Golf Handicap Calculation: Everything You Need to Know

Many novice golfers and non-golfers alike struggle to understand what exactly a golf handicap is, how to approach golf handicap calculation, and how it applies to the sport.  For seasoned golfers, the handicap is as just as important as your clubs, other gear, or perfecting your golf stance.  We’ll break down a golf handicap and how to calculate it in the following guide.

What is a Golf Handicap?

For more than one hundred years now, golfers have used a number – their handicap – as a way to compete with each other on a regardless of their skill level, experience, and abilities.  Think of this like a point spread in sports gambling where it “levels the playing field” among players.  Expressed as a number, it is typically equal to how many strokes over par a player will have, so a lower number indicates a better golfer.  For example, a golfer who golfs at par will have a handicap of zero (this is also referred to as a Scratch Golfer).  If a player averages one extra stroke (or bogey) per hole on a course, they’re referred to as a Bogey Golfer.  Makes sense, right?  Let’s move on.

Calculating Your Handicap

Many methods have been used over the past century, with the most common being a player’s three most recent scores.  The Handicap Index is the average of a player’s three most recent 18-hole scores, which can be a mix of 9-hole and 18-hole rounds.  Note that this is new in 2020 with the adoption of the World Handicap Index- prior to 2020, a player’s five most recent scores were used. 

Golf Handicap Calculator – Types of Handicaps

There are several types of golf handicaps: a Handicap Index, a Course Handicap, and a Playing Handicap.  Let’s walk through what each of these are and how they’re calculated:

Handicap Index: this handicap is the simplest, representing a player’s three most recent 18-hole scores.

Course Handicap: this is a golfer’s handicap adjusted to a specific course, and is calculated by using the following formula:

(Handicap Index) X (Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating – Par)

There are a few questions you may have after reviewing the above formula!  Let’s walk through those.

What’s a Course Rating?  A Course Rating is the difficulty of a course for Scratch Golfers (par golfers). 

What’s a Slope Rating?  The more challenging a course is, the bigger the gap between stronger and weaker players’ scores. The Slope Rating indicates how challenging a course will be for a player and adjusts the player’s handicap for the course.

Why is the Slope Rating divided by 113?  Slope Ratings range from 55 to 155, and 113 is the average Slope Rating.  Using this formula, if you play a course with a Slope Rating higher than 113, your Course Handicap will be higher than your usual Handicap Index.

Playing Handicap: this is a new term for 2020 that represents the number of strokes a player receives in a competition.  A golfer’s Playing Handicap is calculated by using the following formula: Course Handicap x Handicap Allowance.  This is intended to allow players to compete from different tees on the same course more easily.

Going forward, a player’s Course Handicap is used to adjust a golfer’s scores on individual holes, and a golfer’s Playing Handicap will be used for competition purposes.

What is a good golf handicap?

While it’s challenging to define good in relation to handicaps, the average is handicap is between 16 and 20.  Keep in mind this is among players with an official handicap, and as such, the true number is likely much higher!  Additionally, it’s important to consider how much easier it is to move one’s handicap from 25 to 23 compared to going from a 4 to a 3 and the skill level between those relative ranges.

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