 once. For some reason, I always do better on the front nine than on the back (don't forget to tip the beer girl!) I haven't played for a couple of years, but I'm sure that, after ten minutes at the range, I'd be just as good as I ever was!

drgonzoguitar

06-20-2010, 02:25 PM

I am a 17-18...but I haven't registered a score in a long time. I have good holes and bad holes...but always have a good time.

rhinocaster

06-20-2010, 03:35 PM

I used to play to a 3 when I was addicted to the game. Maybe 3 rounds per week and 5-6 days of practice each week.

I was angry all the time. I was never home. Eventually I realized that what I was doing made no sense at all.

Now I play once a month (Maybe) and I never practice. I don't get angry on the course. I usually shoot in the mid 80s from the blues. :)

Stratobuc

06-20-2010, 03:52 PM

18 - give or take a couple.

JSeth

06-20-2010, 04:57 PM

rhinocaster

06-20-2010, 05:00 PM

Index is 5.6 now - a bit higher than it has been - when I was younger and played more... and practised my short game A LOT!

Nice to hear folks being honest about their (in?)abilities with a golf club - golf is a really tough game - and many just choose to cheat when they play, then lie about their scores.

The brutal truth is that if you break 90 on a regulation golf course, you are in the top 10% of all golfers on the planet...

Best game EVER invented by man, IMHO... my grand green game!

You'll hear people harping on the short game if you want to lower your score, but until you actually do it, you can't even imagine what it does for your score. When I was serious about the game, I practiced my short game for hour after hour. Yes, it helped me get up and down, but you know what the BIG improvement was with all that work? I started hitting greens all the time because I was relaxed with my approaches. I knew I could get up and down, so I stopped missing greens! I didn't expect that. :)

DamianP

06-20-2010, 05:08 PM

I always think of golf as a good motocross track spoiled.

It does look like useful exercise for the infirm though.

rhinocaster

06-20-2010, 05:10 PM

I always think of golf as a good motocross track spoiled.

It does look like useful exercise for the infirm though.

Carry your clubs and play a round every day. It's great exercise for anyone. :)

Stratobuc

06-20-2010, 05:11 PM

Carry your clubs and play a round every day. It's great exercise for anyone. :)

Its also certain death here in Central Florida.

Blue Light

06-20-2010, 05:50 PM

I got as low as a 10.5 index years ago on a wide open public course with few bunkers. I learned, though, that my 10.5 meant nothing at a tough country club course.
The index is supposed to even it all out, of course, but it really didn't. Anytime I'd go to some tough club with cavernous bunkers lined with powdery sand, and ugly rough in crucial places, I'd go straight to hell, do not pass Go.

It's cool getting a bona fide handicap, though. You can join the "association" at any muni for not all that much. It just means you've got to be honest about those scores (none of that "Give me a six" crap). That's cool, too.

Now I play for funsies. Although I still try to play a legit game.

Boomdoggy

06-20-2010, 05:53 PM

250Keith

06-20-2010, 06:09 PM

Well living in Cali, then moved up to OR WA allot of great courses.
I taught my self and I sucked for years, till I broke my right elbow, now I'm a 14-16 handy cap, I just slowed down my swing, and learned that the harder I hit it the more right it went. grip it and rip it don't work for me until I need it.
I chip great, but putting and mid irons suck.

custom53

06-20-2010, 06:10 PM

I played with a guy yesterday who quit after 9. Your 66 beat him.

Ouch...! And I was joking... I usually play mid 90s... I will get in the 80s on a good day...

rhinocaster

06-20-2010, 06:15 PM

Its also certain death here in Central Florida.

Play early and stay away from the Gators? :dunno ;)

B_of_H

06-20-2010, 06:39 PM

I haven't played since december 08 but shot 70 (-2) and a 88 in consecutive days at desert mountain in scotsdale after not having touched a club for a year prior.

I was low single digit handicap at 12 years old and played competitve golf thru 2 years of college. I was around scratch to a 2 from 15 to 25. Upper Back problems made me quit.

I plan on taking it up again in a few years.

Stratobuc

06-20-2010, 06:50 PM

Play early and stay away from the Gators? :dunno ;)

Playing early - that means the heat index is only 98 rather than 103..... There is no staying away from 'gators here, venomous snakes worry me more. Hey, what's sport without a little excitement?

rhinocaster

06-20-2010, 06:52 PM

Playing early - that means the heat index is only 98 rather than 103..... There is no staying away from 'gators here, venomous snakes worry me more. Hey, what's sport without a little excitement?

The summer before last I was in Finland playing some golf and I was helping a member of the group look for a ball in the tree line. He said, "Watch out for Asps."

"You mean the snake?"

"Yes"

I didn't answer. I was already back in the fairway! ;)

playing4one

06-20-2010, 06:54 PM

My handicap is that I suck at it. In all seriousness I usually shoot in the low 90's. For me it is all about having fun with the guys.

mark norwine

06-20-2010, 08:07 PM

I don't own any clubs & have never tried to swing one.

I'd say that represents a helluva handicap to a good golf score..........

jiml

06-20-2010, 08:19 PM

Was a 7 a few seasons ago, but got back into the band thing again and am spending what little free time I have focused on music. Now I just go out to have fun, had a few pars this morning though...

nosacter

06-20-2010, 08:30 PM

My Dad refers to me as a Bogey, which puts me at an 18 from the men's tees.

BTW, scoring 18 bogeys doesn't make you an 18 handicap--more like about 15. Don't remember exactly how that's arrived at, but someone here probably knows. I think it's a calculation intended to foil sandbaggers.

