Handicaps

When people I don't know ask me on the golf course, "What's your handicap?" I usually answer weakness and arrogance.

But seriously, there's a better, simpler way to assign handicaps. The current method is to take the average of the best ten of your last 20 rounds (best in terms of score minus par rating) and multiply that by 0.96, and that's your "Index". Now divide that index by 113 (don't ask) and multiply the result by the slope rating of the course you're going to play and round to the nearest whole number.

Here's how I'd do it. Take the card from your last round. Determine your modal score relative to par. (The modal score is the one that occurs most frequently. So suppose your card had 10 bogeys.

Automatically, that's your modal score, because if you have 10 in 18 holes, you can't have more of any other score.

Anyway, continuing on, let's say that  of the remaining 8 holes, you had two doubles, an "X" (where you picked up, out of the hole) four pars and a birdie. If form holds true, the most likely score for you on any given hole is bogey or better.

So, here are the levels:

1. Modal score = better than par

2. Modal score = par or better

3. Modal score = par or worse

4. Modal score = bogey or better

5. Modal score = bogey or worse

6. Modal score = double bogey or better

7. Modal score = double bogey or worse

and on and on ad infinitum.

Here's the interesting thing. Between any two players, find the difference between them. If the difference is 0, they play even. If it's 1, that's worth a half-stroke/hole. Each whole number is worth one-half stroke/hole. So if my last round was exactly what I described above (level 4), and I play with a guy who had 12 pars, 4 birdies and two others (that's level 2), I get one stroke/hole.

FORGET RATING THE HOLES. FORGET AVERAGES. FORGET COURSE RATINGS OR SLOPES. 

C'mon Tiger, let's play!