{"id":173,"date":"2012-04-18T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-18T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/?p=173"},"modified":"2013-02-04T15:41:47","modified_gmt":"2013-02-04T15:41:47","slug":"do-golf-handicaps-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html","title":{"rendered":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n

It’s no secret some golfers lie about their handicap. But can the handicap system itself be a bit deceiving?<\/p>\n

I keep my own handicap – it’s not that hard, you just have to play at least five rounds of golf and then understand how to calculate it (more about that later).<\/p>\n

But what if you play all your rounds at the same course? I’ve played many rounds in charity tournaments with guys who claim a handicap far better than the skill they displayed out on the links. <\/p>\n

Do they lie? No their handicap does.<\/p>\n

Invariably, these guys are members of a private club and all the scores they use to calculate their handicap have been calculated from that one course.<\/p>\n

Sorry gents, your handicap is biased. I play a different course nearly every time. But if I played the same 18 holes day in and day out, for sure I would learn all the nooks and crannies, the dos and don’ts of that course. My scores overtime would get exponentially better.<\/p>\n

Better scores translate to a lower handicap, which leads to bragging rights among the foursome<\/a>. But go to a new course, and suddenly your 10 handicap looks more like a 15. What happened?<\/p>\n

Golf happened! No two golf courses are alike. And that fact is perhaps among the most unique and defining features of this game – that to truly test your metal, you must play all that golf has to offer – not just the same tract of turf over and over again. But by only playing the same course, you’re doing your handicap (and yourself) a disservice.<\/p>\n

Another wee issue I have with the handicap system is this whole five rounds thing. Statistically, I would think the more rounds you include, the more accurate your handicap. But there are many who say all you need is five. <\/p>\n

Personally, I think the 5-round rule is so people can obtain a handicap faster. But to me, five rounds just isn’t enough – so I calculate my handicap from my previous 20 rounds. In case you didn’t know the formula for a handicap, here it is:<\/p>\n

1. Play 20 rounds of 18-hole golf.
2. For each round, use this formula to calculate a handicap differential: (Your Score – The Course Rating) x 113 \/ The Slope Rating<\/i>
3. Take the 10 best differentials and average them.
4. Multiply that average by 0.96.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Presto – you have a handicap. Can I poke holes in this formula? Sure – for example, who decided 113 was the “standard” slope rating and what was their logic? And why 96%? Are we assuming a 4% margin of error or something?<\/p>\n

But despite these quasi-questionable values in the formula, nothing will skew the accuracy of a handicap like having your 20 scores coming all from one course. <\/p>\n

I enjoy calculating my handicap every year and I feel it’s a pretty accurate reflection of my skill level. I just don’t think everyone can say the same thing about their handicap.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s no secret some golfers lie about their handicap. But can the handicap system itself be a bit deceiving? I keep my own handicap – it’s not that hard, you just have to play at least five rounds of golf and then understand how to calculate it (more about that later). But what if you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[659,657,656,660,14,658,661,655,662],"class_list":{"0":"post-173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-calculate","8":"tag-course-rating","9":"tag-differential","10":"tag-formula","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-handicap","13":"tag-private-club","14":"tag-private-course","15":"tag-slope-rating","16":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nDo Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s no secret some golfers lie about their handicap. But can the handicap system itself be a bit deceiving? I keep my own handicap – it’s not that hard, you just have to play at least five rounds of golf and then understand how to calculate it (more about that later). But what if you […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GolfStinks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/golfstinks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg D'Andrea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@golfstinks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@golfstinks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg D'Andrea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg D'Andrea\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c24ed0b68438f01a21b92ceed7d31929\"},\"headline\":\"Do Golf Handicaps Lie?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\"},\"wordCount\":490,\"commentCount\":5,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/calc212.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"calculate\",\"course rating\",\"differential\",\"formula\",\"golf\",\"handicap\",\"private club\",\"private course\",\"slope rating\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\",\"name\":\"Do Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/calc212.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/calc212.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/calc212.jpg\",\"width\":150,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Do Golf Handicaps Lie?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"GolfStinks\",\"description\":\"A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Golfstinks, LLC\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/GolfStinks-logo-RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/GolfStinks-logo-RGB.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":578,\"caption\":\"Golfstinks, LLC\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/golfstinks\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/golfstinks\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/golfstinks-llc\",\"http:\\\/\\\/pinterest.com\\\/golfstinks\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/golfstinksvideo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c24ed0b68438f01a21b92ceed7d31929\",\"name\":\"Greg D'Andrea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Greg D'Andrea\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/gregdandrea\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/golfstinks.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/greg\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks","og_description":"It’s no secret some golfers lie about their handicap. But can the handicap system itself be a bit deceiving? I keep my own handicap – it’s not that hard, you just have to play at least five rounds of golf and then understand how to calculate it (more about that later). But what if you […]","og_url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html","og_site_name":"GolfStinks","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/golfstinks","article_published_time":"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Greg D'Andrea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@golfstinks","twitter_site":"@golfstinks","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg D'Andrea","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html"},"author":{"name":"Greg D'Andrea","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c24ed0b68438f01a21b92ceed7d31929"},"headline":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie?","datePublished":"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html"},"wordCount":490,"commentCount":5,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg","keywords":["calculate","course rating","differential","formula","golf","handicap","private club","private course","slope rating"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html","url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html","name":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie? • GolfStinks","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg","datePublished":"2012-04-18T11:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-04T15:41:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/calc212.jpg","width":150,"height":200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/do-golf-handicaps-lie.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Do Golf Handicaps Lie?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/","name":"GolfStinks","description":"A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Golfstinks, LLC","url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/GolfStinks-logo-RGB.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/GolfStinks-logo-RGB.png","width":700,"height":578,"caption":"Golfstinks, LLC"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/golfstinks","https:\/\/x.com\/golfstinks","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/golfstinks-llc","http:\/\/pinterest.com\/golfstinks","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/golfstinksvideo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c24ed0b68438f01a21b92ceed7d31929","name":"Greg D'Andrea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc1e99d947a48bede5b2bd928b602589c215a82ee4dab4c5eb9f70cdddd4917?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Greg D'Andrea"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/gregdandrea"],"url":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/author\/greg"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1146,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions\/1146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golfstinks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}