lower your handicap

Being only a begginer of a golf i was just wondering how you lower your handicap ? ? ?

All help much appreciated.

First, lets get a quick basic information session in.

Your handicap is representative of your potential scoring ability. Not your actual scoring ability, but your 'I've played really well' scoring ability. This roughly (and sometimes VERY roughly) translates into how many strokes over par you usually are.

For most 'high handicappers' this number is 20+.

To get you handicap down, you need to get around the golf course in fewer strokes.

This can be done in a number of ways.

1) Take less putts. This means making more putts.
2) Find more fairways, and greens in regulation. This usually helps reduce the number of strokes needed, especially the latter.
3) Take less penalty strokes. This includes losing balls, putting them in the water, and doing dumb things like moving your ball before hitting it, using a rangefinder (legal in 2006), adjusting the weights in your club once the round begins, hitting a ball 'just for fun', those kinds of things.
3a) Make the smart play. This will often eliminate point 3 altogether. This is also known as course management. Trouble in front of the green? Lay up, then get up and down. Been slicing the driver? Leave it in the bag.
4) This is the absolute fastest way to get your handicap down. It's not sanctioned by the R&A or USGA - in fact, most people don't sanction it at all, and in fact it's frowned upon. But it's the speediest way to drop your handicap. Lie about your score. Don't count mulligans, penalties, or whiffs or mishits. Once you're on a green, mark yourself for two putts if you're outside 3 feet (one putt if you're 3 feet or closer), pick up and move on.

*Please note, point 4 is merely a joke, and most of this post is written kind of tongue in cheek. Points 1-3a are legit, but kind of useless without a method*

Seriously, you get your handicap down by scoring lower. Again, handicap is just an indicator of roughly how well you score. Score, not play.

If you work on getting up and down (which simply means that you missed the green in regulation, but you get on the green [up] and you 1 putt [down] to finish the hole), you're guaranteed to drop your handicap. It's when you get on the green after missing it in regulation and still 3 putt that your handicap doesn't seem to want to move.

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Thanks for your help,would i just hand in another scorecard or enter a competition or either.

After every round (casual or tournament), you hand in your scorecard to your pro shop (or in smaller clubs, you enter your score yourself).

After 7-10 rounds, you'll end up with a handicap.

what about when i have a handicap and then want to lower it again?



thanks for the help guys

???

What do you mean?

A handicap isn't like a jersey number that can be changed, or the loft on a club that can be bent or adjusted.

A handicap is calculated on your net scores, and generated by a table or computer. It is what it is, and it goes up and down depending on your scores. The lower your scores, the lower your handicap will be.

The ONLY WAY to lower your handicap is to score lower.

Maybe I'm not interpreting your question right?

Ok after you hand in your first 3 cards (singles competitions over 18 holes with no winter rules) you will be assigned your handicap.
As a man the max is usually 18 or 28 if you are a junior/juvenile womens max starting is 36.
Now each subsequent card you hand in will adjust your handicap up or down depending if you are over or under par nett. (after your handicap has been taken away from the number of shots you took)
Depending on your handicap for each stroke you are under a maximum of 1 stroke will be deducted from your handicap.
No matter how many over you are only 0.1 strokes will be added to your handicap.

For example:
After your first three cards your average score is 20 over par.
You will probably be assigned a handicap of 18.
Now the next time you play you are 25 over. Your handicap will be adjusted to 18.1 (18 + 0.1)
If the next time you play you are only 17 (89 strokes on a par 72 course) over par you will be adjusted to a handicap of 17.1 (19.1 - 1.0)

Geddit?

Another good tip is to either download or list with a scorecard monitoring site. You can then update your scores after every round as well as adding other statistics from your game if you so wish. This way you'll have a constantly monitored handicap. I do this and it works very well ensuring I'm playing to a fair handicap when golfing with friends. However, it wouldn't be accepted in competition and a club handicap would still have to suffice. It really depends on how many official competitions you enter. I'm only a weekday member and most competitions are played at weekends when I never have the time, so my official handicap is 3 shots higher than my own monitored handicap. This is OK for 'golf bandits' but this is not why the handicap system was introduced. Fair competition is much more enjoyable. When I see people finish with net 54 or similar, it's paramount to cheating but this should be another thread discussion.

Cheers.
Lee.

http://www.yourgolfgame.com/

and

http://www.keepmygolfscore.com/index.php

are both free handicap tracking sites.

I know of a method that will guarantee you a lower handicap.

It's called the "Lessons and loads of practice" system.

Firstly you go to a pro for the "lesson" stage.
This stage is usually repeated once a month.

Then you go to the range/practice area for the "practice" stage.
This stage is repeated as often and for as long as possible.

Combine the result of both stages on the golf course.

Follow this system and your handicap will drop.