The purpose of a United States Golf Association handicap is to level the playing field when golfers of different abilities compete. As with any sport, a handicap is a burden that better players must carry to give those of lesser abilities a chance. A golf handicap is calculated by taking a series of a golfer's actual scores and modifying them based on variety of factors. When you compare two handicaps, the smaller number belongs to the better player.
Gross Score
The first step in calculating a USGA handicap is to record a golfer's raw scores for an 18-hole course. This score is modified through the use of "equitable score control," which limits the score that a player can take on any given hole based on his handicap. Because a handicap is meant to express the potential that a given player has to score, equitable score control prevents good golfers from lowering their handicaps based on any individual bad hole. For example, golfers with handicaps of nine or below are limited to taking a double bogey for handicap purposes on any hole, while golfers with handicaps of 40 or higher can take as much as a 10 on a bad hole.
USGA Course Rating
The USGA course rating is meant to express what a scratch golfer, or a golfer with a zero handicap, could score on average on a given course. Courses with higher ratings are theoretically more difficult to play. Typical course ratings range from the high 60s to the mid 70s.
USGA Course Slope
USGA course slope measures the average difficulty of a course for bogey golfers, or those who tend to shoot one over par on each hole. As opposed to course rating, which measures the average projected score for more proficient golfers, slope measures the difficulty level as experienced by more average golfers. The higher a slope rating, the harder the course is to play for most amateur golfers.
113
113 represents the average slope for a golf course, on a scale from 55 to 155. If a golfer plays a course with a slope of 113, he should theoretically play exactly to his handicap score. This figure is an important part of the handicap calculation formula.
The Handicap Calculation
The basic handicap calculation takes a golfer's gross score and subtracts the course rating. The remainder is multiplied by 113 and then divided by the slope of the course played. This final figure is multiplied by .96 to arrive at a handicap. At least five scores are required to register a handicap. The more scores a golfer enters, the more accurate a handicap becomes as certain variables are inserted into the equation. For example, once a golfer has entered 20 or more scores, only the 10 lowest handicap scores are averaged to arrive at a formal handicap figure.
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