Monthly News Letter: November 05
Hello All,
We are lucky to still be in the Caribbean, we did return to the UK for three weeks, was nice to be home. We had planned to go on tour in Thailand but decided we needed to concentrate on the e-commerce business. We were finding it hard to play on tour and provide an on line service.
That is the reason this news letter is late.
To save all you low handicap players time, this news letter is for the beginners. 83% of all the e-mails we receive are from beginners. Scoring / Handicaps prove a mystery to them. (We all had to learn)
Featured
- Score Card / how to score / handicap / hole index/ basics related to scoring.
- Handicap system.
- Introduction to Stableford
- Using Handicaps in Stableford Competitions
Scoring in golf is sometimes a mystery to non golfers or those just starting, because golf unlike other sports the golfer with the lowest score wins, (In normal Stoke play) Completive golf is played over 18 holes, if you are a pro golfer you would take 72 shots or lower to complete all 18 holes. That is referred to as a par round.
Each hole you start at the tee box, and finish in the hole on the green. Every time you make a stroke, count it. At the end of each hole, add up your strokes for that hole and write it down. At the end of the round, add up the strokes for each hole and, there you have it, your golf score, your then deduct your handicap which gives you your net score
Score in relation to par is also very easy to understand and you know how well you are playing by the number of shots taken on each hole.
When things go wrong out of bounds etc (you will have to take a penalty stroke.)
On your score card each hole is given a number representing "par" - the number of strokes
it should take a pro golfer to finish that hole.
- If the hole is a par is 4 and you take 5 shots, then your score in relation to par is 1-over. E.g. a bogey
- If the par is 4 and you only take 3 shots, then your score in relation to par is 1-under. E.g. a birdie
- If par for the course is 72 and you finished with a 95, then your score is 23-over = to a handicap of 23.
The handicap system:
With the handicap system, you can play any other golfer on any course and be competitive. For example if your average score is 95, (Handicap 23) and you play a golfer that has an average score of 76, (Handicap 4) in simple terms if you take 95 shots, and he takes 77 you win.
In order to play on the prestigious / international courses you will need an official handicap, when you become club member, you can hand in three score cards, the average of the three scores will be your handicap. Once you play with a handicap of 18 or below you will be permitted to play on any course, including international high prestigious clubs.
Reason the club insist on you showing your handicap cards : To ensure you can play a full round in 4 hours or under, also you will comply with golf etiquette, correct code of dress, will not endanger other players, and for the hard working grounds men take care of the course. You will replace divots, repair pitch mark on the greens.
Score card. (Assume normal tees not competition tees)
| Men (white tees) | Ladies (red tees) | Player 1 | Player 2 | ||||
| Hole | Yards | Par | Yards | Par | Stroke | ||
| 1 | 482 | 5 | 435 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 | 356 | 4 | 321 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 | 162 | 3 | 145 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 390 | 4 | 335 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | 476 | 5 | 426 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 |
| 6 | 368 | 4 | 337 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | 153 | 3 | 121 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | 367 | 4 | 328 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | 382 | 4 | 344 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 5 |
| Out | 3136 | 2792 | 52 | 45 |
| Men (white tees) | Ladies (red tees) | Player 1 | Player 2 | ||||
| Hole | Yards | Par | Yards | Par | Stroke | ||
| 1 | 482 | 5 | 435 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 | 356 | 4 | 321 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 | 162 | 3 | 145 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 390 | 4 | 335 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | 476 | 5 | 426 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 |
| 6 | 368 | 4 | 337 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
| 7 | 153 | 3 | 121 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | 367 | 4 | 328 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 9 | 382 | 4 | 344 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 5 |
| Out | 3136 | 2792 | 52 | 45 | |||
| Total | 102 | 92 | |||||
| Handicap | (28) | (14) | |||||
| Net score | 74 | 78 |
You will note that Player 1 won the game with a net 74 e.g. 102 – (28) =74
The words "out" and "in" appear on most golf scorecards, alongside the par for the front nine and back nine. Why are these terms used, and what do they mean?
What they mean is fairly self-evident. "Out" and "in" on the scorecard refer to the golfer's front and back nines, respectively.
The yardage of any given golf hole is on the scorecard and also shown on a sign at the tee.
The yardage is also marked at various points on the side of the fairways- for example,
from 200 yards out (from the green), 150 yards out, and 100 yards out. Many courses also put
yardages on sprinkler heads and other objects found in the fairway. These yardages are to the
center of the greens.
Golf is not easy to master; many club players will never play well because they have not
learnt the correct mechanics, only a few players are born with true natural ability. Even
the lucky few still need to know the mechanics of the game. All have pre-shot routines, have
developed and natural swing. Paramount to every thing else:
Smooth swing, good balance, rhythm and timing, correct transfer of weight.
Select the correct club.
Introduction to Stableford
Stableford scoring systems are stroke-play formats in which the high total wins, not the low. That's because in Stableford, your final score is not your stroke total, but rather the total points you have earned for your scores on each individual hole. For example, a par might be worth 1 point, a birdie 2. If you par the first hole and birdie the second, you've accrued 3 points.
Using Handicaps in Stableford Competitions
When those of us who are not pro-golfers are playing Stableford, we'll need to use our handicaps in order to pile up the points. How many gross birdies will a 20-handicapper make per round? Close to zero. Pars will be pretty scarce, too. It would be difficult for a 20-handicapper to earn many points playing Stableford at scratch. Players in a Stableford competition should use full course handicaps, with strokes taken as they are allocated on the scorecard.
Your handicap comes into play on each hole, If your handicap is 18 then you are given one shot on each hole. So a Bogey = Par and Scores you one point, if you do an actual par that = a birdie and 2 points.
If you have a handicap of say 22 then you are given two shots on the four hardest holes e.g. Index 1-2-3-4 So if the Hole is a Par 5 index 1 and you score 7 (2) = 5 you score 1 point.
The strategy in Stableford formats can be summed up in three words: Attacking golf go for it.
Stableford competitions reward aggression and risk-taking on the golf course. In the traditional Stableford, for example, there are no negative points. If you are facing a difficult shot say a carry over water that you normally wouldn't try, in Stableford you can take a shot at it because if you fail, at worst, you get 0 points. However if you make it? The potential rewards are greater than the potential disaster’s you can have bad holes yet still win. (With traditional stroke play one really bad hole and you have lost)
If you score more than 32 points you have had a good game, if you score 40 plus then you have a good change of winning the competitions,
If you had an unusually high score of say 48, you handicap would be checked.
Golf is a game of honor do not cheat you will lose the respect of you fellow players.
You need to be competitive but if you are a high handicapper and drawn to play with a good player, do NOT try to match their game, the handicap system will make the playing field equal, play to your handicap and you have every chance of winning.
If you found this difficult to understand, and have any questions please contact us by e-mail we will do our best to help.
Contact us at ken@hightolow.co.uk