Question:
I have an uncle who is a scratch player and he plays about 36 holes a week, and averages about -1 (Course rating is 74, par-72). Rarely goes to the range or spends time on the practice green.
These numbers would give your uncle a handicap of better than +3. Does your uncle play on the Tour? —
Response:
Yes, we prefer the challenge of posting to newsgroups as opposed to posting good scores. lb – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -actually you aren’t allowed to post here unless you are scratch or better. Most of us could play on tour but choose not to because it isn’t a big enough challenge. 
Tim just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
I know a guy who hangs around +2 most of the time. There are quite a few of them who don’t play on the tour. Of course, he’s about 21 so you never know what he may be doing in a year or three. -joseph
Sure, there are a lot of guys at +1 or 2 who couldn’t make a dime on the tour. This guy posted numbers that make his uncle better than +3 and said he only plays 36 a week and rarely practices. Mine was a tounge in cheek response to his, most likely, exaggerated claims. —
Response:
I have a 4 now but that is at MY club which although long and rates 73.3 SSS, is pretty open. I rarely (never) play to my handicap at other courses if they are above 120 slope. At 17 I had a posted 1 handicap but the truth now is that back then, I didn’t even know all the rules, such as if the ball moves at address, it’s a stroke. If you fail to put it back where it was, it’s another stroke. Stuff like that. Getting to scratch is something that very very few people do if they are counting all the strokes. Scratch is superb golf. Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.
Response:
I know a guy who hangs around +2 most of the time. There are quite a few of them who don’t play on the tour. Of course, he’s about 21 so you never know what he may be doing in a year or three. -joseph – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have an uncle who is a scratch player and he plays about 36 holes a week, and averages about -1 (Course rating is 74, par-72). Rarely goes to the range or spends time on the practice green. These numbers would give your uncle a handicap of better than +3. Does your uncle play on the Tour?
Response:
I started playing seriously when I was 13 and reached a scratch when I was 17. But like the previous poster said, it took a lot of work. During the summer when I was 17, I used to get up to the course at 8 am, practice until 1 pm, then play 18 holes. I’d do this 6 times a week. Getting to that level takes an incredible amount of hard work and practice. As a professional, I estimated one season from May to October, I hit roughly 25,000 golf balls at the range. About 4200 balls a month or 2 large buckets a day for 24 days a month, not counting bunker practice and putting.
I started playing 3 years ago at age 30. After playing about 9 months, I joined a semi-private club and began regularly playing several times a week. Was around 22 handicap when I joined and reached low teens by year end. 8 after about 2 years. Quit the membership after 2 years (earlier this year) and have started playing a number of other courses. If I were playing familiar courses under good conditions I’d be a 2 or 3 now, based on the scores I shoot when I go back "home." The only thing I really need to do right now to shoot scores in the low 70s and occasionally in the 60s is just play OFTEN on a course with good greens, which I haven’t done. I still have to lean on my short game to get it done. If I could get my iron game tuned up a little better I could handle the cruddy greens because I wouldn’t be trying to 2-putt from outside 30 feet so often. I think that most people who have some aptitude for the game and who practice and play several times a week follow about the same progression, roughly 6 handicap in 2 years, and another 2 years to get down to nearly scratch. This is about the rate that teens seem to follow too. Those last half dozen points are difficult to get rid of and they don’t stay gone unless you keep playing. First things to go after a week or three away are the short game and the driving, which will put you back in the high 70s right away. In milder weather (basically all but the 3-4 hottest months of the year here in Phoenix) I will hit balls regularly. When I really wanted to work on something I’d hit 200+ balls per session every other day. Nowadays my swing is pretty well grooved and I’m trying to keep it simple and make "changes" through equipment. Some people like Larry Nelson are freaks. He took the game up at 22(?) after returning from Vietnam, broke 70 less than a year later, and was on tour within 3 years of learning to play. If you ask me, that’s more raw talent than even Tiger Woods, although Tiger may turn out to be a better player. -joseph
Response:
Daniel, I offer this long story to illustrate how much time and effort is required to maintain a scratch handicap. You have to love golf. You have to be determined and you have to nurture your skills. Above all you have to keep at it. Once you develope your skills, don’t let them slip as I did. Frankly, there were things that I did with a golfball when I was 16 that I was never again able to do. It took me 17 years of learning about golf before I became a scratch player for a brief period of time. It was difficult but so worth the effort.
I started playing seriously when I was 13 and reached a scratch when I was 17. But like the previous poster said, it took a lot of work. During the summer when I was 17, I used to get up to the course at 8 am, practice until 1 pm, then play 18 holes. I’d do this 6 times a week. Getting to that level takes an incredible amount of hard work and practice. As a professional, I estimated one season from May to October, I hit roughly 25,000 golf balls at the range. About 4200 balls a month or 2 large buckets a day for 24 days a month, not counting bunker practice and putting. — F. Blaine Dickson Kelowna BC Canada Professionalism is an attitude and behaviour. It’s not a fashion.
