Everybody knows someone in their inner circle with a vanity handicap.
It’s the player who claims to be a single-digit—but rarely breaks 85 when you play with them.
In golf, we often talk about sandbagging but vanity handicaps might be just as common.
You’ll usually notice it in a few ways:
- They play better alone
- Gimmes are generous
- Mulligans are plentiful
Is this you? Here are three signs your handicap is lower than it should be.
You don’t log your worst rounds
This is one of the most obvious ways that a golfer is carrying a vanity handicap.
If you post only the good rounds, that’s all your handicap is based on. The recipe for handicap calculation depends on accurate scoring for all rounds meeting the official handicapping criteria. (For more insight into how to correctly post scores for an accurate handicap index, check out your local or national golf association’s website.)
If you play a few rounds of golf throughout the week, your handicap index will look drastically different if you omit your “blow-up round” of 93. Too many golfers end up six holes deep and decide “this one isn’t getting posted.” If you’re looking for accuracy, post the bad rounds, too.
Too many gimmes
This is the silent killer in terms of a legitimate handicap.
PGA Tour players make just over 90 percent of their four-footers. If a Tour player misses one in10 putts from this distance, imagine how many you (an amateur) would miss if you putted out every single one.
I take gimmes inside three feet once in a while. However, anything outside of three feet is an absolute “must putt.” You’re not good enough to consider a four-footer automatic. Respect the game and putt it out.
Just as bad as taking too many gimmes is the oh-so-familiar “re-putt.”
This is defined as:
(a) Missing your first putt from inside about eight feet
(b) Then putting it again with claims such as:
- “I didn’t line it up.”
- “I needed to clean my ball.”
- “I rushed that.”
- “I usually make those.”
Excuses aside, you missed the putt. Tap it in for bogey and move on to the next hole.
My childhood best friend put it perfectly: “If you need to take a gimme, you were nervous about missing the putt.”
Too many “unplayable” shots or too many mulligans
Now this is a nasty fried-egg lie. I took a picture and then started mentally preparing for what was sure to be a blow-up hole.
My wife asked if I was going to move it. I shook my head and said, “Nope, gotta play it as it lies.”
If you’re playing for fun and not keeping score, go ahead and move it. If you’re grinding every day with the goal of becoming a single-digit handicap or a scratch golfer, play it as it lies. You’re only hurting yourself by wimping out on the tough shots, not to mention maintaining an accurate handicap index.
Mulligans are the last thing we’ll focus on that negatively affects handicap calculation.
If you hit a bad shot, a mulligan might seem like the logical move. If you’re focused on maintaining an accurate handicap, it’s the worst move possible.
That mulligan might only make a difference of one stroke on the scorecard but there’s a high likelihood that it will positively affect you much more than you think.
You see, if you hit your tee shot into the water, you’re not just saving one stroke, but potentially two or three because you have to avoid the pressure of having to hit that same shot again, potentially with the same disastrous result.
I’m all for a breakfast ball on the first tee (if you didn’t warm up on the range) in a friendly game but I discourage any mulligans outside of that. Mulligans are a major problem when it comes to having an accurate handicap.
Final thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably rethinking some of the ways you play golf.
You don’t have to change—but don’t be surprised if it feels a little uncomfortable showing up to a money match or tournament wearing a vanity handicap like a badge of honor. You will inevitably pay the price.
If you track your handicap accurately, you might find yourself winning more money, avoiding being embarrassed, and maybe even sleep a little better. Don’t be the guy who claims to be a 5 handicap on the first tee and ends up firing an 89.
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