I was walking down the 3rd fairway during my last visit to the golf club and a peculiar feeling came over me: I was stressed. I’d got off to a poor start – I hit one out of bounds on the 1st hole and made a double-bogey on the second – and I felt under pressure.
I often play with my dad and chuckle to myself when he declares his round over after a bad first hole – I just don’t understand how he can feel so agitated after one eighteenth of a round. But here I was in a similar boat.
It was unsettling and unusual, but it was also a by-product of some good recent golfing form. I shot the best round of my life in August 2024 and my handicap has been under 10 since then – not something I’ve been overly accustomed to throughout the course of my golfing career.
It’s an achievement that fills me with pride – and I won’t ever forget knocking in a two-footer on the 18th green at Hoebridge GC to record a four-over-par 75 – but getting better is a double-edged sword.
My mindset seems to have changed since then. Now I know I’m capable of shooting in the mid-70s, I’ve been putting more pressure on myself. I’m less focussed on reaching 36 Stableford points (although this is still a goal) and more consumed by shooting my best round ever, even though I know it’s entirely possible – and arguably likely – that I’ll never beat it again.
No margin for error
The result is that I’m more tense over the first few holes, because I know a bad stretch will put paid to my chances of beating 75. And even if I start well, I know I have no margin for error. From a handicap perspective, it’s also very difficult to hit 36 points if you blob two of the first three holes.
The feeling of tension doesn’t last long – I either start well and relax or play poorly enough that both the record and making 36 points are out the window by about the 6th hole. This is actually a good scenario as the pressure is off.
To be clear, I still enjoy myself when I feel tense on the course as golf is full of little joys – the fresh air, the exercise, the camaraderie, the banter with my playing partners and the scenery.
But on that 3rd fairway in my last outing, I started reflecting on the times when I felt completely free at the start of my rounds. That thought gave rise to another one: at what handicap level did I enjoy my golf the most?
Clearly, people derive enjoyment and fun from different things – a competitive match will get one golfer's juices flowing while another would avoid such a scenario like the plague.
But, for me, the best moments on a golf course are when you’re fully immersed in the moment and feel like you don’t have a care in the world. If you’re constantly chasing your best score or facing an uphill battle to play to handicap, it’s hard to feel completely relaxed.
So what's the answer?
I’ve thought long and hard about the optimal handicap for enjoyment and I’ve settled on 12. Why? Because it’s low enough to feel like a competent golfer with enough of a cushion built it.
What do I mean by that? If you’re off 12 and get off to a bad start, that’s fine – there are enough shot holes ahead to turn things around. At that ability level, you’re more than capable of hitting long drives and getting up and down from everywhere. Being one-over-par through six holes is a real possibility.
While it will happen rarely, if at all, you’re also capable of breaking 80. Inconsistency is the main issue, but you have all the shots an 8-handicapper possesses.
To reiterate, I can’t envisage ever not enjoying golf, regardless of my handicap. But playing off 12 probably gave me the most happiness on the fairways.
I was curious to see how other golfers felt, so I put a poll on X: “Does the time when you enjoyed golf the most correspond to when you had your lowest handicap?” Some 53% of the respondents answered ‘yes’, while 47% selected ‘no’.
The results didn’t surprise me and one of the comments summed things up perfectly: “The lower my handicap goes, the more stresses there are. One hole can ruin a round. I find more stress now as a single-digit handicapper than when I was 14.”
Often in life, enjoyment correlates with ability, but it’s interesting to note that isn’t always the case in golf. In fact, quite often it isn’t.
Armed with this information, I spoke to various members of the Golf Monthly team. Handicaps vary wildly and range from +5 all the way up to 23. Only one person said their happiest golfing times corresponded to them having their lowest ever handicap.
Some of the comments were very enlightening:
'Late single-figures is great'
“My favourite handicap for enjoyment was 18. I'm just starting to play decent golf instead of hacking it around, which is absolutely no fun at all. But, at 18, I still have a little wiggle room on every hole so the pressure isn't constantly on” – Jonny Leighfield, currently 16.9
“The first time I got into single figures I remember being thrilled to bits. I still had some shots to play with, but I felt like a real baller! – Joe Ferguson, professional
“Late single figures is great. It’s low enough to call yourself single figure and seem like a flusher, but with enough support behind you to feel like the game and the course isn't battering you” – Dan Parker, currently 6.9
“I have to say I enjoyed last summer the most. I got down to my lowest ever at 4.6 and felt like I unlocked a new sort of tier of golf. For the first time, I felt I could attain a scratch handicap in the future, albeit a lofty goal. I've just concluded I'm too low to win competitions and not low enough to have a realistic chance at lowest gross during captains day etc, so I very much just focus on my own game now and almost competing against myself” – Conor Keenan, currently 4.9
“All I can really remember is that I enjoyed my golf the most when my handicap was coming down (ages ago now). I got down to 4 at the age of 16 and it took me about 20 years to start enjoying it again (when I gave up on getting any better)!” – Neil Tappin, currently 4.3
“I would say I enjoyed my golf the most when I first got into plus figures. It finally meant I could start entering the big amateur events I wanted to and had never been able to play before and I felt as though I could just about win club competitions. I currently have literally no chance of winning anything handicap based at my club unless I break 58 every round” – Sam De’Ath, currently +3
Golf means different things to different people and it’s a game laced with subjectivity. But the next time you get annoyed about not improving, take a deep breath and step back. A lower handicap doesn’t guarantee more enjoyment. Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