Response:
Some people are just born to be good golfers, of course it takes practice to get the feel for everything, but once they got it, they got it even without practice. I have an uncle who is a scratch player and he plays about 36 holes a week, and averages about -1 (Course rating is 74, par-72). Rarely goes to the range or spends time on the practice green. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Daniel, I offer this long story to illustrate how much time and effort is required to maintain a scratch handicap. You have to love golf. You have to be determined and you have to nurture your skills. Above all you have to keep at it. Once you develope your skills, don’t let them slip as I did. Frankly, there were things that I did with a golfball when I was 16 that I was never again able to do. It took me 17 years of learning about golf before I became a scratch player for a brief period of time. It was difficult but so worth the effort. I started playing seriously when I was 13 and reached a scratch when I was 17. But like the previous poster said, it took a lot of work. During the summer when I was 17, I used to get up to the course at 8 am, practice until 1 pm, then play 18 holes. I’d do this 6 times a week. Getting to that level takes an incredible amount of hard work and practice. As a professional, I estimated one season from May to October, I hit roughly 25,000 golf balls at the range. About 4200 balls a month or 2 large buckets a day for 24 days a month, not counting bunker practice and putting. — F. Blaine Dickson Kelowna BC Canada Professionalism is an attitude and behaviour. It’s not a fashion.
Response:
Daniel, I started playing golf in 1979 when I was 12. By the time I was 16 I was a 4 handicap. During those years I played more than 200 rounds per summer at a municipal course where I had a season pass and often played 36 holes a day with several friends who played about as much. I stopped playing from 1985 until the summer of 1989. When I returned to golf in 1989 I had difficulty breaking 80 and played almost the whole summer as a twelve handicap which was very frustrating considering that just a few years earlier I played most of my rounds in the 70’s. From 1989 on I worked hard again at golf spending a great deal of time at the driving range. My handicap slowly but steadily dropped until in 1995 I spent roughly 6 weeks with a 0 handicap. In 1996 I managed to shoot 5 rounds in a row under par including a personal best 65 and found myself at +2. I held onto this handicap for about 3 weeks before moving back up to zero where I finished 1996. I continue to play golf now at a handicap which varies between 2 and 5 throughout the season. I offer this long story to illustrate how much time and effort is required to maintain a scratch handicap. You have to love golf. You have to be determined and you have to nurture your skills. Above all you have to keep at it. Once you develope your skills, don’t let them slip as I did. Frankly, there were things that I did with a golfball when I was 16 that I was never again able to do. It took me 17 years of learning about golf before I became a scratch player for a brief period of time. It was difficult but so worth the effort. Mike just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.
Response:
just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
I used to be a pro, but I received my amateur status back last January. Why did I leave the profession? Only working 7 months out of the year for what amounted to minimum wage. In BC, I couldn’t realistically expect to get a head pro job for 6-10 years. I wasn’t prepared to work at those brutal wages for that long. What did I teach or advocate? Jimmy Ballard’s system. It’s hard to argue with a guy who was named PGA Teacher of the Decade (1980-90). His emphasis on "right side" teaching, although contraversial at the time when left side dominance was alive and well in teaching, has pretty much been incorporated into modern instruction now where most major instructors teach his ideas in one way or another. — F. Blaine Dickson Kelowna BC Canada Professionalism is an attitude and behaviour. It’s not a fashion.
Response:
actually you aren’t allowed to post here unless you are scratch or better. Most of us could play on tour but choose not to because it isn’t a big enough challenge. Tim
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
I play to a 3 right now. I became a scratch after about 2 years. But 2 years accounted for at least 400 rounds of golf and a large number of practice sessions. I was an assistant in a pro shop with a lot of free time. Anyone can do it, it just takes time and patience. Good luck. John
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
That’s right, practice practice, courage and patience. I played a 14 after 3 months of hollidays ! 6 hours a day on practice / courses. Take a year without work and you’ll be a scratch player 
) John wrote : – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I play to a 3 right now. I became a scratch after about 2 years. But 2 years accounted for at least 400 rounds of golf and a large number of practice sessions. I was an assistant in a pro shop with a lot of free time. Anyone can do it, it just takes time and patience. Good luck. John just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
Daniel if scratch player means scratching your head looking for your ball, I’m one with a big handycap. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
I am I play in the UK, It took me five years and I am 19. I started off 28 and have worked my way down.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!)
Response:
just wondering how many of the readers of this newsgroup are pro’s or scratch players? and how long did it take you to acheive a scratch handicap? (…..dont forget to be honest!!!) I’m hoping in five years. ;P
Yeah…. well you and every one of us here <G — The DeMented Golfer Golf spelled backwards is flog Rick DeMent "Time to pull a quick Hank Snow." To replay remove the && from my E-mail address