In golf, score and handicap are intertwined concepts, with each having an effect on the other. Your score is the total number of strokes it takes you to complete a course, and a handicap is an adjustment you can make to your score when competing against others. What determines your handicap? Your scores.
Purpose
Handicapping levels the playing field--or, rather, the course--between golfers of different skill levels. If a novice golfer and an expert went head-to-head on the course, the expert would win in a rout--and that probably wouldn't be much fun for either player. The handicap system gives them a way to play against each other in such a way that each has a chance to "win." As the U.S. Golf Association puts it, the main purpose of handicaps is simply to "make the game of golf more enjoyable."
Features
When you play a round of golf, your handicap is affected by two factors: your own ability and the difficulty of the course. Each golfer has an individual number called a "Handicap Index," which is based on your score in the best rounds you've played recently. The Handicap Index is expressed as a number to one decimal place, such as 10.4. The maximum indexes, according to the USGA, are 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women.
Once you know your index, you can determine your "course handicap"--the number of shots you can subtract from your final score at the end of the round. The course handicap is different from one course to the next; every USGA-approved course has a chart that tells you how to convert your index into a course handicap. For example, a typical course might say that an index of between 0.5 and 1.2 equates to a course handicap of 1, an index of 1.3 to 2.0 equals a course handicap of 2, and so on.
Effects
Once you get on the course, you see the real effects of handicap vs. score in golf. After 18 holes, say you've shot a 90. Not terribly pretty. But if you have a course handicap of 12, then your adjusted score is a respectable 78. Now say your playing partner shot an 81. In terms of raw score, he has you soundly beaten. But if his course handicap is just 2, then his adjusted score is 79. You're the winner for the round.
The adjusted score applies only for scoring that round, however. Your Handicap Index continually adjusts to reflect the most recent rounds you've played. For the round you just played, the index will count your "real" score, 90, rather than the adjusted score of 78.
Types
A golfer who is good enough to get a course handicap of 0 is a "scratch" golfer. Some are so good that, for handicapping purposes, they actually have a negative Handicap Index, which means that, when playing on a handicap basis, they have to add strokes to their final score rather than subtract them.
Identification
You can figure your own Handicap Index--see the links in the Resources for tools--but to compete in handicap events, your index must be calculated by a USGA-approved body, such as a local golf association or a golf club. "Handicap Index" is actually a USGA trademark.
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