Golf Handicap Calculator
Handicap of Course Calculator
Press Calculate to see the results.
Index of Handicap Calculator
List your most recent rounds, one per line, as: course rating, slope rating, 18-hole adjusted gross score, 9-hole score, playing conditions adjustment. Leave a field empty with two commas. Two 9-hole rounds in a row are combined into one 18-hole score.
Each round's Score Differential is (113 ÷ slope) × (adjusted gross score − course rating − PCC). The index is the average of the lowest differentials, with the number used depending on how many rounds you have, as shown in the table further down the page. Adjusted gross score caps each hole at net double bogey. This is an estimate; your official index comes from your national golf association.
Press Calculate to see the results.
Enter your Handicap Index and the tees' ratings to find how many strokes you get on that course. The golf handicap calculator below it estimates your Handicap Index from up to 20 recent rounds under the World Handicap System.
A golf handicap measures a player's ability so that golfers of different standards can compete fairly: the higher the handicap, the more strokes a player receives. Since 2020 almost every country has used the World Handicap System (WHS), run by the R&A and the USGA, which replaced six regional systems. Under it a player has a portable Handicap Index, which is converted into a Course Handicap for whatever course and tees they play.
The Handicap Index is based on the best 8 of a player's most recent 20 Score Differentials, so it reflects potential ability rather than an average day. Players with fewer than 20 scores use fewer differentials, with small adjustments:
| Scores available | Differentials used | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lowest 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Average of lowest 2 | −1.0 |
| 7–8 | Average of lowest 2 | 0 |
| 9–11 | Average of lowest 3 | 0 |
| 12–14 | Average of lowest 4 | 0 |
| 15–16 | Average of lowest 5 | 0 |
| 17–18 | Average of lowest 6 | 0 |
| 19 | Average of lowest 7 | 0 |
| 20 | Average of lowest 8 | 0 |
Rating of course, rating of slope, and handicap of course
Every set of tees on a rated course has a Course Rating and a Slope Rating. The Course Rating is the score a scratch golfer, someone with a Handicap Index of zero, would be expected to shoot in normal conditions, such as 70.4. The Slope Rating measures how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, on a scale from 55 to 155, with 113 as the standard.
To get your Course Handicap, scale your index by the slope and then add the difference between the course rating and par. With an index of 10 on tees rated 70.0 with a slope of 121 and a par of 72, the result is 10 × 121 ÷ 113 + (70 − 72) = 8.7, which rounds to 9 strokes. Competitions may also apply a handicap allowance, such as 95% in individual stroke play, to get a Playing Handicap.
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par)
Round the result to the nearest whole number. 113 is the slope of a course of standard difficulty.
Playing condition adjustment
Weather and course set-up can make a course play much harder or easier than its rating on a particular day. The Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC) compares the scores returned on a course that day with what was expected from the players' handicaps and, when they differ significantly, applies an adjustment to everyone's Score Differential.
The adjustment ranges from −1.0 when scoring was unusually easy to +3.0 when it was unusually hard, and on most days it is zero. It is calculated automatically by the handicapping authority once enough scores have been posted, at least eight from players with an index of 36.0 or lower. If you know the PCC for a round, enter it in the fifth field of the index calculator; a positive PCC lowers that round's differential.
| Conditions that day | Typical PCC |
|---|---|
| Much easier than normal (calm, soft greens, forward tees) | −1.0 |
| Normal | 0 |
| Harder (wind, rain) | +1.0 |
| Much harder | +2.0 |
| Extremely difficult | +3.0 |
Frequently asked questions
How is a Course Handicap calculated?
Handicap Index × Slope ÷ 113 + (Course Rating − Par), rounded to the nearest whole number.
How many scores do I need for a Handicap Index?
Under the World Handicap System you need 54 holes, any combination of 18- and 9-hole rounds, to get an initial index.
What is a Score Differential?
(113 ÷ Slope) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating − PCC). It expresses a round's quality relative to a standard course.
What is the maximum Handicap Index?
54.0 under the World Handicap System.
How is a Handicap Index calculated?
Under the World Handicap System it is the average of your best 8 Score Differentials from your most recent 20 rounds. With fewer than 20 scores, fewer differentials are used, with a small adjustment when you have 3, 4 or 6 scores. If your best eight differentials average 12.4, your Handicap Index is 12.4.
Updated by Calculator.hair. How we build and check our calculators