Handicaps explained

The World Handicap System

The World Handicap System was launched in January 2020 and had been developed by The R&A and the USGA; the R&A announced it taking effect in Great Britain and Ireland on 2 November 2020.

In Great Britain and Ireland the WHS replaced the CONGU Unified Handicapping System.

The USGA and The R&A are the joint governing authorities of the WHS and write and interpret the Rules of Handicapping.

The WHS is run locally by national and regional golf associations; in Great Britain and Ireland that means England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf and Golf Ireland.

The stated purpose of the WHS is to let as many golfers as possible obtain a Handicap Index, use it on any course around the world, and play fairly with anyone else.

A player needs to be a member of an affiliated golf club (or a direct member of an authorised association) to hold a Handicap Index.

Your Handicap Index

The R&A defines the Handicap Index as the measure of a player's demonstrated ability, calculated against a course of standard difficulty (Slope Rating 113).

A Handicap Index is calculated by averaging the lowest 8 of a player's most recent 20 Score Differentials, rounded to the nearest tenth.

The maximum Handicap Index is 54.0.

Competition committees may set their own lower Handicap Index limit for entry.

The R&A announced that a new handicap needs 54 holes of scores, from any mix of 18-hole and 9-hole rounds, with some discretion for national or regional associations.

The Rules of Handicapping say the minimum number of holes for an initial index is set by the national association and cannot exceed 54.

With fewer than 20 scores, the index is calculated from a table setting how many of the lowest Score Differentials to use.

A Handicap Index only lapses if the player is no longer a member of at least one golf club, and older scores stay in the calculation while they remain within the latest 20.

A soft cap and a hard cap limit how fast a Handicap Index can rise: the soft cap starts when the new index is more than 3.0 strokes above the Low Handicap Index.

The Low Handicap Index is the lowest index over the previous 365 days, used as the reference point for the caps.

From index to course: Slope and Course Rating

A Course Handicap converts a Handicap Index into the number of strokes needed on any course with a given Course Rating and Slope Rating, so the index can be used wherever you play.

A Playing Handicap is the Course Handicap adjusted for the handicap allowance or competition terms, and is the number of strokes actually given or received that round.

A Playing Handicap equals the Course Handicap where the allowance is 100%.

The recommended allowance for individual stroke play is 95% for medium-sized fields of 30 to 100 players.

Allowances are applied to the unrounded Course Handicap as the final step in working out the Playing Handicap.

Course Rating is the difficulty of a course for a scratch player under normal course and weather conditions.

Slope Rating shows how much harder a course is for non-scratch players than for scratch players; a course of standard difficulty has a Slope Rating of 113.

A bogey player is defined as roughly a 20.0 Handicap Index for men and 24.0 for women.

Scratch and plus handicaps

Officially, a scratch player is a player with a Handicap Index of 0.0.

A Handicap Index better than scratch (below 0.0) is a plus handicap, and players with one are encouraged to prefix it with a plus sign.

Competition organisers should treat a plus-prefixed index as a plus handicap and query any index with a minus sign.

Players with a plus Playing Handicap give strokes back to the course, starting at the hole with stroke index 18.

Par is officially the score a scratch player would generally be expected to make on a hole.

Professionals and handicaps

The R&A's Rules of Handicapping interpretation says a professional golfer may obtain a Handicap Index, provided they meet the player responsibilities.

Playing abroad: certificates and limits

For handicap purposes the maximum score on a hole is net double bogey once an index exists: par plus 2 plus any handicap strokes received (or minus strokes a plus player gives back).

A net double bogey is the lowest hole score that would earn zero Stableford points.

Before an index exists, the maximum hole score is par plus 5.

Scores are submitted by the player through their club or national association, and many national associations have smartphone apps to submit scores and check a handicap record.

The R&A says the WHS gives a numerical measure that lets golfers compete with others of different ability anywhere in the world.

When the weather plays its part

The Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC) is a daily statistical check of whether conditions differed from normal enough to need an adjustment, due to course, weather or set-up.

The PCC compares scores submitted that day against expected scoring patterns, so an average score in hard conditions can count for more than a good score in easy conditions.

The PCC can adjust Score Differentials by -1.0, 0.0, +1.0, +2.0 or +3.0, needs at least eight acceptable scores, and uses only players with an index of 36.0 or below.

Visitor limits at our courses

The maximum handicap each club states on its own website for visitors. A club not listed here states no limit online; ask when you book.

From each club’s own website; see the sources on its course page.