What is a scratch golfer and how good are they?

Handicaps are what make the game of golf great. They one golfer to play against any other golfer and the contest (in theory) should be pretty close. However there is a group of golfers who play off scratch, but what exactly does that mean? And how good are they in reality?Now if you play golf, you've probably heard there's a player at your club who plays off scratch. What playing off scratch means is that player has a handicap of 0 (or better). If your handicap is 15, you expect to be about 15 over every time you play; a scratch player expects to play level par or better whenever they play.The term scratch also encompasses players who are better than 0, or said to have a positive or plus handicap. For example, a +3 handicap golfer has to add three shots to their score in a nett competition.The USGA love their numbers, and they define a male scratch golfer as being able to hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two strokes. In comparison, a female scratch...