Look on any scorecard for a golf course and you'll see a handicap of 1 to 18 assigned to each hole. Hole handicaps serve two purposes. The main use is to enable players of different skill levels to compete equally. Hole handicaps also enable players to submit scores for incomplete rounds to maintain their personal handicaps. Golf's main governing bodies only recommend, not require, how to apply hole handicaps, leaving the application to a course's handicap committee.
It's Not About Difficulty
Hole handicaps tell competing golfers where to apply the difference in their course handicaps. In practice, a player with a course handicap difference of five strokes from his competitor will "give" a stroke on holes with 1 through 5 handicap ratings. Handicap strokes are not a ranking of the difficulty of each hole. According to the U.S. Golf Association Handicap Manual, "the basic principle is to equalize the abilities of players at different handicap levels." The USGA recommends the lowest hole handicap number is assigned to where a higher-handicap golfer would need a stroke to equal a more skilled player on that particular hole. This usually means that the longer holes have a lower handicap number, taking away the distance advantage that a lower-handicap golfer tends to have. The distance factor explains why many scorecards have different handicaps for the forward tees.
Allocation
A local handicap committee assigns hole handicaps. You may notice that hole handicaps across the front or back nine are either all even or odd. That's because USGA policy recommends, not requires, assigning the No. 1 handicap to the front nine, unless the back nine "is decidedly more difficult." In England, where the Royal and Ancient Club is the governing body, recommendations are similar, including not assigning the low handicap holes at the start or finish of each set of nine holes. That keeps the handicap difference from having an inappropriate impact on a match in near the end of 18 holes or at the start of a playoff.
Calculating: Comparison Method
One way the USGA suggests how to figure out hole handicaps is to take at least 200 rounds from a set of low-handicap golfers and average the scores from each hole, then compare that to the hole-by-hole average of at least 200 rounds from medium-handicap players, and assign the hole handicaps accordingly. The handicap committee can make adjustments, such as accounting for holes with water hazards.
Calculating: Regression Method
Another way of coming up with hole handicaps is to take at least 400 rounds from golfers of all ability, using the same tee. Applying a linear regression formula provides differentials for each hole, which the handicap committee can then use to assign and adjust hole handicaps.
Unfinished holes
The only way a hole handicap has an impact on a player's course handicap is through unfinished holes or rounds. For example, suppose a player with a course handicap of 7 can't play the 17th and 18th holes. The par-4 17th hole handicap is 5 and the par-5 18th is a 12. The player would add a stroke over par on the 17th hole. He wouldn't get a stroke on the last hole. That allows him to submit a total score for his handicap calculation.
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