is this cheating??

[sharkhark]

what course?

you posting anymore swing videos?

The course is Belle Park, a city owned course formerly a dump (thus the reason you sometimes get a bad bounce in fairway, damn tires!).

I got too much ribbing from my friends re swing vid's so I will save them for myself, but probably won't post.
Can check out my site once in awhile. Cheers.
http://www.putfile.com/sharkhark

[dH]

If you just enter back 9's because it's CONVIENENT to a good score you might as well just get rid of the poorly played holes and ratio it out over the best 15. I"m learning fully what it means to be a certain handicap. The game starts on the first tee and ends on the last holeout. ANYSHOT you take in that time counts; if not your just fooling yourself and not playing golf. That is part of what makes gofl so hard your past catches up to you and your accountable for all your shots. We all wish we were lower but I play better on the back 9 too and It's a good thing. becaue it lowers my score from the horrible front 9 . ALso if you give yourself a 15 now. You'll get depressed because you'll probably never get lower or if you do it will take forever so just enjoy the incremental successes along the way. SInce none of us except a few here might have a chance at turning pro your only cheating yourself just record it all and enjoy the small victories along the way .

[Law]

Interesting thread... My suggestion would be to do whatever you want, but remember, the only person that you would be hurting, is yourself. I always find it funny when FCs will move their ball to a favourable lie, or miss a short putt and not count it, because they gave themselves that gimme and therefore the miss doesn't count, etc....

["Richard"]

Even a golfer who has no business making a shot that he thinks he can make gets angry when he doesn't make it. I know one of those types, really really really really really well. Handsome guy, loves football...

I knew this would happen, I go play golf with you and now you are in love with me.

But seriously

I COULD add the bad front 9's but those bad front 9's wouldn't have been bad had I warmed up properly, I know It doesn't make nine holes to warm up but it does take me about 4-5 holes to get loose and comfortable or it takes me 20 min on the range and 15 min on the green. Had I known at the time I would have had to add those front 9's as well I would have either not played them or warmed up properly so as you can see those fronts aren't an accurate inditication of the leverl my game is at right now. Its not the front 9 that kills me in the morning its the first 4-5 holes because they are all doubles and triples, topping, chunking, shanking...

My last 6 rounds in the AM (front then back)
47 - 42
50 - 44
53 - 43
49 - 42
49 - 42
52 - 41

My last 6 rounds not played in the AM

42-44
46-45
49-49
45-43
44-44
41-41

Huge difference..

[dH]

I hate seeing people play w/ the ball for a better lie and they say it was in a divot or it's not a nice lie... Deal with it; this is golf.

[jonf]

the lesson is: warm up. There is no way you can assume that having warmed up you would play better. Take the scores you played, and next time warm up. The only way to be representative of how you played is to mark down all the scores you played. I know that on any given hole I can go out and make a par. That doesn't mean that I get to call myself a scratch golfer just because I could make par on any hole if I played it my best. You have to take the good with the bad.

[Kilroy]

those fronts aren't an accurate inditication of the leverl my game is at right now

So who's scores are they if not yours?

Would you really not play because there is no time to warm up? Lots of people tee it up without a warm up. Anyway, the thing that matters is where you go fom here.

[Golf_Putz]

I have also always thought that the point of bothering with a handicap was to have a real picture of your ability for the purpose of any competition - hence the need for it to be accurate.

Of course, many of us have no intention of ever competing in a tournament so calculating a handicap for us is more for our amusement and to gauge any improvements in our game.

Either way - if you're going to bother to track your handicap with any 'official' tracking mechanism [i.e. handicap software at the golf course, online software, etc.] there doesn't appear to be any valid reason to not enter all your rounds since that is how the expectation for the handicapping software is set up. That is, it does a calculation based on all the rounds that you've played.

