Sandbaggers

[ezra76]

Man did this go up my a$$ today. We played a quota with 11 guys involved. This one guy shoots a GD 77 and he's a 16 handicap. Luckily it was only for $5 because if it had been the $25 they play for sometimes I would have flat out told him "screw, if you want it, come out to the parking lot and I'll give it to you".

I said a few things and I know my boss is going to say something to me about it tomorrow. I'm going to flat out tell him "I'm not playing with that guy again and it's not your problem. If he takes my $$ flat out cheating, it's between me and him.".

Just for you guys that don't understand how it works, he shot a net 61. I'd have had to have shot even par to beat him... I'm a CH 11 and I've never broken 80.

 

[Augster]

That is a sick number. A 16 should really never break 80.

If a legit handicap is kept, one will shoot their cap or better about 1 in 4 times. That means that 75% of the time a 16 will be shooting in the 90's.

We have a bagger at our club that did exactly as you described against me and my partner in the doubles last year. Shot 78. Single-handedly knocked us out of the year-long tourney.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

That is a sick number. A 16 should really never break 80.

If a legit handicap is kept, one will shoot their cap or better about 1 in 4 times. That means that 75% of the time a 16 will be shooting in the 90's.

We have a bagger at our club that did exactly as you described against me and my partner in the doubles last year. Shot 78. Single-handedly knocked us out of the year-long tourney.

I think it would depend on the course as well. Take me a good course & I will shoot mid 90's, upper 80's. But let me play at my home course & I can usually come within 2-3 strokes of par on it. I have scored 78 twice on another course, Coldwater canyon in the Dells. It's only about 5700 yds & suits my game or lack of game pretty well.

 

[kwcsports]

I hate sandbaggers as well. I played in a tournament about a month ago and an 18 cap shot 81, 78 to win the net. I saw him swing on the practice range and he was swinging like a 5. Alot of these guys just want prizes and I say if he needs new shoes or a golf bag that bad, take them.

 

[ezra76]

Apparently this guy had a bunch of scores he entered from rounds down in FL. If I'm not mistaken they were from over the winter, like 4-5 months ago. He was off 11 a few weeks ago so must have had a bunch, like all 20, get replaced somehow. Anyway, I'd like to just see all the guys that regularly play blackball him for like 2 months... at least. I would have seriously been pissed had I put up +3 to +5, which is almost always enough to take the quota. He came in at +16.

Needless to say I'm done playing with those guys. Some are nice guys who are legit but there are a couple that ruin the whole thing. I'm spending too much on carts anyway. I'm going back to playing in the evenings walking. I like those guys better anyway. I'll play with my boss, his partner and whoever they stick me with like once a week for a match but that's about it. It just refuels my fire to get better, a lot better. So I can say "Handicap? If you aren't good enough to play off par, you're not worth my time.".

 

[VtDivot]

So I can say "Handicap? If you aren't good enough to play off par, you're not worth my time.".

Nice way to network there

 

[ezra76]

Nice way to network there

Who wants to network with that guy... I might follow him somewhere and strongarm him but that's about it. It just really goes up my a$$ when a guy who has 20times as much money as me has to flat out cheat to win $50-$60.

 

[twofast2s]

my league has couple of sandbaggers as well. they have 8 or 9 handicap per 9 holes and still manages to shoot in high 30's if they had to.

i on the other hand, is playing off of 4/9holes but playing like 8 past few outings. my games is not like it's used to now that i can't play or practice anymore.

 

[sidewinder]

ezra76,

You need to grow up a little, not let unimportant things in life, get you so riled up, and stop with the threats of physical violence.

It's just golf and life isn't fair. Get used to it. No matter where you play, there will be sandbaggers. All you can do is control if you play by the rules and with honor. If you can't handle that, don't play in handicap competitions.

And stop with the who has more money thing.

S-

 

[Fourputt]

I would never call him a sandbagger on one experience anyway, because I've been there myself. My lifetime low score is 73 (1 over par). I shot that the first time I ever broke 80, and I was carrying a legitimate 16 handicap at the time.


It happened during my first year in my Men's Club, and just the second season of carrying a handicap. It was in the second weekend of the club championship. After shooting in the mid high 80's for the first 2 rounds, in the 3rd round I shot that 73 and went into the 4th round with a 16 stroke lead on my flight. In the final round I shot a 78, made my first Ace, and won handicap champion for that year. It was the best 2 days of golf in my life.

That was 20 years ago, and I've never duplicated that 73, although I've shot plenty of rounds in the 70's. I've even stood on the 18th tee at -1 and finished with a triple bogey 7 for a 74. :real angry: (My current HI is 11.7, and I've been in the 10-12 range for most of the last 20 years)

So just because a guy shoots an exceptional round, it doesn't automatically follow that he's sandbagging. It takes more evidence than that to prove your case.

