Conference 7.286::golf

       re .0:
       
       1. What is an "AVERAGE GOLFER"? 
       
          The average golfer is one who plays a little worse than I do
          when I'm playing well, and a little better than I do when I'm
          playing lousy.  (This definition can be used by all golfers.) 
       
       2. How often does an "AVERAGE GOLFER" play golf? 
       
          Never quite enough. 
       
       --Mr Topaz

	Some statistics I have seen include:

	- The average golfer doesn't break 100.
	-                            drive the ball 200 yds (carry)

	Larry

    
    
    The average golfer usually breaks the #1 Golden Rule of GOLF
    
    He'll carry his beer with his glove on, thus moistening or wetting
    the glove.
    
    He/She will (probable) won't break 100
    
    Handicap will be 24 or above
    
    Attempt to play as a "D" person in a tourney.  Should be able to
    contribute by driving the cart and looking for lost balls.
    
    Just ask me, I'm an average golfer!
    
    Monty

    
    Also the average golfer wears a worn shirt, wrinkled pants and plain
    brown shoes!  Swings worn out Northwestern clubs with the grooves
    full of dirt and give EVERYBODY advice on their golf swing.

    Someone once told me the average golfer was a hacker, (can someone
    define hacker?) couldn't break 100 and played a half dozen times
    a year.

      At our club we have about 400 members.  The following is a handicap
    breakdown provided by our pro.  All are appx.
    
    0-9    17 members 
    10-15  37 members
    16-20  55 members
    20-25  68 members
    26+    60 members
           --
          237

    Nobody knows where the other 160 or so are, or where they fit.
    
    I take this to mean the average golfer (that plays often enough
    to have a handicap) plays to a 20 handicap.  Our course is rated
    at 71 and par is 72 (for what thats worth).

    Rick
    
    P.S.  I consider myself average, I've played for 2 years and gone
    from 27 to 17 (with a brief stint at 14 mid-season.)

    
    	RE:.6
    
    	Thanks Rick, that is interesting. I will see if I can get the
    	same info from my course and post it here. Anybody else willing
    	to do the same for their course...
    
    
    	Gene

    
    Here is the list that I was able to come up with from my course.
    It doesn't include women, because that is the only list I came up
    with and womens handicaps are kept by another person...
    
    This list is broken down by index, not by home course handicap...
    (this is an old listing Aug 19th)
    
    	0-10   84 members
    	11-15 102 members
	16-20  85 members
    	21-25  54 members
    	26-30  29 members
    	30+    14 members

    The average index being around a 14...

     Gene, I don't quite understand what you mean by "index".  I got
    some info about our course that could help in the interpretation
    of the numbers I gave.
    
    Slope... 120
    Rating...(white tees) 71
    Par... 72
    
    Rick

    RE.9
    The index is given on USGA handicap system.  It is used so when
    you play courses other than your home course, you can calculate
    a handicap for any other course.  This is based on the slope and
    the rating, I think.
    
    Richard

    	8% - 5 golfers @ 0-10 index
       49% -31 golfers @10-20 index
       33% -21 golfers @20-29 index
        9% - 6 golfers @30-35 index
    
    9 hole course
    slope=98
    rating=65.2
    par=70

      By the numbers I'm seeing, It leads me to believe I play a more
    difficult course than average.  I have noticed that I very seldom
    play over 90 on any course other than my own, and my handicap is
    17.
    
    Rick

    
    RE: .12
    
    	I should have mentioned that the slope rating for my course
    	is 120 from the white tees, 122 from the blue tees. The course
    	rating is 70 from the whites, 71.2 from the blues (par 72)...
    
    	A slope rating of 120 is not a particularly hard course, 113
    	is average and the higher the number the more difficult...
    
    
    	Gene

    	Also, I beleive that slope rating and course rating go hand
    in hand...a course with a slope rating of 113 normally has a course
    rating of 70 - 72 which means "this is the score a scratch golfer
    would be expected to play to when playing the course" Higher than
    this usually means that a scratch would score higher and lower means
    that a scratch golfer would score lower. My course is a good example
    as the slope is 98 and course rating is 65.2, the score a scratch
    golfer would play to. It is a 9 hole par 35(70 for 18) but is a
    fairly easy course. I agree with .12 as I carry an 11 at my course
    but find I play around boggy on a "real course" therefore if you
    play an easier course all the time it tends to hurt your game in
    the long run. Your better off if you are playing a tougher course
    as you game in the long run will be better suited to other courses...
    	Just my opinion.

    Re: -.1

>    	Also, I beleive that slope rating and course rating go hand
>    in hand...a course with a slope rating of 113 normally has a course
>    rating of 70 - 72 which means "this is the score a scratch golfer
>    would be expected to play to when playing the course" Higher than
>    this usually means that a scratch would score higher and lower means
>    that a scratch golfer would score lower. 

    The course rating and the slope do not go hand in hand.  I have played
    courses with an average handicap rating (70-72) but the slope ratings
    ranged from 100-130.  The courses with the higher slope rating may have
    been tighter, have more water, bunkers, etc. that the higher handicap
    golfer was prone to find.

>   My course is a good example
>    as the slope is 98 and course rating is 65.2, the score a scratch
>    golfer would play to. It is a 9 hole par 35(70 for 18) but is a
>    fairly easy course. I agree with .12 as I carry an 11 at my course
>    but find I play around boggy on a "real course".

    If you have a USGA handicap, the index should be what your handicap
    would be on the "average" course.  If not you can calculate it.
    The handicap formula is Handicap = .96*(Score-Rating)*113
                                       ----------------------
                                                Slope
    Working backwards from the info you gave your average score used in
    computing your handicap is ~75.1.   If you could find a course with
    an average slope your handicap would be 15% higher (113/98) about
    12.5.  On a more difficult course you would find your score would
    increase.  For example on the South course at Stow (70.5 slope 120)
    you should shoot about 84.5.  (The calculations are left as an academic
    exercise for the reader.)  If you are playing a course for the first or
    second time you probably score higher than that due to the lack of local
    knowledge.  Also your handicap only takes into effect the best 1/2 of
    your scores.  Your worst half would be larger.  So you rapidly approach
    the bogey golf you described.

    I feel that slope is imperfect because it assumes a linear relationship
    between the various level golfers.  I have found that the more difficult
    the course the more quickly my handicap balloons.   

>    therefore if you
>    play an easier course all the time it tends to hurt your game in
>    the long run. Your better off if you are playing a tougher course
>    as you game in the long run will be better suited to other courses...
>    	Just my opinion.

     I agree as long as the course is not too tough.  If for example it
     is very long and tight either you become very good at long irons and
     fairway woods or you become good at chipping out of the trees and
     taking drops.

     Taking a handicap from a course with a high slope rating (tougher for
     the higher handicap golfer) to a lower slope rating (easier for higher
     handicap) would help your scoring and thereby your ego.