Golf Handicap Calculator
Use this calculator to determine your Course Handicap and Playing Handicap for a specific golf course and tee set, based on your Handicap Index.
Understanding Your Golf Handicap
A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's ability, allowing players of different skill levels to compete fairly against each other. The World Handicap System (WHS), implemented globally, provides a standardized method for calculating and applying handicaps.
Handicap Index vs. Course Handicap vs. Playing Handicap
- Handicap Index: This is your overall measure of golfing ability, calculated from your best recent scores. It's a portable number that travels with you to any course.
- Course Handicap: This is the number of strokes you receive for a specific golf course and tee set. It's derived from your Handicap Index, adjusted for the difficulty of the course (Course Rating and Slope Rating). This is the number you'll typically use to determine your gross score for a round.
- Playing Handicap: This is your Course Handicap adjusted by a "handicap allowance" for the specific format of play (e.g., stroke play, match play, foursomes). The allowance ensures equity across different competition formats.
How the Calculator Works
This calculator uses the official World Handicap System (WHS) formula to determine your Course Handicap and then provides common Playing Handicap adjustments.
The primary formula for Course Handicap is:
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating / 113)
Where:
- Handicap Index: Your personal handicap index, typically a number with one decimal place (e.g., 12.5).
- Course Rating: An evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions. It's expressed in strokes to one decimal place (e.g., 72.1). While not directly used in the Course Handicap formula, it's crucial for calculating Handicap Differentials and understanding course difficulty.
- Slope Rating: An evaluation of the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. It ranges from 55 to 155, with 113 being the standard.
- 113: A constant representing the standard slope rating.
Example Calculation
Let's say a golfer has a Handicap Index of 15.4. They are playing a course with a Course Rating of 72.1 and a Slope Rating of 130.
Course Handicap (unrounded): 15.4 × (130 / 113) = 15.4 × 1.15044… ≈ 17.71
Course Handicap (rounded): Rounding 17.71 to the nearest whole number gives 18.
Playing Handicap (100% allowance for Stroke Play): 18
Playing Handicap (95% allowance for Match Play): 18 × 0.95 = 17.1 ≈ 17
This means the golfer would receive 18 strokes for stroke play and 17 strokes for match play on this particular course.