Golf Handicap Differential Calculator
Calculate your score differential for a single round of golf.
This is your Score Differential for this specific round.
How is a Golf Handicap Calculated?
A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential, used to enable players of different abilities to compete against one another. Since the implementation of the World Handicap System (WHS) in 2020, the process has become standardized globally.
The Core Components
To calculate your handicap, you need to understand three key numbers provided by the golf course scorecard:
- Adjusted Gross Score: Your total strokes, adjusted for the "Net Double Bogey" maximum per hole.
- Course Rating: An estimate of the number of strokes a scratch golfer (0 handicap) should take to complete the course under normal conditions.
- Slope Rating: A measure of the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. The standard slope is 113.
The Step-by-Step Formula
The first step in finding your Handicap Index is calculating the Score Differential for each round you play. The formula is as follows:
Moving from Differential to Handicap Index
Your actual Handicap Index is not based on just one round. It is calculated by taking the average of your 8 best score differentials from your 20 most recent rounds. if you have fewer than 20 rounds recorded, a sliding scale is used (e.g., if you have 5 rounds, only the lowest 1 differential is used).
Realistic Example
Imagine you played a round and shot an 88. The Course Rating is 70.5 and the Slope Rating is 131.
- Score: 88
- Rating: 70.5
- Slope: 131
- Calculation: (88 – 70.5) x (113 / 131)
- Calculation: 17.5 x 0.8625
- Result: 15.1 Differential
Why Does Slope Matter?
The Slope Rating accounts for the fact that a difficult course affects a high-handicapper more significantly than it affects a scratch golfer. By using 113 as a baseline (the standard difficulty), the system "levels the playing field," ensuring that a 15 handicap at a very difficult course represents the same skill level as a 15 handicap at an easy course.