Reddit golfer shares fascinating, high-stakes handicap bet that you might want to try with your golf mates

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[PHOTO: Ted Levine]

The beauty of golf’s handicap system is that a pair of golfers can play a competitive match no matter how different their handicaps are.

However, the match-up we’re intrigued by today doesn’t involve any strokes. And it should be a fascinating experiment between two golf mates.

Thanks to Reddit user u/HenryRoengardner for posting (and to our friends at ForePlay for finding) the following high-stakes, long-term bet he made with his friend. Emphasis on long.

OK, so here are the highlights. Both guys are 36, but one is a 3-handicapper, while the other is off 16. The 16-marker has been playing for only a couple of years and he is described as having a “vanity” handicap. Ouch. But he has 30 years to beat the (much) better friend straight up for one round of golf. And there is $5,000 on the line between the two.

Again, fascinating stuff. It’s tough to handicap this, um, handicap bet. I mean, the guy has three decades to beat his mate once. They will be Bernhard Langer’s age by the time this bet is over! We don’t know how often they play together, but we’re assuming its fairly regularly. And he just has to have everything to line up for him once in the next 30 years.

This golfer’s annual ‘Year In Review’ magazine is the stuff of legend

That being said, as someone who has fluctuated around a 4-to-7 handicap and who plays often with a guy who is off 11-14 for the past 15 years, I will say this. In the hundreds of rounds we’ve played, he’s never beaten me straight up. Not once. Although there was one time where I had to chip in on the final hole to nip him by one. Phew, that was close.

Point is, as all golfers know, there is a huge gap between a 3-handicapper and a 16. But again, the guy has 30 years to get better. And as someone who also went through a golf “transformation” at 40, I know how hard it is to shave strokes off your handicap once you’re past your mid-30s. So again, what a fascinating bet. And possibly a fun one to try, especially if it motivates you or your friends to get better.

Also, it’s not like you have to bet that much on it. Although, I’m not an expert at maths or inflation, but in 30 years, that $5,000 won’t be nearly as big a hit to the wallet for whomever loses. In any event, may the best man win.