Blanket Jackson

06-20-2010, 08:34 PM

If I had a dollar for each stroke of my handicap, I could buy a Klon

Shark21

06-20-2010, 08:39 PM

My handicap is the nice girl in the cart selling me drinks. If she isn't around, I play Bogey golf with little or no practice. I've been told that's not bad. Drinking I never break 100!

ethandt

06-20-2010, 08:48 PM

Took a three year break from the game, at the time I was a 7.5 but it's been a rough road getting my swing back, playing to a 12 right now most likely.

Ken I

06-20-2010, 09:02 PM

I'm a 15 at the moment and not playing enough to get any lower.

Peeb

06-20-2010, 09:10 PM

If I break 100, it's been a good day.

USGA handicapping rules make you exclude strokes over, like, a triple bogey or something, right?

cram

06-20-2010, 09:18 PM

I'll be honest: I don't give a crap!
I go when people invite me and I'm usually the one who enjoys the day the most while others fret about their score on the day's effort. Relax francis!

Frankee

06-20-2010, 10:23 PM

BTW, scoring 18 bogeys doesn't make you an 18 handicap--more like about 15. Don't remember exactly how that's arrived at, but someone here probably knows. I think it's a calculation intended to foil sandbaggers.

Yeah....I'm not sure how it works. My old man is the expert.

He just refers to me as "Bogey" when we're out on the links.

But I am like an 18-20 handicap.....I suck.

rwe333

06-20-2010, 10:30 PM

A million?

MBT74

06-21-2010, 04:52 AM

21. Should be a lot lower but I never practice.

Doodad

06-21-2010, 05:06 AM

My handicap? My swing.

I usually shoot around 100. Playing tomorrow with my Dad as a late Father's Day (we went to lunch yesterday) at my wife's club. Hard Fazio designed course. I expect a 110 between the course, the tee locations and the heat.

Ed Reed

06-21-2010, 05:54 AM

My handicap? I don't have any clubs.

GuitarTone

06-21-2010, 06:05 AM

I haven't played regularly for about 10 years....at the time I was a 15.
One of the most difficult sports to be good at on a regular basis...one day you're driving down the middle of the fairway, the next you're slicing everything...it can be a nightmare.
My putting was/is disgusting, my driving not very good at all, long irons always a struggle, short game very good.

Coolest thing about golf for me is the walk and the scenery, the birds, the trees, it's just a nice place to be when you have the time....and if in an entire round you hit 5 great shots and 75 terrible ones, it's the 5 great ones you talk about in the clubhouse after the game.

swampcaat18

06-21-2010, 07:04 AM

I used to carry a 3 handicap prior to my son being born. Now, I'm about a 8 but I only play once every 3 months or so.

DWB1960

06-21-2010, 07:22 AM

Before I blew out a disc I could shoot low to mid 90s consistantly and broke 90 three times. Now I'm low 90s on a real good day and will shoot low 100s if the wheels come off on more than a couple of holes. Since my wife started playing I take the game a lot less serious and just like to have a good time out there. That means laughing at bad shots/holes and not getting angry anymore.

We're playing Palm Springs next weekend and getting out real early both Sunday and Monday.

geoangus

06-21-2010, 10:23 AM

My index is at 6.1 right now, but is sure to rise with five rounds posted this year of 82, 81, 83, 74, 86. I just don't have the time to practice as much as I need to shoot those lower scores.

bassethound

06-21-2010, 03:26 PM

I play quite a bit (2-3 times a week) and am still a 17.6. I can't make a putt to save my life.

Craig Walker

06-21-2010, 05:14 PM

When I played 3 times a week I could break 85 most rounds.

Now I play 6 times a year, shoot 95, and have much more fun :D

It's Time!

06-21-2010, 05:17 PM

My handicap is around 90 ;)

BBender

06-21-2010, 05:18 PM

Haven't golfed in about 7-8 yrs.....and was invited to golf the day before Father's Day with my Father-in-law and 2 Bro-in-laws. Shot a 136!!! EEEEK...that was bad. We had fun, but I remembered why I put the clubs in my attic and left them there!!

Antelope

06-21-2010, 05:41 PM

8.1 currently. I'd like to see how low I could take it, but then I'd be a rotten dad (have kids 4 and 6). Hopefully, when they get older, and maybe like the game, I'll get to play more.

Luke

06-21-2010, 06:13 PM

Once upon a time I could consistently shot 90 or below, but that was 15+ years ago. Now I only go when dragged, haven't practiced in forever and will wind up around 105ish. I have to admit I became a golf snob playing all the best courses in Hawaii and it ruined me for local courses.

hank

06-21-2010, 07:52 PM

I'm playing now more than ever since my back surgery recovery. Loving it. Slowed down my swing and found the control. A good round is under 90.

Tone_Terrific

06-21-2010, 09:31 PM

Used to have a realistic shot a breaking 90 on most courses.
Now play less, practice less, enjoy it less.
If you have a remarkable round 1 out of 10, and only play 3-5 times per year that 1 doesn't come up very often.
And the other 9 can be nasty waiting for the good shots.
The time and cost of the game is a constant irritant, too.:(

custom53

06-22-2010, 08:09 AM

On the same subject... Check out this slow motion video of a golf ball impact...

http://www.flixxy.com/golf-ball-slow-motion.htm

LDS22

06-22-2010, 08:20 AM

11.6 and steadily getting better.

i play 2-3 times a week, but my shoulder is giving me problems so i'm going to rest it for a few days. i took my clubs to my wedding in mexico, and got in 2 1/2 rounds. i'm actually taking off work thursday for a match at one of the clubs i belong to. i would sell all of my gear and golf every day if i could...