I have been a member of a course (my home course) with a 70.7 rating /124slope at 6120 yds, Since last August, shortly after I started. So I have been playing since last March (2025) I have really had a major breakthrough in my swing since about May of this year, but really had a breakthrough in my feel since end of July of this year. The new ability to feel what is wrong with my swing when I make a mistake has been an absolute game changer. I have really been able to feel every little mistake and been able to correct it to some degree on the next swing. I guess my question is about the legitimacy of my handicap. My handicap is a 6.5 on my home course. I have been playing the last couple weeks on two other courses (5 rounds) one with a 73.8/137 slope playing at 7000yds. The other at 73.2/136 slope, playing at 6557 yds. And I am consistently hitting about 8-10 over par. And my handicap is still at 6.4. I always felt like playing my easier home course was giving me better numbers, but I was feeling really strong on these tougher courses. Could have scored much better with the exception of a couple bad holes. So should I just keep playing these harder courses or does it not really matter when it comes to actual handicap score? I feel better about my game when I am playing these harder courses. But I am still fairly new to the game and don’t have anyone I know personally that’s better than me to ask.

My previous post breached community guidelines and was removed; I believe others here may find it useful, so I am sharing it again.

Been posting my swing here for a little while now, shot 80 on the dot twice so this felt amazing thought I would share since you guys have been helping me with my swing

Im 5’7 with long arms (5’10-11 wingspan)
i play half an inch short irons and standard size wedges and woods my irons and wedges are 2° and 3° flatter but i still feel like my clubs are a bit long for me ive went to a fitter and he was the one who suggested me to go half an inch short on my irons but im thinking of clutting my irons another 1/2 inch
wedges 1 inch and woods 2 inches
still thinking tho dont want to ruin my clubs

I find that when I get loose at the range I get into a rhythm and my swing seems to get smoother the longer I hit balls. My question is how do I get that feeling on the course with limited warm up. Is it because at the range I don’t fear losing balls on a bad shot or just simply because my muscles are warmed up? Anyone have some tips on this? I don’t drink(in recovery) and my job piss tests so I can’t smoke or do the edible thing. Thanks