Golf Handicap Calculator
Best eight of twenty — but only once you have twenty.
Work out Golf Handicap. Best eight of twenty — but only once you have twenty. Shows the working, not just the answer.
Comma separated, most recent first. At least three.
Handicap index
11
Course handicap 11 · playing handicap 10
The World Handicap System averages only your best differentials, and how many depends on how many scores you have — one from three rounds, up to eight from twenty. That sliding scale is what makes a new player's handicap volatile and an established one stable. A differential is (score − course rating) × 113 ÷ slope rating. The 113 is the standard slope, so on a course of exactly average difficulty the differential is simply your score against the rating. Course handicap converts the index for the specific tees you are playing, adjusting for slope and for the gap between rating and par. Competitions then usually apply a 95% allowance, which is why three numbers appear rather than one.
How the Golf Handicap Calculator works
Handicap index by the World Handicap System sliding scale, plus course handicap and playing handicap for the tees you are on. How many scores count depends on how many you have, from one of three up to eight of twenty.
Also known as: how is a golf handicap worked out · world handicap system calculator · course handicap from index · score differential golf
Frequently asked questions
How is a handicap index calculated?
Average the best differentials from your recent scores. The number used slides with how many scores exist — one from three rounds, three from ten, eight from twenty — which is what makes new handicaps volatile.
What is a score differential?
(Score − course rating) × 113 ÷ slope rating. The 113 is the standard slope, so on a course of exactly average difficulty the differential is just your score against the rating.
What is the difference between handicap index and course handicap?
The index is portable and course-independent. The course handicap converts it for the specific tees, adjusting for slope and for the gap between course rating and par.
What is a playing handicap?
The course handicap with a competition allowance applied, commonly 95% in individual strokeplay. It exists to stop higher handicaps having a statistical edge in large fields.
What does slope rating mean?
How much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch one. It runs from 55 to 155 with 113 as average, and it is why the same index gives different strokes on different courses.
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