How To Apply The Golf Handicap | Making Golf More Competitive

[@Bonejone213]

Thank you for the explanation! I got my first par yesterday and I want to figure out my HCP

[@GolfAscending]

Awesome! Congrats!

[@loriking4728]

Thanks for explaining this. I had no idea how to use the handicap score, or even why it was necessary

[@GolfAscending]

For sure! Glad we could help clarify!

[@Silanghet92]

@@GolfAscendingwhat happens if I have 42.2 handicap and you have an 8? How would match play work?

[@jakebudge9593]

Great video! Makes total sense. It’s much more fun to keep things more competitive, even at different levels of proficiency.

[@GolfAscending]

Absolutely! Thanks for the comment!

[@D-Allen]

Great video! At 8:22 you mention a "blow up hole". My question, regarding using the net double bogey + HCP rule. Say on a par 4 hole Brady gets 1 stroke handicap and shoots a 10, with the net double bogey rule, the most he could score is 7 (par 4 + net double bogey 2 + 1 HCP=7), is this correct? Or, is this used only for calculating handicap and for that round and the competition between the two of you, he would actually use the 10 and the score? Thanks

[@GolfAscending]

Thanks! And great question! According to the USGA, The Net Double Bogey rule is meant to prevent high individual hole scores from inflating a players’s Handicap Index and promotes fair play when enjoying a round of golf together. With that being said, it sounds like it applies to both (as the handicap, even if used in casual play among friends), is meant to make golf more competitive and fun. So applying the Net Double rule seems to be fair in play as well. With that said, it might be good to confirm with your friends beforehand to avoid arguments. 😂

[@neilevans704]

Good video, goes well with your other handicap video. Cheers

[@GolfAscending]

Awesome! Glad you liked it!

[@teamseshpush1884]

Awesome video.

[@GolfAscending]

Thanks!

[@ernbone]

So, in my foursome, in stroke play, 4 different handicap indexes, we don't calculate by hole anymore, we deduct each individual handicap from each individual gross score at the end of the round to find the so-called "net" per individual?

[@GolfAscending]

Technically speaking, you would apply each individual handicap against the course and would establish your "net". Then compare your "net" with the rest of your group. However for more casual play, if handicaps are close to each other it may seem tedious. In this case, you may just want to "give" strokes to higher handicaps. Example let's say in a 4 some the handicaps are as follows: 5, 7, 11 and 12. Personally on 18 I would give the 11 & 12 handicaps 5 strokes as an established "modified handicap" for casual play and the other two to play straight up. Hope this helps!

[@bocaj03]

Utah!! Don't think I didn't notice you playing at Cedar Hills. ;)

[@GolfAscending]

Yessir! Gotta love Utah golf!

[@Nashvillecoug]

Nice! This is great information 👍

[@GolfAscending]

Thanks! Hope it helped!

[@richardm2762]

Great video question for you does this work the same of you are playing from different tee boxes

[@GolfAscending]

Thanks! You add or subtract the difference in course rating from whatever tee box they’re playing.

[@hughesga1745]

Im just starting out in golf and trying to figure out what my handicap is let alone how to apply it was the most confusing thing. This actually finally made me get it thanks so much ! right to the point and no overcomplicating it. Ive now figured out that my HC is 37 for my local course and my index is 48.4 (I THINK lol) so for my course that would mean Id get 2 extra stokes per hole + a 3rd extra stoke on the hardest hole? Would this be right?

[@GolfAscending]

Awesome, glad to hear it! And yes, for a handicap of 37, that would be two strokes for every hole, and one extra stroke (3) for the hardest hole.

[@hughesga1745]

@@GolfAscending THANK YOU lol golf is very confusing when starting out glad to know im starting to understand at least

[@GolfAscending]

All comes with time! Thanks for your comments!

[@gus3776]

I'm still trying to figure out this handicap thing. I don't understand the numbers affiliated with the handicap. How do the numbers relate to the color of where you T off.aka the blue, white, orange and red T boxes. I normally T off in the orange box what handicap is that?

[@GolfAscending]

The difficulty of the course changes for each tee box due to distance and placement of tee boxes. You can see that on the scorecard of whatever course you play.

[@atfinthehouse8631]

So when you report your scores to recalculate your handicap, do you use the handicap adjusted score or the actual gross score?

[@GolfAscending]

Depends on where you’re reporting. If you do it in app that calculates your handicap and tracks your scores, you enter your gross score. If you’re in a tournament or a part of a league, your handicap or flight would already be assigned to you, and you report your gross score.