After all, I think it is supposed to provide the difference between saying something like "I shoot in the low 90's" or "I have a handicap index of 18.2." The first one is a generalized statement, probably backed by what you consider yourself to be able to shoot and is most likely a fairly accurate statement of what you might have shot in the majority of your more recent rounds; while the other statement (handicap) is a record of what you actually shoot on an official scale.

As a bit of an aside, I remember reading [I think] that when a handicap is being calculated, there has to be a certain number of rounds entered. And that after you had entered a certain number, and/or established an index [can't remember which] that the average of your best rounds was used? That might have been the way the particular software was producing its number. Not sure. Does anyone know if that is correct, or is it correct that every round is used in the calculation? Or are certain rounds [i.e. more recent] given more weight?

[Kilroy]

Yes it is based on your best 10 of 20 and on a sliding scale down to 2 of 5 when you have less than 20 in the system. Of course if you only enter your bst then it's the best of the best. More recent rounds are not given more weight, but rounds older than 20 games ago are not considered. This is part of the handicapping formula and needs to be a part of any handicapping software.

["Richard"]

Problem is I got rid of the score cards after I entered them so I can either drop the 9 hole rounds (which won't drop m hcp) or I can start from now and let it adjust itself. Eitherway, from this point on I'm going to play it as suggested by you guys and see what happens, will keep you all updated but I dont imagine it will change much from what it is at now

[little brit]

Well this looks good for me. If nearly everyone plays better on the back 9 I may break 90 this year after all. I have only played 9s so far this year and first time out I shot 45. Unfortunately I have been worse since but hey I have enjoyed it.

["Richard"]

^^^ innit matey!

[sharkhark]

I have also always thought that the point of bothering with a handicap was to have a real picture of your ability for the purpose of any competition - hence the need for it to be accurate.

When I play I ignore the other players and how they play within the rules. Example, wanna give yourself a lie, not take stroke plus distance etc etc
..all power to you.
If you enjoy the game that way no problem.
Just don't tell me you beat me on a hole after doing so, or in a tourney.

[Golf_Putz]

Yes it is based on your best 10 of 20 and on a sliding scale down to 2 of 5 when you have less than 20 in the system. Of course if you only enter your bst then it's the best of the best. More recent rounds are not given more weight, but rounds older than 20 games ago are not considered. This is part of the handicapping formula and needs to be a part of any handicapping software.

Thanks. Since it is based on the best 10 of 20, it seems that it actually allows for quite a large number of 'poorer' rounds with a minimal penalty and really rewards the better rounds that you have.

That should easily make everyone honestly tracking a handicap happy, assuming of course that you get out to play and enter more than 20 rounds and that at least 50% of them are what you think you should be shooting.

Of course, if you're still not where you think you should be after that, then what basis would there be to think otherwise?

[Sakuraba]

Just a minute. maybe tho tho is justified. Let's suppose I'm an alcoholic (I SAID suppose) and a total golf junkie. Every morning I drag myself out of bed and play 9, despite vomiting fits and dizziness, I make it around the side in 50. I stop in the clubhouse, have a 6 pack, and feeling like a million bucks, head out for 18 where I regularly shoot 72. I do this every day for a month. Am I a scratch or a 7 (approximated)? If we were to play skins for $100 a hole in an afternoon game, how many strokes would you feel compelled to give me?

["Richard"]

lets ask john daly what he thinks

[ironmaster15213]

O.k. lets have some fun. Here are the new 2007 rule changes according to thotho. I'll put them in a couple at a time .........1)...A ball sliced or hooked into the rough should be lifted and placed on the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty.Players should not be penalized for uncontrollable mechanical phenomena..................2)A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game.The player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and can play the ball from there. .....(here's one of my favorites)....3)There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The missing ball is somewhere on or near the course and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else,making it a stolen ball. The player is not to compound the felony by charging him or herself with a penalty stroke.

[fundonny]

Well, one thing I have to say is if I had the gallery Tiger has, I'd shave about 20 strokes off my game. So I'm gonna figure that into my equation!

