Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
Well, shouldn't they? Shouldn't Colorado expect to go into a hockey game against Montreal and have expectations to win in a fairly established playing field? If you make Colorado play short-handed most of the game, just so the Canadiens can be competitive, is that really a fair test? Colorado worked really hard to build a great team and be dominant in the league, so why should they be penalized because Montreal sucks?
That is how a poorly implemented handicap adjustment can be to players. It is why many clubs go out of their way to either monitor scoring to assign handicap adjustments for members or grant only a percentage of an outside player's posted handicap. The handicap system is supposed to make it possible for players of all levels to compete with each other, but for it to work it has to be closely monitored and regulated because scoring variance can play a huge part in these events. It's also why better players prefer a multi-round or multi-day event so the wild card round where the high-variance-low-score does not impact the probable outcome.
There is nothing worse than seeing a 4 handicap shoot a 74 (net 70) and get beat by a 25 handicap who shot a 92 (net 67). The better player did not win that day, but that happens. I stopped letting it bother me a long time ago and just focus on we're out there for the comradery and to have some laughs. It's all about the birdie juice and how many you can make your playing partners drink out there!
|
The betting line would probably give Montreal a goal or two, which is closer to what the handicap system is trying to do.
Every club championship I've known emphasizes the low gross for the champion, and the better players don't much care about who won low net.
There are plenty of competitive non-handicapped competitions out there for better players if that's your thing. Handicapped events seem to be more about betting and drinking and having fun. Events like member-members and member-guests tend to bring out more people trying to game the system.