Sweet 16.9L

Big news. I finally registered for an official handicap. I have long played with an unofficial handicap index, but since breaking 90 a couple of times this season, I decided I'm good enough at golf to start recording my scores in a public fashion. The process was surprisingly simple. I paid $25 at my local course and got an email with a login name and password for a Maryland State Golf Association account, which allowed me to sign in and post scores. I posted 15 rounds since the end of April, including various local and away courses. Using 6 of these 15 scores, the MSGA website generated a "trend handicap" of... drum roll please... 16.9L! The L stands for "local handicap" which could mean a lot of different things, but in my case it means my number is a trend handicap. Honestly, I thought my handicap would be in the 20s, since I mostly shoot in the 90s, but my local course is considered a tough course for the ladies, so this helps bring my number down.

My handicap is not official yet. If you look up my name in the MSGA player lookup, you would find "NH" next to my name, which means "no handicap." Official handicaps are calculated using the lowest 10 of a golfer's most recent 20 rounds, so I will need to post 5 more rounds. If I want a lower handicap index, I better make them good ones!