Maybe you’ve been playing golf for a few years and you see those numbers on the tee box and wonder what they mean. Sometimes you might try to sneak out on a golf course by yourself only to be told you need to join a couple or few other golfers. The question may be, “what is your handicap” or “what do you play to”? So how do you calculate your handicap and how does handicap work in golf?
The Easy Way is to Use An App
For whatever reason, calculating a handicap is not easy. You will see that further below. So if you are new to golf or don’t care to know the intricacies of figuring out a handicap, my initial recommendation is to make it easy on yourself and use an app. One such app which gets great reviews can be found through Diablo Golf. Diablo Golf offers an official USGA Handicap.
Another recommended app is The Grint. The Grint uses the World Handicap System (WHS) and you can keep score right on the app or take a picture of your scorecard and upload it to the app. There is a free and paid version (ie uploading a scorecard) for the service.
How Do You Calculate Your Handicap?
The simple answer to calculating your handicap is by keeping track of 18 hole rounds that you play. Actually, keep track of your 9 hole rounds as well. Record these scores on a scorecard and both you and a playing partner must sign the scorecard. You need a total of 54 holes to be recorded through playing either 9 or 18 hole rounds. This is per USGA rules. In order to get a handicap index, you must be a member of an authorized golf club.
Now your local golf club may be able to help you in going through this but I just went through the USGA Link to get a handicap index. This is where I would head to.
What Is Your Handicap Index?
Let’s say you play a lot of golf. Take the best scores in 8 rounds out of the last 20 rounds you have played. This will be what we call a rolling number. So for instance, after you play your next round you will take that round into consideration when figuring out your best 8 rounds of scoring. Now total those 8 best rounds and divide by 8. This will be your handicap index.
I’ll be the guinea pig. Here are my best 8 scores out of the last 20 rounds that I’ve played along with the par on the course in parenthesis. 88 (71), 91 (72), 88 (72), 89 (72), 87, (72) 89 (72), 90 (71), 88 (72). So I total up my best 8 scores which comes to 710 and then divide by 8. This equals exactly 88.75. Next I total up the par on each course and that comes out to be 574. 574 divided by 8 equals 71.75. So using my average score of 88.75 minus the average par of 71.75 comes to 17. My handicap index is 17. You should round your handicap to the nearest whole number. Luckily mine landed right on 17.
What If I’ve Only Played A Few Rounds?
As mentioned before, you only need a few rounds to get a handicap index. Using the below table, lets say you’ve played 3 rounds. You shot a 91, 94, and 89. You would take your lowest score, which is an 89 and subtract 2 as an adjustment. So that equals 87. If the par was a 72 then your handicap index would be 15.
| Number of score differentials in scoring record | Score differentials to be used in calculation of Handicap Index | Adjustment |
| 3 | Lowest 1 | -2.0 |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | -1.0 |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Average Lowest of 2 | -1.0 |
| 7 or 8 | Average Lowest of 2 | 0 |
| 9 to 11 | Average Lowest of 3 | 0 |
| 12 to 14 | Average Lowest of 4 | 0 |
| 15 or 16 | Average Lowest of 5 | 0 |
| 17 or 18 | Average Lowest of 6 | 0 |
| 19 | Average Lowest of 7 | 0 |
| 20 | Average Lowest of 8 | 0 |
By doing the above you now have your handicap. But if you think about it, not all golf courses are the same. You score well on some golf courses and not so well at another. One course may be challenging just for the fact that it is longer. Yet another course may have water hazards over half of the holes along with out of bounds scattered throughout the course. Because of that, we need to figure out how to determine a course handicap and in the end an “official golf handicap”.
How to Calculate Course Handicap
This is where you definitely need a piece of paper and a calculator. The truth of the matter is that there are some apps that will do this calculation for you. Get an app!!!
SR below stands for Slope Rating. The slope rating takes into account elevation changes on the golf course as well as hills to give that score. For instance, I played a course at the start of the year where we played the blue tees. Narrow fairways, plenty of water (not drinkable) on the course, etc… The slope rating from the blue tees for men is 129.
CR below stands for Course Rating. On that same course mentioned above, the course rating from the blue tees for men is 69.3.
Course Handicap = [Handicap Index * (SR / 113)] + (CR- Par)
Again with me being the guinea pig. Course Handicap = [17 * (129/113)] + (69.3-71) which ends up being (17 * 1.1416) + (-1.7) = 17.71. So my course handicap for the scorecard I am looking at is 17.71.
Let me go grab a scorecard at a different course to try this calculation one more time for a course handicap. Again, I am a 17 handicap. So the Course Handicap = [17 * (119/113)] + (67.1-71). This equals (17 * 1.053) + (-3.9) = 14.00.
The weird thing about this to me is I actually consider the 2nd course to be more difficult than the 1st course but the World Handicap System does not see it that way.
Let’s make this complicated. Why would we want to make this more complicated? Good question. How would you like a lower handicap? Maybe yes, maybe no. Well here is how it works.
Maximum Score on a Hole Before Handicap is Determined
According to the USGA, while you are attempting to determine your first ever handicap, the maximum score is par +5. So on a par 3, the maximum you would write down on your scorecard is 8. On a par 4 the maximum would be a 9 and on a par 5 the maximum would be a 10.
Net Double Bogey
The net double bogey is the maximum score you can get on golf hole. The intention of net double bogey is to not allow a bad score on a hole to impact your handicap too negatively. The World Handicap System requires that when you turn in your scorecard, you use Net Double Bogey when figuring out your handicap.
We’ve all been there. An errant tee shot ends up in a creek off to the right hand side. Another shot is hit into the woods. You make the decision to hit the next shot over a tree but it hits some branches and falls straight down next to the trunk of the tree. By the time you get to the green on this par 4 you mark down a snowman… an 8. Only for me on this hole my net score would be a 7. So that is the score I will be marking down on my scorecard.
The bottom line for Net Double Bogey is that it is equal to PAR OF THE HOLE+ 2 STROKES + ANY HANDICAP STROKES THE PLAYER RECEIVES ON THE HOLE
An example of a scorecard with the handicap of the hole. 1 being the hardest hole while 18 would technically be the easiest hole. You can also see course rating and slope rating off to the upper right hand side.
Do You Need a Handicap to Play Golf?
Many of us play golf year in and year out without a need for a handicap. So no, you definitely do not need a handicap to enjoy playing golf. My brother-in-law has played for 40+ years and then all of a sudden he was invited to join his brother in another state to play in a fun tournament. The tournament though required players to have a handicap. Having a handicap in golf as in another sport like bowling tends to equalize things between participants. All he had to do was to input his scorecard into an app.
The difference was that my brother in law did not need to go through the steps of being affiliated with a golf club, paying for a membership, etc… The only thing he was required to do was submit five separate 18 hole rounds. He seemed to be happy that he now had a handicap.
How Does Handicap Work in Golf?
If you are a 15 handicap and your buddy is a 7 handicap, the difference between those two handicaps is 8. Under match play, your buddy would give you 1 stroke each on the 8 hardest holes to level the playing field. In other words, the way the handicap system works is that you literally could play against a professional or scratch golfer and with handicap taken into account, you both have an equal chance of winning the match.
I get it. On a day to day basis, most of us just want to hit the golf course and have fun. We don’t want to be boggled down with having to input scores each Sunday we meet up with our friends to play a round. On the other side of it though, if you want to play in a fun tournament at your local golf course it may be a requirement to have a handicap. The positive about having a handicap is that it encourages you to continually do better. If I haven’t mentioned it one or two times, check out the apps with Diablo Golf or The Grint and get yourself a handicap.