[@hossboss32]

What if the difference in lowest and highest is greater than 18 ( # of holes)??

[@GolfAscending]

Additional strokes will be given to the hardest holes.

[@hossboss32]

@@GolfAscending Thanks so much for the reply on each of my questions. I learned a lot !! Seriously, no one had ever made it make sense until now.

[@hossboss32]

Also when playing solo do handicaps come into play? For example I'm a 14 would u get 14 extra strokes on a par 72 and enter 14 less than my actual score into the ghin app afterwards or does it only apply when playing against someone?

[@GolfAscending]

When you're playing solo it's mainly used as a benchmark against yourself. Applying handicap will give you a "net" score based upon your previous scores...kinda like playing against a ghost of yourself as the "par".

[@GolfAscending]

Also your scores you report into any app or website need to be "gross", not "net".

[@thevoiceofus1]

What’s and how u got 22 and 8??

[@GolfAscending]

Check out our other video "How Does the Golf Handicap Work?". We go over how to calculate it.

[@jimsaddler942]

Guys, REALLY hope you can help me with this! Question: "Mike" averages 80-81 on 18 holes playing from the blue tees every week. "Larry" averages the same 80-81, but plays from the white tees every week. However, since the course rating is 3 strokes lower from the white tees, Larry's handicap is a 2-3 strokes higher than Mike's. So if Mike and Larry play in a league, would Larry get, for example "pops" on 8 holes, and Mike would get them on only 5 holes? NOTE: Each golfer is playing stroke play against a field of 19 other players in the league, and the player with the lowest net score at the end of the round gets the money. 10 of the golfers always play the white tees (older, shorter driving distance), while the other 10 are under 65 and can hit the ball much farther play the blue tees. In the example above, it seems that Larry has an advantage over Mike, because even though they usually shoot the same gross score, Mike ends up with a lower net score because of his higher handicap. How do we make this fair??? THIS IS KEEPING ME UP AT NIGHT!

[@GolfAscending]

Yes 5 strokes would make sense 2-3 strokes before tees. 3 shots for tees. Total would be between 5 and 6 shots over 18 holes.

[@nickdostanko2397]

Great video! The match play handicap is very easy to understand and you explained it well. Can you help explain the stroke handicap? Using your example of 8 and 22, do you get to use 14 strokes on any of the holes, or do they get used like match play on the harder holes? Or does the higher handicap just take 14 strokes off their end score?

[@GolfAscending]

Hey Nick, great question. For stroke play, you don’t need to choose the strokes to give on holes based on difficulty. Just take the strokes off for the end score.

[@nickdostanko2397]

@@GolfAscending Thank you for the quick reply!

[@danpotts5083]

Just a quick comment to mention that the #1 handicap hole doesn’t mean it is the hardest hole, it is the hole with the biggest difference between a scratch golfer and a bogey golfer. This is why the Par 5 holes are usually the lowest handicap holes and why Par 3 holes are usually the highest handicap holes. It’s all spelled out in the world handicapping guidelines.

[@GolfAscending]

Thanks for adding clarification!

[@jlampino]

What about course handicap guys? Slope and course rating are there for a reason

[@DanielM8675309]

You better try keeping each other’s score to make sure everybody’s on the up and up ;)

[@GolfAscending]

Never trust anyone to write down their own score silently! 😂

[@islandvibeandsounds2023]

Hmmm... I thought that if he's a 22 and your an 8 you both have pops? Ex., since he's a 22 he gets pop from holes 1-18 and then an extra pop on 4 hardest holes. Same with you at 8...8 pops at the 8 hardest indexed holes.

[@GolfAscending]

Pops?

[@islandvibeandsounds2023]

@@GolfAscending meaning strokes. So if you were playing match play and he's a 22 HC he gets an extra stroke from holes 1-18 and then an extra stroke from the hardest indexed holes essentially an extra stroke on holes #1-4. If you were playing stroke play then its just his HC minus his gross score. In your case you would get an extra stroke on holes 1-8. You don't really need to subtract his HC from yours as you stated. That's why on every golf scorecard there's a handicap scale of the hardest - easiest holes or the difficulty of the holes from 1-18. So for both of you, although you are playing match play- both of you are also playing against the course- (course rating/slope rating). So when you subtract his HC from yours - you technically now are a scratch golfer at this point when you are actually a 8 handicapper.

[@islandvibeandsounds2023]

@@GolfAscending kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWSXeGauj7qSgc0 .... out of all the videos on youtube that is THE best video that best explains according to USGA guidelines...

