Big handicap cut?

Question

My handicap has been cut from 16.5 to 12 dead. I have been playing to nine, and won 5 and 3 against someone who was a 17 and is the same age as me. Do i deserve to be a 12 handicap at 13 years old or is the cut too big

Answer 1

that's nothing big... i have 12 year old friends playing off to a handicap of 5 from the blue tees... they don't hit it far but their short game is superb... another went down to 0 after 1 and half years of golf... well, hope you do well in the next few years...

Answer 2

the cut is never too big if you are capable to playing to it.

there is a 12 year old in our junior team who plays off 6.

he doesnt even hit the ball far, he is just deadly consistant!

keep working on your golf, you have what it takes to become a great player, never give up. good luck :)

Answer 3

It all depends on the manner in which your handicap has been established. If it is based on the USGA method of taking the 10 best of the last 20 scores and factoring it by the slope rating and taking 96 % to arrive at your handicap there is no way that the handicap can drop 4.5 strokes on one round or for winning one match. If it is the function of the handicap committee or the handicap chairman, it may indicate your potential. Years back I was cut from a 5 to a 3 based on 'potential " for beating the chairman and his partner in the finals of the Spring Member-Member.

Answer 4

You handicap is based on the scores you post, so the 12 should be fair in relation to how you have been scoring.  Also if the handicap committee sees that you are recording much lower scores in competition than your handicap would warrant they can reduce your handicap accordingly.  Either way it is fair to you and the other players.

Answer 5

Your handicap index is the result of a mathematical calculation based on the 10 best scores of your 20 most recent rounds of golf.

It's not a matter of what you "deserve".  Age plays no part in the handicap calculation.

You "deserve" to be a 12 only if your scores result in a handicap index of 12. It's like asking whether 2+2 "deserves" to be 4.

Edit: I may have mis-interpreted your question. I thought your handicap just went down by 4.5 strokes. Based on googie's answer, it sounds like the handicap committee reduced it because you won a match.

It's very complicated, especially since you're dealing with match play. I'm not even sure how you can post a score in match play, but it should be in the manual (link below).

According to the USGA site, the reduction should only occur if your score in two tournaments is 3.0 strokes better than your handicap. It also says that the reduction must be reviewed by the Handicap Committee.

Read section 10.3 in the USGA handicap manual.

But then, you also say that you have been playing to nine, so maybe your handicap really is going down.