Taken to the Cleaners

This afternoon I played a better ball match against a pair of 14 handicap golfers from Winter Hill Golf club. This was the first round of the Daily Telegraph 4ball better ball conpetition with the finals being held in Dubai. My partner was my good friend Domel who is an 8 handicap player at my club.

I quickly realised that we were going to be up against it when one of them hit the first on the Waterloo, a par five, in two shots using a 25 deg rescue club for both shots, so a birdie 4 to our five and we were one down, we halved the second in 3, then the third and fourth they made birdie 3's on both of them, then a 3 at the par 3 fifth, Two well struck rescues again saw him on the par five 6th in2 shots and 2 putts for another birdie nett eagle, then another par 3 on the 7th. We were then five down.

They were out in 30 shots and five up. The match ended on the long par four 14th when after his rescue tee shot hit a tree and left him 22o yards to the green, he then struck a great rescue to 10 feet and we shook hands. Thrashed 6 & 4.

14 handicap golfers should not go out in 2 under par, as one did.

The ninth is a good hole and requires a good drive and respectable iron to carry the ditch in front of the green. He hit a five iron off the tee and then from just inside the 150 marker hit a pitching wedge all the way to just past the pin.

We were talking in the bar afterwards and he then told me that they played a practice round on the Wellington a few days ago and he managed to par the first 11 holes. This is not 14 handicap golf.

Did you call him a bandit John?

They both knew that they were hustlers and I fully expect to see them make it all the way to Dubai. I play with good players most of the time and quite honestly they struck the ball too consistently well to be the handicaps they are. A fair assessment would be one off 3 and the other off 5/6.

It's a complete farce JP you should be annoyed especially on your home track.

It is always nice to see good golf played and I am not at all worried about losing, just that we were never going to be in it. They both hit the ball solid, but one of them was as good a striker as you, but much longer with it. He did not use a driver or fairway wood all the way round. Rescue club or iron off the tee.

He used my 50 degree maruman wedge on the short 15th which, as you know is 147 from the whites and carried it over the flag.

Disgraceful.

Well, lets not dress it up, it's cheating.  The only hope is that in he next round they come up against some even less honest people and get whooped by a couple of 18 handicappers shooting sub-par rounds.

What I can't understand is what they get out of it, OK there's a chance that they could play in Dubai, but personally I couldn't (and wouldn't) want to be there under those circumstances.  We aren't talking about sneaking the odd shot because you're handicap is hovering around .5 or .6, it's 10 shots.  I can't think of any circumstances when I'd voluntarily go back to being 25....   

I will bring the card with me on Saturday, Tim and you will be gobsmacked.

John, their club is on Howdidido.com if you know their names you can check their Hcp and see if their performance in club comps.

JUST A NOTE ON HDIDIDO, YOU CAN ONLY CHECK THE COMPETITION EVENTS AND SEARCH FOR THEIR NAMES, YOU CANNOT SEARCH FOR AN INDIVIDUAL UNLESS YOU ARE "FREINDS" WITH THEM ON HDIDIDO.

GIVE ME THE NAMES JOHN AND I WILL LOOK ALSO

Well to be fair, Dave, they did produce handicap certificates and then were honest enough to say that they had just been cut, one from 15/14 and the other from 17/14. The 17 handicapper had shot 77 net 60 at Winter Hill golf club where they are both members.

I enjoyed watching them both and they were a couple of really nice fellas. They both worked as executives at Waitrose(John Lewi) head office in Bracknell and apparently it is John Lewis who own the course and they get membership for £200 per annum.

As you know, Domel is a nice steady player but he just kept on shaking his head at their shotmaking.

Chris and David?

Chris, Iain Parker and Chris Wilson are their names, but they showed me handicap certificates and then said that they had both been cut and said they were both 14.

Thier Hcp's are correct as you say JP. Chris just dropped he won that comp with the nett 60 and Ian was 16.4 begining of the season. Obviously hit a bit of form.

This just shows up the fragility of our handicapping system. If you had witnessed their play, Dave, then you would have agreed with me. I can tell the difference between someone having a good game and someone who has real ability.

Iain was three under after six holes himself and his only mistake was a three putt on 8 which let me win the hole with a 4.

14 handicappers do not play to that standard.

Your situation is different, Lewis. You are a newcomer to the game, are taking it seriously and because of this you will show rapid improvement.

The guy named Iain told me that he used to be off six but then had some back problems and that is why his handicap is high.

Anyone who hits our first par five in two shots has immense power, but when this same player uses a 25deg rescue to hit the green in 2 shots, that is ability far beyond a 14 handicapper.

Lewis, you will not get the word "Bandit" from me, because I know that you are a rapidly improving player. I saw your potential when we played together at the Abbey and I am quite sure that your handicap will tumble quickly.

