If you’re getting into golf, it can be very helpful to know your handicap. Not only will this allow you to compete on a fair level with golfers of different skill levels, it will give you a base point to work off of, making it easier to track your progress with your golf game! It’s a very important aspect of getting better at golf, so if you don’t care about your score, there’s no need to keep reading. Otherwise, here we go!
World Golf Handicap System
The world golf Handicap system is a universal system everyone can use to calculate their skill level in the game of golf. We’re going to use an equation to calculate yours! The most important aspect is called the Score Differential. It’s calculated by the following equation:
- (113/Slope) X (Adj. Gross Score – Course Rating – PCC)
Course Rating
If you look at your scorecard, you’ll find the slope rating and course rating. Course rating is usually somewhere around 72. It’s what a scratch golfer would shoot from that set of tees. So if the rating is higher than 72, the course has above average difficulty. If below 72, the course is a bit easier than average.
Slope Rating
The slope rating measures relative difficulty for a bogey golfer. It caluclates what a bogey golfer would shoot in relation to a scratch golfer. An average golf course has an average slope rating of 113. Anything less than 113 means it’s an easier course. Anything over 113 means it’s a more difficult course.
Adjusted Gross Score
This is just the actual score you got on each hole. There’s one caveat, which is called net double bogey. That means if you score triple bogey or worse, your adjusted gross score will only be calculated using a double bogey on that hole.
PCC (Playing Conditions Calculation)
This determines how hard the course played on a particular day that you played it. If you had strong wind or wet conditions, long rough, fast and firm greens, or some other exceptionally tough playing conditions, and enough people played the course poorly that day, it may have a positive impact on your score. Likewise, if people played better than average on the course that day, you may have a worse score than anticipated. This adjustment is between -1 and +3 strokes, based solely on everyone who played the course that day.
Sample Golf Score Differential
- (113/Slope) X (Adj. Gross Score – Course Rating – PCC)
- Let’s say the slope rating is 134, you shot a 78. Course rating is 71.5, and PCC is 0 (Normal day)
- (113/134) X (78 – 71.5 – 0) = .843 X 6.5 = 5.48, round to 5.5
- So you’re Score Differential is 5.5
Putting Score Differentials Together for your Handicap
You need to play 54 holes before you can calculate a legitimate handicap. Once you’ve played 20 rounds, your top 8 score differentials will be used to establish your handicap index. So from the above example. If you played 20 rounds or more, you would average out your score differential from your best 8 rounds to calculate your handicap index.
Using Your Handicap Index
Once you have your handicap index, you can use it to play other golfers with different handicaps and have a more fair match. If you download the GHIN app, it allows you to compare handicaps and calculates how many strokes each player should be given based on their own handicap. Each course plays at a different difficulty, so aside from your handicap index you’ll also have a course handicap. If the course plays harder than average, you may have a handicap index of 10, while your course handicap could be 13.
Strokes Given
The player in your group with the lowest handicap will be given 0 strokes. They are the best player, so they are not given any strokes as this would create more disparity in scores. We’re looking to level the playing field. The player with the highest handicap will be given the most strokes. All you need to do is look at each players course handicap. That’s your baseline. So if the best player has a course handicap of 5, and the worst player has a course handicap of 12, then the worst player gets a stroke from the best player on the 7 hardest holes.
Improving Your Handicap Index
Now that you know how to calculate your golf handicap, you’re probably wondering the best way to improve it. Check out these posts for extremely helpful tips on lowering your handicap!
