Handicap
ScoringA golf handicap, officially a Handicap Index under the World Handicap System (WHS), is a number that measures your demonstrated ability on a course of standard difficulty, so golfers of different abilities can compete fairly. It is the average of your best 8 score differentials from your 20 most recent rounds.
How is a Handicap Index calculated?
Every acceptable round produces a Score Differential, which measures how you played relative to the difficulty of the course that day:
Score Differential = (113 ÷ Slope Rating) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating − playing conditions adjustment)
Your Handicap Index is the average of the lowest 8 of your 20 most recent Score Differentials, rounded to one decimal place. The maximum Handicap Index is 54.0.
Worked example
You shoot an adjusted 90 on a course with a Course Rating of 71.2 and a Slope Rating of 128. The differential is (113 ÷ 128) × (90 − 71.2) = 16.6.
Now suppose the lowest 8 of your last 20 differentials are 12.1, 12.8, 13.0, 13.4, 13.9, 14.2, 14.6 and 15.0. They add up to 109.0, so your Handicap Index is 109.0 ÷ 8 = 13.6.
What if I have fewer than 20 scores?
You need scores from at least 54 holes (for example three 18-hole rounds) to get a first Handicap Index. Until you have 20 scores, WHS averages fewer differentials and, for very short records, subtracts an adjustment:
| Scores in record | Lowest differentials averaged | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | −1.0 |
| 7–8 | 2 | 0 |
| 9–11 | 3 | 0 |
| 12–14 | 4 | 0 |
| 15–16 | 5 | 0 |
| 17–18 | 6 | 0 |
| 19 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | 8 | 0 |
What is an adjusted gross score? (net double bogey)
For handicap purposes each hole score is capped at net double bogey: par + 2 + any handicap strokes you receive on that hole, based on your Course Handicap. The capped total is your adjusted gross score, and it is the number that goes into the Score Differential. One disaster hole therefore cannot inflate your handicap.
Until you have a Handicap Index, the cap is par + 5 on every hole. If you start a hole but do not hole out, you record your most likely score, which is also capped at net double bogey; in practice a pick-up after a bad start is recorded as net double bogey.
| Hole | Par | Stroke index | Strokes received | Net double bogey | You scored | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | picked up | 8 |
Other rules that move your index
- Soft cap: if your new index would be more than 3.0 above your lowest index of the last 365 days, the increase beyond 3.0 is halved.
- Hard cap: your index cannot rise more than 5.0 above that low point.
- Exceptional scores: a differential 7.0 or more below your index triggers an extra reduction (1.0, or 2.0 when it is 10.0 or more below).
- Playing conditions: on unusually hard or easy days, the playing conditions calculation shifts everyone’s differentials slightly.
Handicap Index vs Course Handicap
Your Handicap Index travels with you. Before a round it is converted into a Course Handicap, the number of strokes you receive on that specific course from those tees. See Course Handicap for the formula.
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Sources
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