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Looking big picture, do you think handicaps are accurate?

I read stories about sandbaggers that inflate them to win tournaments. When I was a kid I witnessed heated arguments about sandbaggers ruining tournaments with inflated handicaps.

I have read the opposite, where people view their handicap as a status symbol and keep it lower than they probably play to.

My sister complains because her handicap keeps dropping, and other people she plays against never drop or they actually go higher, meaning she has a tougher time competing fairly.

My last official handicap was decades ago, but when I'm playing often enough I can shoot to it. When I can't play much, obviously I won't play to it as often.

So if we picked a hundred players at random, would their handicaps be about right, too high, or too low.

Good question. As I understand it, a handicap is supposed to be set up to give a good idea of what you can or could shoot, not necessarily what you normally shoot. But it is close to average. I would hope that no one would inflate theirs to win or feel better about their play, but who knows? I think most people I know would ere on the side of too low.

i would say lower because it makes you seel better to say i'm a 10 as opposed to a 20 with $2000 if equiment. you can always claim a bad day and the days that you really shot good you are around your number.

Most of the guys at my club claim higher...big gamblers most, and we have many club competitions where net scores determine the winner...the last 5 or six have had winners netting in the low 60s or high 50s (?!?!?)...I was paired with a guy claiming an 18 hdcp and shot a legitimate 72 (par 70) but still didn't win...he wasn't jumping up and down either (I would be doing cartwheels if I busted my handicap by 16 strokes!)

The two clubs I have been a member in the UK seem to be quite well regulated, I dont have any real experience of sandbaggers.

If you are a member of a club and you play in regular competitions then your handicap should be reasonably accurate. I rejoined a few months ago after a long lay off. If I was honest I would say that my handicap might be a little high, but when I first joined I believed 12 was a fair starting point (this is 2 or 3 less than when I left my old club) and the first time out I played to 14 and went up 0.1. Since then I have worked hard on my game and scored better (not played better ) but my shortgame/putting has saved me

I have already accepted that once I get down to a certain level I will have less chance of winning handicap competitions/stapleford, but in my eyes its me against the course, if I happen to play well and place in a competition now and again then great, if not, no problem. Maybe some of these sandbaggers should think like this?

Most people in clubs have a handicap that is too low...its an ego thing. Not that they necessarily cheat the system but they only put in their good rounds and omit their bad ones.....usually gamblers have too high, so they can regulate in tournys...i.e. beat their handicap by 16 strokes... I am about an 8-9 and even on days when all i do is shoot that I'm cutting flips....on my exceptional days, all both of them, I only beat my cap by 2 strokes...still enough to make me call everyone in my phone to brag.....so I dont think its fair because sandbaggers ruin it, but as far as the people who try to get keep theirs down by not inserting all rounds more power to them....makes it easier for me to beat them in a tourney.... of course there are a few rareties out there.,,,,,my golfing buddy john plays to about a 12 right now but i have seen him shoot right at par several times, then follow it with a 90.....weird to watch, but at one time he did play to near scratch consistently so maybe thats why he is like that. Even still in tourny's he will appear to be a sandbagger if he has a good day with his current handicap cause he can beat it by 8-10 occassionally. me though it will never happen like that, i consistently **** the same amount.
but my new cameron (in the avatar) is going to fix all that.....i hope....

Handicaps are a reflection of society. Most of them are honest. But, there is a percentage who lie/cheat/footwedge.

From my experience the ego gets in the way and they want to have a lower handicap. I would say 50% are pretty accurate; 30% are too low and 20% are too high.

From what I've seen on the course most handicaps are at least a couple of strokes lower than what they should be due to rules infractions. As far as sandbagging I do know a couple peoples who withhold certain scores from their handicap.

Actually, it's really hard to say. The sandbaggers are easy to spot, but I know a lot of people who won't put in their 90 when they average in the mid to low 80s so it goes the other way as well. Personally I put in all scores. I started the season as a 13(I ended last season at a 13) but was playing to about an 18 so I took a beating early on. As the season progressed, I started shooting my handicap and even lowered it to an 11. I'm back up to a 12 now and will probably end the season around a 13 or 14. I can keep my ego out of it - I prefer to win - but I won't sandbag. I want an honest look at where I stand in relation to the people I play with.

I sometimes play with a group of seniors, I'm only 32, and they have anywhere from a claimed 21 to 26 handicap. We play a skins game, no carry overs, and I rarely win a hole even though I'm a 9 handicap. I'll par a hole and they'll be reaching a par 4 green in 3 and taking 2 or 3 more shots to get down and I often hear "I got a stroke on that hole, so I won that hole." I just have to grin and say OK.

I really need to ask the rules of our skin's games.

This is probably pretty close. A lot of golfers mistakenly think their handicap is their average. It should be their POTENTIAL for a score.

Our MGA keeps track of USGA handicaps, but we also use tournament handicaps within our organization to keep competitions fair. A 'bagger may get by with it a time or two, but not for long. I tracked for a while and noticed that in most of our tournaments, about a fourth of the field shoots their handicap or better, and about three fourths are above.

I do think that some improving golfers AND focus-capable get unfairly called sandbaggers. I know that at every level of my game's development I have shot my career-best rounds-to-date in tournaments when I just got on a roll.

I agree. My best rounds, for the most part, were in tournaments and I really believe that it's because tournaments make you focus more and start playing the course using strategy instead of taking chances you would take otherwise. I would encourage golfers to start playing in tournaments even if they don't feel they are good enough to do so. You just might surprise yourself with your best round ever and experience what the feeling of being "in the zone" is like. Besides, playing in club tournaments is all about having a good time. I think it makes you begin to feel like a real golfer. When you start playing the course and forget that you're playing against other golfers it's amazing how much better you can play. And for you new guys contemplating playing your first tournament, who are worried you will look like an idiot in front of all of those other (in your mind) great golfers in the tournament, throw your worries away. Everybody has their "idiot moments", beginners and low handicappers alike.
Jerry

My guess would be that there a far more that are too low rather than too high, both for ego reasons and the fact that many don't play strictly by the rules. It's those who are too high that you have to watch out for of course.

My guess would be that there a far more that are too low rather than too high, both for ego reasons and the fact that many don't play strictly by the Rules.