Whats your handicap

forpar · Post by **forpar** » Mon May 02, 2005 3:16 pm

Getting the lessons EARLY is probably the most important of all. I learnt it from experience. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. That Hogan's book is very thin and every movement of the body is explained in great detail. Nice book to give the kids.

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:18 pm

Returning to the topic of the thread.....

I started playing golf this year in May. I just took a membership at the local club and I go there twice a week to hit balls on the driving range.
Last week I did go to a local 9 hole course which did not have any water hazards. I shot a round of 47 and the par is 35. The highly encouraging thing was I made 2 pars (Hoo haa). Without involving complicated calculations I guess my handicap will be 47 - 35 = 12 times 2 = 24 (for 18 holes right ?)

My friends tell me that it was a great round for a beginner and I feel the same too. But I have to admit, some of the shots that I made on that day.... I don't think I can make it again (he he). This weekend I will be going to the same course again. Will let you guys know what happened.

Cheers,
Rajeev.

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:49 pm

i just started taking lessons, yesterday was my second lesson. Wow hitting the ball straight and long is so tough. We learned the full swing yest and hit balls with a 7 Iron at the range. I hit a couple around 110-120 yards, ive heard 140 is a good distance with the 7 iron.

I tent do jump around when i Swing sometimes and thatthrows the shot off as opposed to smoothly hitting it. When I do hit with the classic stroke the ball flies.

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:02 pm

Hi guys,
I went in last week on the 9 hole course. I shot a 45, with 2 pars. The high point of my round was that I had my first

BIRDIE

attempt on a par 4 hole.
Anyways, now if I add up the 2 rounds I make it a 92 over 18 holes on a par 70 course.

Cheers,
Will keep you guys posted....
Rajeev.

arjun2761 · Post by **arjun2761** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:36 pm

zulu400 wrote: Without involving complicated calculations I guess my handicap will be 47 - 35 = 12 times 2 = 24 (for 18 holes right ?)

I doubt it. The raw score is normalized based on the difficulty of the course (factors in course rating and slope rating). For example, if the course rating of your course is 60 (most 9 hole executive courses have very low course ratings), your handicap would be 34 on a course having a slope rating of 113 (which is actually a somewhat easy course). Most golf courses (at least in the US) have programs in which you can input your scores and it spits out your handicap.

I believe the formula is: (Score - Course Rating) x 113 / Slope Rating

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 4:15 am

Here are some Internet websites that can figure the golf handicap:

GOLFONLINE Handicap Tool

Handicap Calculator

Welcome to Ranger Golf's FREE Handicap Calculator!

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 8:06 pm

Thanks for the website links....

Ok, this weekend was horrible for me. I shot a 52 with no pars and 3 triples and a quad !! I really suck, big time.
I did calculate my handicap from those websites and they put me at a 24.6 handicap. * sigh *

I have purchased a short game book by Dave Pelz (supposed to be the guru of short game), hopefully I can someday shoot a sub 40 round on the 9 hole course....

Take care...
Rajeev.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:47 pm

Hang in there, Rajeev.

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:42 am

Rajeev, I shot 65 on a par 9 course (my first time) with one or two bunkers and no hazards!!! And I couldn't even bogey once.. So think of me next time on the golf course and you will feel much better

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:00 pm

Thanks Bhushan and Kumar for your encouraging words.
I got two video cassettes from the local library and I was looking at them yesterday nite and I think I can fix a few things in my game. My iron play was the culprit the other day and I'm happy with my putting and also I feel comfortable within about 50-60 yds of the hole using my wedges. So now I'm all geared for the coming weekend to apply the newly seen technique, maybe that will do the trick.
But this game is so different. There are more books written on improving the swing and you keep working on all the techniques till you find the one that's right for you. Moreover the short game is totally neglected, and the short game is actually where you win or lose championships as the majority of the shots are within 100 yds of the hole. As they say.... you drive for show, but you putt for dough !!

Also Kumar, 65 is not bad for the first time, as the course where I play is very easy. It has a slope rating of 111.

Cheers,
Rajeev.

P.S: Bhushan, Kumar, where are you guys based in the US ?

arjun2761 · Post by **arjun2761** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:13 pm

If you are serious about improving your game -- take a few lessons from your local pro (for both basic swing and short game). Self learning takes forever and most self learners learn bad habits that have to be corrected later.

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:44 pm

Yes you are absolutely right. I had attended a clinic when I started playing, that helped me a little to point me in the general direction, but there is no substitute to personal private lessons from a local pro. I am planning to take it pretty soon.

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:41 am

Arjun I took a course too ($100 for semi private classes ) where they taught me irons and drivers !!! And one hour of putting..

Played one round, where I couldn't get the ball off the tee (in range i could easily get the ball up in the air from mat, but on the grass surprisingly it stayed hardly 5 feet off the ground)..

Have to start seriously again..

Rajeev i am in northwest!!!

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 2:58 pm

Last weekend was also dissapointing (Yeah ! again !!) Well you see for anyone to post a good score all the aspects of his/her game has to click. The only common thing about all my rounds so far is that only one aspect of my game was on fire in each of the rounds. And it has also made me understand the importance of the short game. Here is my historical data....

All played at the same course and in approx. similar conditions, 9 hole par 35.

Round 1
Posted a 46. Short game was awesome, out of sand in 1 shot on 2 occasions. Lob wedge shots found green 100 % of the time. 2 pars.

Round 2
Posted a 45. Putting was out of the world, made 4 one putts, 2 pars.

Round 3
Posted a 52. Iron play was good. Approach shots almost always landed close to green. Short game screwed up. No pars.

Round 4
Posted a 52. Amazing off the tee. On 5 holes I found the fairway, avg driving 250+ yds on 4 of those 5 holes. Iron shots and wedge shots - pathetic... no pars.

I have proved it to myself again that there is nothing else as important as having a great short game. By the way the tapes from the library did not help much (I know I'm expecting results overnight !!) but I'll keep working on that.

Keep posting....
Rajeev.

zulu400 · Post by **zulu400** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:31 pm

As Arjun pointed out, I re-calculated my handicap according to the USGA rules....

1. Handicap differential = (Adjusted score for 18 holes - USGA Course Rating ) * 113 / Course Slope Rating

Now, you are supposed to take the average of the Handicap differentials for the (best) 10 rounds and multiply it by 0.96 to get the handicap index....

Hmmm.... so lets see where I stand (I had earlier calculated my handicap to be 24.9)....

Round 1. (92-64.5) = 27.5 * 113 = 3107/111 = 27.99
Round 2. (90-64.5) = 25.5 * 113 = 2881/111 = 25.95
Round 3. (104-64.5) = 39.5 *113 = 4463/111 = 40.21
Round 4. (104-64.5) = 39.5 *113 = 4463/111 = 40.21

Handicap Index = (27.99 + 25.95 + 40.21 + 40.21) / 4 = 33.59 * .96 = 32.2

I hate this new formula.... 24.9 sounds good to me....