["Richard"]

dont' know what you are basing this one. I play by ALL the rules when Im playing with my friends who play seriously or when I'm entering ther ound for HCP'ing purposes. If I'm playing with friends I'll move my ball out of a divot, mess around a little with with shots I normally wouldn't take. :S

[ironmaster15213]

Hey thotho take it easy it's just a joke that somebody e-mail me about a year ago and this seems to be a perfect time to share them If you can't laugh and relate to some of these wishing they were true your not a golfer.

["Richard"]

ok ok just a little sesitive.. I just got my period

[ironmaster15213]

O.K. here's number 4) If a putt passes over the hole without dropping in it is "deemed to have dropped." The law of gravity supersedes the law of golf.......5)Putts that stop close enough to the cup that they can be blown in,may be blown in.This does not apply to balls more than 3 inches from the hole. No one wants to make a travesty of the game

["Richard"]

Me and my 9 iron may have to make a trip down to PA to pay you a visit. LOL these are pretty funny, are there more? post post post!

[ironmaster15213]

Me and my 9 iron may have to make a trip down to PA to pay you a visit. LOL these are pretty funny, are there more? post post post!

...I hope there's no peanut butter on that 9 iron cause it's hell to remove from hair

["Richard"]

Penut putter on balls! vasoline on 9 irons (gets rid of side spin and makes you not slice the ball)

[sensfan63]

thotho, everyone seems to have their panties in a knot over this. Here is my suggestion: For every AM round where you don't warm up, why don't you play the front nine in "warm up" mode, ie. give yourself good lies, practice putting on the greens, hit an extra ball if you have time, etc. This way you KNOW before you play that the front nine doesn't count. Then, go to the back nine and play by the normal rules in a serious fashion (well, as serious as YOU can get anyway) and KNOW that it will count towards your handicap. I don't see anything wrong with this at all. If anyone does, then they take the game too seriously (hence the word "game"). And for your PM rounds, just do what you normally do (ie. all rounds count because you have properly warmed up).

["Richard"]

thats what I was doing, only entered the backs.. not because they were better but because that is what I said I would do. I didn't see the harm in doing it because I thought "hey, people enter 9 holes all the time so whats the big deal if I just enter my back 9" its not like I picked my 9 best holes out. A friend of mine told me that would be like taking out the first 3 holes because thats how long it takes you to warm up and then take out the last 6 cause you are tired by then... but I told him its not the same because they don't have a slope and rating for the course on holes 4-12. Anyway, I honestly don't see the big deal in going to a course and saying before the round that you are only entering your back 9. But if everyone is telling me its illegal then I'll take their word for it and enter the rounds properly.. just need to warm up a bit and hit some putts. 45 min should be enough to me going (although no one has given me any specific rule saying you can or can't do it)

["Richard"]

I mean, I understand that if you play 13 or more holes you enter all 18... instead of 9 but there must be something to allow your front nine to be warm up or practice...

[Nat Williams]

I mean, I understand that if you play 13 or more holes you enter all 18... instead of 9 but there must be something to allow your front nine to be warm up or practice...

Declare it a practice before teeing off and it is practice.

You just can't call it practice after shooting poorly (and can't double back and say it counted if it was good )

[Andru]

you can enter just 9 holes if you played just 9 holes

I realise what I'm about to say is different than thotho

I disagree. If you've decided before the round your playing a practice 9 and I've done this. hit multiple tee shots, practice out of the bunker etc. Then I'll tee up and play the back for real.

I'm doing what the pros do for tournament rounds only in 4 hours vs. 2 separate days. I'm not a pro. There are shots you can't practice on most practice facilities. The short game shots. Even the best of them.

Now. If you start your round and your shooting crap then decide ahh I'm not going to log this. then I agree. you're not necessarily cheating but you're not doing yourself any favours either.