==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 32 Date 08/13/07 ==================================================== ==================================================== Did I Play to My Handicap? ==================================================== I found this information on the USGA website while I was researching information for the last newsletter, enjoy. To acquire a better understanding of the USGA Handicap System™, wouldn't it be nice to know what "Playing to Your Handicap" means and whether you should do this every time? The system is built around the concept of Course Rating™, which impacts us all even though its definition ties to a "scratch" golfer. When you are given handicap strokes, you receive the number of strokes necessary to play to the level of a scratch golfer. If the scratch golfer is supposed to shoot the Course Rating, then those handicap strokes relate to the Course rating as well. We use the phrase "target score" regarding playing to your Handicap. How is a target score determined? First, go through the normal process of converting a Handicap Index to a Course Handicap. Then add that Course Handicap to the Course Rating. For example, a player with a USGA Handicap Index of 16.3 decides to play a course with a USGA Course Rating of 68.9 and a Slope Rating of 129. That player converts the 16.3 to a Course Handicap of 19 (using Course Handicap Tables or "Conversion Charts"), then adds 19 to 68.9, for a total of 88 (rounded). If the player shoots 88, that player has played to his or her Handicap. Just for kicks, I entered my USGA Handicap Index into an online course handicap calculator on the USGA website at: http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/calculator/course_handicap_calculator.asp to see what my handicap would be at the two extremes of difficulty, courses with a hypothetical slope rating of 55 (easiest) to 155 (most difficult). My handicap index is 2.1 and at the slope rating of 55 my handicap for playing that course would be 1; at the difficult rating of 155, my handicap would be 3, which is actually very significant. So playing to your handicap is not exclusively a matter of whether you have hit the ball well or the number of putts you had, but a measurable number. It is NOT how your net score relates to par. How often should a player do this? Recognize that your worst scores are not truly utilized in the calculation of a Handicap Index; only the best 10 scores are utilized and the worst 10 are disregarded, then the best 10 are averaged. This ratio tells us playing to a handicap happens less than half of the time. Including all of the handicap formula, the resulting probability is that playing to your handicap happens only once out of four to five rounds. The USGA isn't out to discourage you, but in order to maintain a semblance of equitable competition for players with differing skills in varying formats, we have determined this probability as the best choice for our formula. If we used all scores, those players with higher handicaps would see their values increase significantly, while those with lower values would not increase as much. This would tip the balance of the system heavily toward higher handicap players. We believe there should be an incentive toward improving one's game. We can't all be scratch golfers, but we can set a target to strive for to play to our handicap - and we can determine what that means. And don’t get discouraged if you only play to your handicap 20-25 percent of the time. ==================================================== Golf Tip: Q&A Slicing ==================================================== If anyone has a golf question that they would like answered, please email your question to: teachingpro@bataviacc.com and I'll do my best to answer it in an upcoming newsletter. Robert M. emailed this question: Tom, my question is I know there have been volumes written about the slice but are there any tips you can give me I practice on the range A LOT. Forget my driver for now I just want to at least stop slicing my hybirds and woods down the fairway. What does seem to help is keeping my back to the target as long as possible during my downswing but sometimes it makes clean contact with the ball difficult. My ball flight starts a bit left curves to target, then ends up right of the target. (editors note: I sent Bob an email asking about his ball flight) Any help would be greatly appreciated tks Bob Thanks for the question Robert. First of all, I had quite a few anti slicing tips in our BCC Golf Newsletter Issue 22 dated 06/02/07, so I'll include some new ones today. Robert emphasizes keeping his back to the target as long as possible, but that may be a part of the problem if he's trying too hard. If you try to get too much turn at the top, the first natural reaction is to start the downswing by moving your arms and shoulders, which causes a casting motion of the clubshaft which results in an outside in swing path. This is one of the most common causes of a slice. It sounds like Bob's club is definitely taking an outside in swing path, and maybe either a reverse weight shift, no weight shift forward on the downswing, or trying to help the ball into the air might be happening too. Bob should practice drills for: 1) getting on the correct swing path on the downswing, 2) for getting on the correct swing plane (I would bet that his is too vertical) 3) for shifting his weight to the rear on the takeaway and to the front on the downswing 4) and for releasing at the ball because he is probably gripping the heck out of his club with his left hand on the downswing, preventing a good release. This happens because your brain realizes that your swing path is over the top and it wants to prevent the dreaded a left duck hook. When I decided to take golf seriously some 20 years ago, I had a pretty good slice myself. I corrected it over one winter by burning the correct swing path into my muscle memory by doing the following drill for 100 reps a day 5 days per week: I drew a ball - target line on a carpet remnant in my garage, and put another small crossing line where the ball would be. Then I drew an arrow pointing to the right rear lower quadrant intersection of the lines to represent an inside out swing path. Every evening for 5 days per week, I would take my stance parallel to the ball-target line, put my right hand in my pocket, grip down on a 7 iron with my left hand and take 3/4 swings to a full finish along the inside out swing path according to the lines on the carpet for 100 reps per night. It totally corrected my slice, in fact I had to work hard to hit an intentional fade! You can also do this on the range or outdoors by scraping lines in the ground with a tee. One note here - at the time that I was working on this drill, the correct swing path was generally taught as an inside out swing path. Modern teaching has adjusted this to an inside - down the line - inside swing path. Here's a great drill that you can practice without a club: practice taking your imaginary club to the top of your swing, then to start your downswing, let your weight shift to your left foot while bringing your right elbow back down to your body. This is one move, not two, and make sure that your eyes are trained on the spot where the ball would be. I do this drill several times every day in slow motion, it's the essence of starting the downswing. Here's an easy weight shift drill: stick a tee in the ground and practice taking a 7 iron back until the shaft is parallel to the ground with the toe pointing up in the air and the shaft generally in a line parallel to the ball-target line. You take the club back by shifting your weight gently to your right foot and partially turning your body. Initiate a downswing by shifting your weight to your front side and turning your body, and swing the club down and through clipping the tee. Finish with your club pointing forward, shaft parallel to the ground and the toe of the club pointing to the sky. When you eventually do this drill with a ball, your ball flight should be low and right to left if you are doing it right. It's called the toe up to toe up drill, good for weight shift and release practice. Oh, by the way, there's no man law against taking a lesson to get it exactly right either :-) ==================================================== How True It Is ==================================================== I saw this saying and had to pass it along: "Trust me when I say that a great chipper and putter loses to virtually no one, while a long driver is never a sure bet, unless he/she is accurate as well." Amen to that.