Luis Rivero
4 minutes
In the previous post, I covered what the Anti-Handicap Index is, how it's calculated, and the impact it has on your game. Today, I'm doing a deep dive on how exactly does this number varies between golfers of different skills, showing you the average Anti Handicap by Handicap Index. Let's take a look!
The data you'll see here comes from analyzing millions of rounds (literally) from our user database, so it's a pretty solid starting point. Before we jump right into it, I want to make a couple of notes:
We know from the Anti Handicap post that this Index serves as a measure of the consistency of your game. A higher number implies that when you play bad, you play very bad. A lower Anti Handicap means a player is able to maintain a score that's closer to their Handicap Index even during bad rounds, successfully limiting the damage.
So, in theory, lower Handicap players will have a lower Anti Handicap Index while the opposite would be true for higher Handicap players.
This chart can help you compare your game against similarly skilled players to gauge your consistency. If you have a Handicap of 11 and your Anti Handicap is actually lower than the average we'll show, you're in an advantageous position. If the contrary is true, you need to keep your cool on your bad rounds and aim for a more consistent game (easier said than done, of course)
First, let's analyze what the data means by using a player with a Handicap of 10. The Anti Handicap of 17.6 means that when having a bad round, that player shoots on average 7.6 strokes more.
If you pay close attention to the data, you will notice that the better players have a lower variance between good, average, and bad rounds, staying closer to their Handicap than less-skilled players. Which is something that you might have expected.
The World Handicap System assumes that every player has the same variability in their game. But in reality two players with the same handicap do not necessarily mean both players have the same ability.
Why? If you are an 8.0 Index that always shoots 80 (assume always) and your friend is 8.0 but 12 of his rounds are worst than 80, then you will beat him in 12 of the last 20 rounds, and on average tie the other 8 rounds. Meaning that you could have the same handicap, but your scoring record could beat his scoring record in medal play up to 80% of the time. Now you believe me that the Anti Handicap is important?
I hope you found this article useful! This is a metric we invented at TheGrint to give you another layer of insight into your game that will hopefully help you a little on your way to becoming better at the game we love.
Enjoy your golf!
