St Andrews Old Course Handicap Calculator

Use this calculator to determine your Course Handicap for the iconic St Andrews Old Course, ensuring fair play and accurate net scores during your round.

Your Handicap Index: Enter your current official Handicap Index.

Select Tee Set: White Tees (Men) Yellow Tees (Men) Red Tees (Ladies) Custom Tees Choose the tees you will be playing from.

Course Rating: The difficulty rating for a scratch golfer.

Slope Rating: The relative difficulty for a bogey golfer (average is 113).

Par of Course: The standard number of strokes for the course.

Your St Andrews Old Course Handicap:

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Understanding Your Course Handicap for St Andrews Old Course

Playing the Old Course at St Andrews is a dream for many golfers. To ensure a fair and enjoyable experience, especially in competitive or friendly rounds where net scores are important, understanding and calculating your Course Handicap is crucial. This calculator helps you determine the exact number of strokes you receive for your round on this historic course.

What is a Course Handicap?

A Course Handicap is the number of strokes a golfer receives for a specific golf course and tee set. It adjusts your overall golfing ability (Handicap Index) to the particular difficulty of the course you are playing. This allows golfers of different skill levels to compete fairly against each other.

Key Components of the Calculation:

Handicap Index: This is your official measure of golfing ability, calculated from your best recent scores. It's a portable number that travels with you to any course.
Course Rating: This value represents the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer (a golfer with a Handicap Index of 0). It's expressed in strokes and typically includes decimal points (e.g., 73.1).
Slope Rating: This number indicates the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer (a golfer with a Handicap Index of approximately 20-24) compared to a scratch golfer. The higher the Slope Rating, the more difficult the course is for higher-handicap players. The average Slope Rating is 113.
Par of Course: This is the standard number of strokes a scratch golfer is expected to take to complete the 18 holes. For the Old Course, it's typically 72.

The Formula Used:

The World Handicap System (WHS) uses the following formula to calculate your Course Handicap:

Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating – Par)

The number 113 represents the average Slope Rating, acting as a baseline for the calculation.

Example Calculation:

Let's say a golfer has a Handicap Index of 12.5 and is playing from the White Tees at St Andrews Old Course, which have:

Course Rating: 73.1
Slope Rating: 137
Par: 72

Using the formula:

Course Handicap = 12.5 × (137 ÷ 113) + (73.1 – 72)

Course Handicap = 12.5 × 1.212389 + 1.1

Course Handicap = 15.15486 + 1.1

Course Handicap = 16.25486

Rounded to the nearest whole number, the Course Handicap would be 16 strokes.

Use the calculator above to quickly find your Course Handicap for your upcoming round at the Home of Golf!

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