Master the Handicap System: How to Calculate your Golf Handicap
We’ve all been there, in a conversation about golf and the question of “What’s your handicap?” comes up. Which of the following groups of people do you belong to?
The Experienced Pro/Serious Golfer - I keep track of my handicap after every round and analyze how my score evolves over time.
The Casual Sunday Golfer - I’m an avid golfer who plays on the weekend with my buddies to have a good time.
The Beginner - I’m new to the game and have no clue what a handicap is.
Regardless of your experience, understanding what a handicap is and how to calculate it can greatly improve your golf game. Whether you’re an experienced pro or just starting out, learning about handicaps is an important step towards taking your game to the next level.
What is a Golf Handicap?
A golf handicap helps players measure their potential playing ability and is used to level the playing field for golfers of different skill levels to compete with each other. In other words, a golf handicap helps adjust the number of strokes during a competition for fair play. Golf handicaps are calculated using past performance and regularly adjusted to reflect current ability.
For context, if you have a golf handicap of 16, it means that you are expected to play 16 strokes above par on a course of standard difficulty. Assuming that the course you are playing on has a par of 72, your expected score would be 88 (72 + 16).
Example:
Let’s illustrate this with an example. Carlos and Tim are playing on a par 72 golf course . Carlos has a golf handicap of 7 and Tim has a handicap of 14. As such, Carlos and Tim are expected to shoot 79 (7 over par) and 86 (14 over par) respectively.
After their game, Carlos scored 82 and Tim scored 85. The question is, who won?
At first glance, it appears that Carlos has won since his score is lower than Tim’s by 3 strokes. However, when we take into account the golf handicaps and adjusted scores, Carlos shot 3 over his expected score while Tim shot 1 under his expected score. As such, Tim is the winner.
Handicap Systems
Based on where you live around the world, there are different ways of calculating your Golf Handicap. Prior to 2020, there were six different handicap systems that were being used across the globe. As a result, the World Handicap System (WHS) was introduced in 2020 to unify the six handicap systems and enable golfers to play and compete internationally on a system that is consistent, easy to understand, and flexible.
How to Calculate Your Golf Handicap
Calculating your Golf Handicap can be done in 2 easy steps. However, before we begin, there are a few key things we need to know:
Adjusted Gross Score (AGS)
A player’s gross score, including any penalty strokes, adjusted for when:
The player exceeds their maximum hole score (i.e., net double bogey - a score equal to the par of the hole plus 2 strokes adjusted for any handicap strokes applied on that hole),
A hole is not played, or
A hole is started but the player does not hole out.
Course Rating
Is a number awarded to a golf course to illustrate the difficulty of the course from the perspective of a scratch golfer (good golfer). The course rating will range anywhere between 67 and 77 with 72 being the typical par number. The higher the course rating in relation to the par number, the more difficult the course is.
Slope Rating
Is a number awarded to a golf course that is used to illustrate its relative difficulty from the point of view of a bogey player. The slope rating will range anywhere between 55 and 155 with a slope rating of 113 representing the average difficulty. The higher the number, the more difficult the course is.
Score Differential
A score differential refers to the performance of a round relative to the difficulty of the course that it was played on, which is measured by the Course Rating and the Slope Rating.
Handicap Index
Average of the 8 best differentials out of your 20 most recent rounds.
Now that you know these key items, let’s calculate our Golf Handicap in 2 easy steps.
1. Calculate Score Differential
2. Calculate Handicap Index
Frequently Asked Questions
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A good handicap is typically anything that is 10 or less. In other words, this means you are shooting around 82.
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A handicap for an average golfer would be someone who has anything around 18 or slightly higher. This means this golfer averages a bogey for each hole.
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Your golf handicap index is rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, if your handicap index is 12.3, it would be rounded to 12. If your handicap index is 12.5, it would be rounded up to 13.