Golf Handicap Calculator
Enter your adjusted gross scores, course ratings, and slope ratings for your most recent rounds to calculate your Handicap Index and Course Handicap. A minimum of 3 valid rounds is required.
Your Recent Rounds (up to 10)
Adjusted Gross Score: Your score after applying any WHS adjustments (e.g., Net Double Bogey maximum).
Course Rating: The USGA's evaluation of the playing difficulty for a scratch golfer.
Slope Rating: The USGA's evaluation of the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer.
Target Course Details (for Course Handicap)
Calculation Results
Handicap Differentials:
- ';
for (var i = 1; i 0) {
var differential = (adjustedScore – courseRating) * 113 / slopeRating;
differentials.push(differential);
differentialsHtml += '
- Round ' + i + ': ' + differential.toFixed(1) + ' '; } } differentialsHtml += '
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 one another. The lower a player's handicap, the better their skill level. The World Handicap System (WHS), implemented in 2020, provides a unified method for calculating handicaps globally, making the game more inclusive and equitable.
Key Components of Handicap Calculation
To understand how your handicap is calculated, it's essential to know the meaning of a few key terms:
- Adjusted Gross Score: This is your raw score for a round, adjusted according to specific WHS rules. The most common adjustment is the "Net Double Bogey" maximum, which caps your score on any hole to prevent one bad hole from disproportionately affecting your handicap. For example, if your par on a hole is 4, your maximum score for handicap purposes would be a 6 (par + 2 strokes).
- Course Rating: This is a numerical value, typically ranging from 67 to 77, that represents the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer (a player with a handicap of 0). It's expressed to one decimal place (e.g., 72.3).
- Slope Rating: This number indicates the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer (a player with a handicap of approximately 20) compared to a scratch golfer. Slope Ratings typically range from 55 to 155, with 113 being the standard or average difficulty. The higher the Slope Rating, the more challenging the course is for non-scratch golfers.
The Handicap Differential
The first step in calculating your Handicap Index is to determine the Handicap Differential for each of your eligible rounds. This differential represents your performance relative to the course's difficulty. The formula is:
Handicap Differential = (Adjusted Gross Score – Course Rating) × 113 / Slope Rating
The constant '113' in the formula represents the standard Slope Rating, ensuring that differentials are comparable across courses of varying difficulty.
Calculating Your Handicap Index
Your Handicap Index is a portable measure of your playing ability, calculated from the average of your best Handicap Differentials. The WHS uses your most recent 20 eligible scores. If you have fewer than 20 scores, a sliding scale is used:
- 3-5 Scores: Use the lowest 1 differential.
- 6 Scores: Use the lowest 2 differentials.
- 7-8 Scores: Use the lowest 3 differentials.
- 9-10 Scores: Use the lowest 4 differentials.
- 11 Scores: Use the lowest 5 differentials.
- 12 Scores: Use the lowest 6 differentials.
- 13-14 Scores: Use the lowest 7 differentials.
- 15-16 Scores: Use the lowest 8 differentials.
- 17-18 Scores: Use the lowest 9 differentials.
- 19 Scores: Use the lowest 9 differentials.
- 20 Scores: Use the lowest 8 differentials.
Once the appropriate number of lowest differentials are selected, they are averaged, and this average is then multiplied by a "bonus for excellence" factor of 0.96. This slight reduction encourages players to improve their game.
Handicap Index = (Average of Selected Differentials) × 0.96
The Handicap Index is typically rounded to one decimal place.
Calculating Your Course Handicap
Your Handicap Index is a universal measure, but it needs to be converted into a Course Handicap for the specific course and tees you are playing. This ensures that your handicap accurately reflects the difficulty of that particular course.
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating of Course / 113)
The Course Handicap is always rounded to the nearest whole number. This is the number of strokes you receive during a round on that specific course.
Example Calculation
Let's consider a golfer with the following 5 recent rounds:
| Round | Adjusted Gross Score | Course Rating | Slope Rating | Handicap Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 92 | 71.5 | 128 | (92 – 71.5) × 113 / 128 = 18.1 |
| 2 | 88 | 70.2 | 125 | (88 – 70.2) × 113 / 125 = 16.1 |
| 3 | 95 | 72.0 | 130 | (95 – 72.0) × 113 / 130 = 20.0 |
| 4 | 90 | 71.0 | 120 | (90 – 71.0) × 113 / 120 = 17.9 |
| 5 | 87 | 69.8 | 122 | (87 – 69.8) × 113 / 122 = 15.9 |
1. Calculate Handicap Differentials:
- Round 1: (92 – 71.5) × 113 / 128 = 18.1
- Round 2: (88 – 70.2) × 113 / 125 = 16.1
- Round 3: (95 – 72.0) × 113 / 130 = 20.0
- Round 4: (90 – 71.0) × 113 / 120 = 17.9
- Round 5: (87 – 69.8) × 113 / 122 = 15.9
2. Select Lowest Differentials:
With 5 scores, the WHS requires using the lowest 1 differential. The differentials in ascending order are: 15.9, 16.1, 17.9, 18.1, 20.0. The lowest is 15.9.
3. Calculate Handicap Index:
Handicap Index = 15.9 × 0.96 = 15.264
Rounded to one decimal place, the Handicap Index is 15.3.
4. Calculate Course Handicap (for a target course):
Let's say the golfer is playing a course with a Slope Rating of 135.
Course Handicap = 15.3 × (135 / 113) = 15.3 × 1.19469… = 18.279…
Rounded to the nearest whole number, the Course Handicap is 18.
Understanding these calculations empowers you to track your progress and enjoy fair competition on any golf course worldwide.