The time has come to move from putting in your living room to the green. If you're like me, you'll be celebrating all the way up to the first tee shot, which promptly gets shanked OB.While you may have done all you could to stay in golf shape at home, there will inevitably be some kinks to work out.
I may not be able to fix your game overnight, but I can provide a way to help ease the transition. Here's 8 reasons why now is the best time to start keeping your Handicap Index:
Watching replays of old U.S. Opens or Caddyshack for the 139th time probably didn't do much to improve your golf game. Is there a better time to get some extra strokes when you finally hit the course? With a GHIN Handicap Index, your handicap will update daily, allowing you to shift your target until your scores come back from orbit.
Due to all of your couch time, you're going to be winded by the turn. Don't worry: you can still post 9 hole rounds to your Handicap Index. If you have a little extra juice in the tank but can't finish all 18, you can finish after 13 holes and fill in the rest with your estimated score (net par, which is par plus any handicap strokes you receive on the hole).
There's no doubt you're going to have some blowup holes while you rediscover your swing. When posting your score, though, the max score you can record on each hole is a net double bogey (learn more here). Congratulations! That 12 you just pulled off just got cut in half.
With a game as difficult as golf, it's sometimes tough to tell if you're actually getting better. Not only can you use your Handicap Index as an indicator of your overall play, but with the GHIN app (free with an SCGA membership), you can track other stats like greens in regulation, fairways hit, and putts per hole to see where your game is getting better and where you still need practice.
If you're going back into the office, it means you're back at the water cooler talking about your golf game. You could avoid the handicap question when we were all using Zoom and nobody was playing. Nowhere to hide now! Stop dodging the question and avoid embarrassing yourself by getting a Handicap Index.
The course you built at home wasn't rated by our course raters. Plus it was probably the same difficulty level whether you put the red solo cup at the bottom of the stairs or the end of the hallway. The courses you'll be playing now that you're allowed back into the world will be very different. The only way to truly measure up how you did is to use the Course Rating system. Breaking 80 from the tips at Torrey is much more difficult than it is at the local pitch-n-putt, and your Handicap Index will reflect that.
You weren't the only one stuck at home with no range time. Whether you're playing for skins or just bragging rights, the only fair way to measure your current ability against the rest of your golf gang is by using GHIN handicaps.
Unfortunately, in a time filled with uncertainty, it can be difficult to trust unknown sources. Don't let the uncertainty carry over into your golf game. GHIN is the most-widely trusted Handicap Index available, and the often the only acceptable option for tournaments and club play.
Ready to get back into the swing of things with a GHIN Handicap Index? We'll help you get started with a 60-day free trial!
