The Secret to Lowering Your Golf Handicap This Year

By: Derek Clements | Fri 17 Feb 2023

WHEN all is said and done, the reason we all play golf is because we love this wonderful sport, no matter how frustrating it can be at times.

And for most of us that involves getting a handicap and trying to improve. The World Handicap System has been with us for two years now and although it still has its critics we have learned to live with it.

One of the most encouraging findings from our 2022 Golfshake Survey shows that 48% of you saw your handicap fall last year, with just 23% of those who responded seeing an increase. So you must be doing something right.

It goes without saying that golf is game you will enjoy more if you can improve your playing standards. We all want to score as well as we possibly can.

You will not be amazed to learn that there are no short cuts. It is all about finding ways to improve your technique and then perfecting it.

They say practice makes perfect but are all of these golfers practicing on a regular basis?

Improve Golf Handicap

You might be pretty surprised to discover that just 20% of those who responded to our survey said that they practiced more in 2022, with 44% saying they practiced the same as normal.

During the pandemic lockdown many people had more time on their hands but as life got back to normal in 2022, 22% of our respondents said they had practiced less, while 14% of you do not practice at all. We believe this is probably due to time constraints and the fact that you believe that if you are playing regularly then there is no need to hit the range.

So how did our 48% manage to lower their handicaps? It appears that you played more and practiced more.

Of the golfers who saw a handicap drop:

41.8% stated they played more in 2022
28% stated they practiced more in 2022
94% stated they would probably play during the winter
85% stated they would practice over the winter
Only 13.8% stated they never practiced

And when it came to golfers who saw their handicaps increase:

22% stated they played more in 2022
10.4% practiced more in 2022
93.9% would play during the winter
77.3% would practice over the winter
34.9% never practiced

Our survey found that 95.6% of club golfers planned to play over the winter, depending on the weather, compared to 87.2% of the non-club golfers surveyed. Similarly, the numbers planning to hit the range during the winter was slanted towards club golfers, with 82.3% planning to practice during the winter compared to 72.6% of non-club golfers.

It seems pretty obvious to say but it appears that you get out of the game what you put into it. Keep up the good work!