[@GolfAscending]

Yes, that's correct. We explain that, but also go into more detail when playing with friends, you just subtract the difference in handicap from each other and apply those strokes to the most difficult "handicap" holes on the course.

[@rayoloco1728]

Wont it be easier for him to star at -14 and you 0, is less confusing

[@GolfAscending]

Yeah, either or.

[@sheilacameron8608]

Hi there! Thanks for great info! My husband and I use our handicap for competing in stroke play, whoever loses a match has to put $5 in a jar and we do something fun with it at the end of the season. Here is my question: we sometimes only have time to play 9 holes after work. How do we determine the handicap for stroke play in those instances? I am 27 and he is 11, so for 18 holes I get 16 strokes and he gets 0, so for nine holes to I just cut that in half and take 8 strokes for the front or back - whichever 9 we play? Or do I only get strokes on handicap holes 1-16? Thank you!

[@GolfAscending]

So on 18 holes stroke play, you would find the difference between both of your handicaps, in this situation 27-11=16. 16 would be the amount of strokes you get on 18. for 9 holes you divide it by 2. so in your example it would be 9 strokes. Hope this helps!

[@sheilacameron8608]

@@GolfAscending thanks so much, dividing it in half makes sense, we had been going hole by hole handicap figuring it out like match play, thanks for settling it for us - much easier!

[@GolfAscending]

In Match play for 9, you essentially do the same thing, divide the handicap by 2, then apply the strokes to the most difficult holes on that 9. if there are more than 9 strokes to give, additional strokes are given on the most difficult handicap holes.

[@craigweeke7905]

I don’t think that the handicap system is exactly fair. It would be more fair if One took say the eight best scores out of 20 and subtracted those from par to give you a handicap. However, this does not occur. It is basically a percentage of your average strokes over par for your best Eight scores out of 20. Therefore a person who has an average score of five over par would end up with a handicap of four. However, a person who normally shoot 32 over par would lose eight strokes and have an handicap of 24. Not exactly a good deal. PS, I am a 71-year-old fart. With a handicap index of 6.7. So, I am not getting screwed.

[@GolfAscending]

WIth the new 2020 Handicap roll out, it is the average of the 8 best scores out of the last 20 rounds. It is better than it used to be, and is a pretty goo measurement for those competing using the handicap. Definitely hard to make something perfect with such a complicated game.

[@willmolina7395]

I'm here after the Trump and Biden debate 😂😂😂😂😂2024

[@GolfAscending]

😂 never did we expect a spike in views after a presidential debate!

[@konghong7129]

Me too

[@willmolina7395]

It just comes to show , that life is like a box of chocolates 😂 BTW. I did subscribe.. wish you guys the best ... 💪🏼🙏🏻

[@DanielM8675309]

Brady why do you move like a robot in your backswing? You seem to use your hands first to start your backswing and then hitch and use the rest of your body. It looks way off…try a lesson with a different instructor.

[@GolfAscending]

Haha, I’ve gone through so many golf swing changes. I was doing the single plane swing for 9 months to test that out as well (vlog coming out for that soon). I’m currently working with a new instructor who is all about swinging your own swing. Looking forward to progress there! - Brady

[@hdrealestate92345]

if someone throws clubs or hits clubs , you shouldnt be playing golf

[@GolfAscending]

Many people do at some point or another. Even pros.

[@Yt-me4ug]

Honestly the whole thing is ridiculous. It’s just a way for bad players to say they’re good. Instead of making excuses people need to practice and get better. There will always be better players. We need to stop giving trophies to everyone......

[@GolfAscending]

It’s just a way to keep it competitive.

[@weepeeteeee]

The name "Handicap" should not be used in any sports. A different word should be used instead.

[@GolfAscending]

That is one of the definitions of the word. It is not meant to offend.

[@weepeeteeee]

@@GolfAscending I agree, but since we're not "Handicap" we are less sensitive and less receptive and less empathetic. Let's show some respect..... Perhaps you guys can lead in making a change in golf followed by other sports. I realize that adults does not welcome change, but change often times can be appreciated by our less fortunate or some of our handicap brothers and sisters.

[@Mikekeough008]

Omg dude get real lol "handicap" means disadvantage..obviously the person who is not as good at the game is at a disadvantage...take your delicate feeling elsewhere

[@SotaGrom]

@@weepeeteeeegood luck with that

[@MarkSmithhhh]

How about "retard" rating