Excellent post, Ivan, one with which I wholeheartedly concur.

Your method was basically very sound, in fact I am sure that I mentioned this to you at the time. I also remember saying that if you lived near me I would turn you into a good player very quickly, because you have a natural affinity for this game.

I still remember the wedge you played that pitched by the stick and spun back 12 feet.

Only a good strike can achieve that.

JP,

That is the most dangerous type of Player, and YOU SHOULD KNOW? A guy off 14 or 16 who used to be (and has brain of) a single figure golfer.

Lewis,

You can always blame the System when called The B word.

Ivan,

If you scrapped the Hcp, half the Golf Clubs would go out of existence. Most of the money generated by week-end Hcp Comps is the Life-line of a Club.

TheLyth

The handicap system was devised to give everyone an equal chance of winning, but in actual fact it has not achieved this as we all witness with every handicap competition. The winner are of=ver 40 points and those at the other end are in the low 20's. So that alone tells you that the system is flawed.

We need to assess someones handicap on the number of pars and birdies that make up a card, completely ignoring the disasters, because it is these that make a handicap higher than it should be.

We all know that if we tried hard enough it is very easy to play to bogey, just by being sensible and not taking any risks. This method, one which I employ myself, makes it difficult to make pars because one is never taking the shot on to reach the green, thus taking the chance of hitting trouble out of the equation.

Anyone who can hit six pars on a consistent basis is a 12 handicapper. The guy I have just played covered the front nine in 2 under par, would have been three under but he three putted the 8th. How, by any stretch of the imagination can this player be a 14 handicapper.

That would be a start, Lewis.

In the old days the maximum was 24 but when you took 3/4 it came down to 18. Now of course we have a situation where many players are getting 2 shots on a hole. Absolutely ridiculous.

Ivan,

Back in the 70's it was stated that there were not enough Golf Courses for the number of people who wanted to play. Private Clubs held their Membership between 400 & 500 and today those Clubs have only added 50 to 60 more.

If you wanted to be a Member of a Club you had to search to find one and join the 'Waiting List' or join as a 5-Day member. Leeds had four Muni's and they were full most of the time so serious Golfers wanted Membership of the Private Clubs were the Golf was less crowded.

Pay & Plays sprang up all over the place and so the Golf Memberships changed. No longer did a person need to be a member of a Private Club to enjoy a quiet game at most times. Money also now played a part, why pay £500 each year to play 20 or 30 times when you could spend half that. The Society Golfer was now the main group.

The status of being a Member of a golf club was still there but not at the same level and some Clubs were pricing themselves out of reach and memberships dropped. They had to do something and things like Two4Ones helped and also opening the course up for visiting parties did too. But the main thing now was that the members were there to Play Golf and not just to show status, In order to keep them, Clubs started putting on Comps almost every week-end and hoped that the entrants also spent money over the Bar which worked in many cases.

Today, to most, being a Member of a Club is a social thing and mixing with other like minded people, what ever their ability. Cat1 (under 5hcp) players make up a very small number in a Club, if you did away with Hcp's they would win every single week and others would stop entering and some would even stop going to the Club. That would then drop week-end takings and so the Membership Fees would rise and more would resign, not to be replaced and eventual closure.

Some interesting facts:-

ALWOODLEY GC Membership 1963=441, 2003=450

MOORTOWN GC Membership 1963=560, 2003=600

SANDMOOR GC Membership 1963=500, 2003=540

The Fees for these Clubs are over £1000 p.a.

SCARCROFT GC didn't allow many visitors in 1963 so the course was underused by its 350 Members. To carry on the same way the Members would have had to pay an extra £400(?) p.a. Instead they upped the Membership Number to 580, allowed more visitors and survived.

TheLyth

RE HCP's

JP & Lewis,

I know what you mean, a winning score of 40pts or Nett 65 when others end with 20pts ot Nett 80? Take the Pro's, on a day one shoots a 62 another will shoot a 79. Thats Golf, everyone can have their day.

Until a better system is devised we must live with this one. Even the US system causes problems and that one is based on every single round inputted.

TheLyth

I have just made a note of a few stats in relation to this 14 handicap player who thrashed myself and my partner.

He hit 16 Greens in regulation, of the two missed, one was just on the fringe and the other was an OOB with his drive, but he hit the green in regulation with his second ball.

He had a total of 39 putts made up of 1 single putt and that was on the hole where he was on the fringe and 4 three putts.

Par is 69, 35 out 34 in and he scored 33 out and 39 in for a gross 72 nett 58

So a 3 over par gross with 2 penalty shots and 39 putts. That is really impressive for a 14 handicapper, don't you think.

His display on the front nine would not have looked out of place in one of the Majors, his striking was that good.