Golf handicap calculator

How to use it

For each round you need three numbers from the scorecard or the course's website: your adjusted gross score, the Course Rating (a number like 71.2, the expected score of a scratch golfer from those tees) and the Slope Rating (a number from 55 to 155, with 113 as standard, which measures how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer). List the rounds oldest first. The index uses only the most recent 20.

The Handicap Index from the first calculation is copied into the Course Handicap form below it. Change the tees' slope, rating and par to see how many strokes you receive on a different course, or type any index to check someone else's.

The method: World Handicap System

Since 2020 most of the golfing world, including the USGA and The R&A, has used the World Handicap System. The calculation has three steps.

1. Score differential for each round: (113 ÷ Slope Rating) × (adjusted gross score − Course Rating − PCC), rounded to one decimal place. PCC is the playing conditions calculation, a daily adjustment from −1 to +3 for unusually hard or easy conditions; it is zero on most days.
2. Handicap Index: the average of the lowest 8 of the most recent 20 differentials, rounded to one decimal place and capped at 54.0. With fewer than 20 scores, the number used and a small adjustment come from the table below.
3. Course Handicap: Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par), rounded to the nearest whole number. For competitions it is then multiplied by a handicap allowance, 95% for individual stroke play, to give the Playing Handicap.

Worked example

A golfer has three rounds. A 90 on tees rated 72.0 / 130 gives 113 ÷ 130 × (90 − 72.0) = 15.6. An 85 on 71.0 / 125 gives 113 ÷ 125 × 14 = 12.7. A 95 on 73.1 / 135 gives 113 ÷ 135 × 21.9 = 18.3. With three scores, only the lowest counts and 2.0 is subtracted, so the Handicap Index is 12.7 − 2.0 = 10.7. On a par-72 course rated 72.0 with a slope of 130, the Course Handicap is 10.7 × 130 ÷ 113 + (72.0 − 72) = 12.3, which rounds to 12 strokes, and the stroke-play Playing Handicap is 12 × 0.95 = 11.4, rounded to 11.

Scores used with fewer than 20 rounds

Where this estimate and your official index can differ

The core arithmetic above is exactly the published method, so with the same differentials the calculator and your association will agree. Differences come from rules that need information a calculator does not have:

• Caps. An official index cannot rise more than 3.0 above your lowest index of the last 12 months without the excess being halved (the soft cap), and never more than 5.0 above it (the hard cap).
• Exceptional scores. A differential 7.0 or more below your current index triggers an automatic reduction of 1.0 or 2.0.
• 9-hole scores. These are combined with an expected score based on your index to make an 18-hole differential, which is not done here; enter 18-hole rounds only.
• Net double bogey. Hole scores above par + 2 + strokes received must be reduced before totalling. Enter the adjusted total.

The result is a good estimate for someone without an official record, or for checking how a new score is likely to move your index. It is not a substitute for an index from your club or golf association, which is what competitions require.