Scottie Scheffler
ATLANTA — If you have an official USGA handicap, you can now match up your index against the best player in the world.
Ahead of this week’s Tour Championship, in which he will begin with a two-shot advantage, Scottie Scheffler revealed that he carries a plus-7 index, an eye-popping figure.
For those unaware of what that means, Scheffler has to give seven shots back to the course on the seven easiest holes. So, for instance, if he is playing the seventh handicapped hole on the scorecard, and it is a par-4, Scheffler has to make a three to post a net-par. He essentially has to shoot 7-under to shoot even-par.
That isn’t easy.
But Scheffler uses his handicap when playing with his buddies, often during the offseason or when he is not in the thick of competing for major championships.
“I do love social golf. If I’m going to take a month off, if we’re not on vacation, I’m probably still going to play once or twice a week with my buddies because it’s just a heck of a lot of fun,” Scheffler said.
“I love being at home, and I love cutting up, and if I’m not really in peak shape, I am sure my buddies are going to be calling me more often to play than when it’s during the year, and I’m playing really good, because they would arguably have a better chance to beat me when I haven’t really been practicing.”
Very few people have beaten Scheffler all season on the PGA Tour, so his buddies have not choice but to try to do so through the handicap system.
“I think that’s one of the great parts about our game,” Scheffler said.
“I can go out there with whoever it is, and we can come up with some sort of fair match based on the handicap system.”
Scheffler then revealed that his handicap went down, thanks to his six PGA Tour victories and gold medal triumph at the Olympics this season.
“I used to be a plus-5. They moved me to a plus-7,” Scheffler said.
“So now we’ve got guys in the group getting like two strokes a hole. I typically still win more often than not, I feel like, but it’s just fun. It’s just entertaining. If you’re going out there with a 12 or 13 handicap, you don’t know what the heck is going to happen.”
That means Scheffler has to give that 12 or 13 handicapper 20 strokes, something no golfer ever wants to do.
But that only fuels Scheffler’s competitive fire on the course.
“I do not want to be giving him money at the end of the day, whether it’s $5 or $500,” Scheffler said.
“I do not want to take out my wallet and hand him money at the end of the day. That’s just not in my blood. I want to win, whether we’re playing ping-pong or whatever it is. Whatever the format, I’m going to show up and try and do my best. That’s really all it is.”
No wonder why he is the best player in the world.
And yet, in some sense, you can relate to Scheffler through the handicap system. No, chances are you will never reach a preposterous plus-7 handicap. But you can measure yourself up against him. It’s not like you can compare yourself to Michael Jordan or LeBron James on the basketball court. Yet, in golf, you can compare yourself to the best player in the world. Everyone can play everywhere, no matter the skill set, another reason why so many people love this beautiful game.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