 

[IrishGolfer]

Lighten up Ez, this is just life portrayed on the golf course.

Like you I play to shoot my best score every time. I strive to get my h/c as low as possible (now 3.8, the lowest I have been for over 20 years). Sure it gets to me when some guys "protects" his index until a big competition comes along and then amazingly shoots his "best round of the year".

Three weeks ago I played in an event and shot 72 (even) for 40 stableford points. I only came 5th, although I did win the gross prize. The guy that won it had 46 points. Which meant I would have to have shot 66 and still rely on having a better back nine to win!! In other words shoot the course record! The guy that won played off 16. So what stopped me from murdering him?

Playing my own game, with my own targets. I played with my brother and two friends that day and had a blast. I finished -3 for the last four holes. I didn't win but if I hadn't entered the event I wouldn't have played with as much focus. So I set myself targets for the year, and that is in complete isolation to what sandbaggers do themselves.

Until you get to playing in scratch events you just have to suck up the experience. What if you went out and shot level par one day and then someone accused you of being a sandbagger? You would probably feel fairly pissed off at the jibe, as we all know how much time you put into your game. The day that everything falls into place has been preceded by endless shots ont he range that enable that to happen.

Let it ride man, learn from it. It will make you a better golfer (and person) not to let it rattle you.

 

[gpo]

A few things here. First 90% of all golf bets are won on the first tee. Second, I won't bet money that I will be upset about losing with people that I don't know their game. Third, my Dad had a system for his group that worked out well over the years.

He played mainly with the same 3 guys each week. They played $1 per hole match play. But they adjusted the strokes after each 9 holes. Meaning if I beat you 5 holes on the front then you got 5 strokes on the back. They carried that over from round to round for like 20 years. Sometime times someone would play a great 9 holes and win decent money, but the next 9 he would not get as many strokes. They basically traded money back and forth for years.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I think it would depend on the course as well. Take me a good course & I will shoot mid 90's, upper 80's. But let me play at my home course & I can usually come within 2-3 strokes of par on it. I have scored 78 twice on another course, Coldwater canyon in the Dells. It's only about 5700 yds & suits my game or lack of game pretty well.

Shot multiple rounds in the 70's including two 75's on my old home course as around an 18 handicap. Not only was it an easy course but my game was drastically improving at that time, but still only got down to around a 15.8 that year.

Shot two 80's a few years ago on a very difficult course, that was my home course at the time when my index was 21.9 and the slope was 135, so my course handicap was 26. That would equate to a net 54. I didn't even play competitively at the time, and tracked my index at home.

I guess what I am saying is that I would need more proof prior to making that decision. I expect I will have some in the net 50's in the very near future, as my game turned the corner just recently for this year (finally). My index went from 13.3 at the beginning of the year, to 18.3 and is now on its way down and is to 17.8. The people in my league may think I am now a sandbagger. They should maybe research the fact that I lost 5 of my first 7 matches to start the year, which is more than I lost the first 2 years combined in 14 matches a year and 2 championship matches. Shot 2 over in a recent match on 9 holes as a 9 index on the same tough course. Would equate to a net 25 on 9. So did I give up 5 matches and risk losing the first half of the season for the sake of my handicap? I don't think so, I would have been mortified had our team not won the first half, and thankful to be contributing a great deal in the second having only lost 1 match by 1 stroke on one hole, where I was giving a stroke that hole. Won one of them, not that one, 8-0 in 9

 

[SilverUberXeno]

Handicapped tournaments are real crappy in general, IMO, because of the open door for cheating. I realize it lets "players of various skill levels compete," but you don't see basketball games where a lesser team is spotted 30 points. Handicaps allow a poor player to beat a great player. I just don't like that.

I guess I'd like to see a one-day qualifier that puts people in their flights. You can NOT win the best prize unless you're in the best flight, and once you're put in a flight your handicap becomes irrelevent. You're all playing scratch against people who shot a similar score the first day.

 

[Rockford35]

The worst is when the guys running the cash are just as bloody ignorant. Last week, I went to throw my $5 in the skins and $2 in the duece pot and they guy in front of me says "14? I'm a 17 cap." The guy taking the cash says "oh, sorry about that. We'll change that."

See, the scores are based off your actual posted scores. How can your actual scores be "wrong"?

I step up and say "It says I'm a 6.0. I'm actually a 5."

The guy says "Wow, an honest golfer. Rare."

I just shook my head. See, this douche can shoot 40 on 9, easy. Play off 17, he gets 8 strokes a side which nets him 32. I have to shoot -1 to push him, and even then he wins on retrogression.

Ridiculous. It's supposed to be fun, and most of these guys drive Range Rovers or Hummers. It's not like they need a $125 skin like I do. :thumbs up:

To show my disapproval, I'm not counting putts anymore.

R35